Pakistani bikers rev up Harley-Davidsons for ‘most satisfying ride in the world’

KARACHI: They call themselves the Harley Owners Group (HOG) Pakistan, a community of 120 bikers brought together by their shared love for riding Harley-Davidsons, the ubiquitous symbol of motorcycling.
Last week, the group of Pakistani adventurers embarked on the journey of a lifetime, riding their iconic Harley-Davidson motorbikes through the country’s picturesque northern regions against a backdrop of towering mountains, glacial lakes and lush valleys.
“We call ourselves Harley District, we call ourselves HOG Pakistan Headquarters as well,” the club’s founder Shiraz Qureshi told Arab News in an interview in Karachi this week.
“HOG is promoting a certain sort of a lifestyle, it’s like a biker’s lifestyle. None of the biking groups, none of the bikers’ groups, has this rich of a history.”
Unlike the United States and European countries, Pakistan does not have an extensive biking culture but motorcycle enthusiasts keep the passion alive through private clubs like HOG. Qureshi founded the group ten years ago and since then it has attracted over 100 new members brought together by their love for the iconic bike and the culture surrounding riding it.
“Biking in itself is kind of a meditation,” said Humayun Mir, a 29-year-old member of HOG. “I started off riding with HOG Pakistan and what really attracted me was the environment and how they actually ride their bikes. It’s very disciplined. You’re not allowed to overtake each other, you’re not allowed to mess around, you’re not allowed to do any stunts of any sort.”
Qureshi explained that the main difference between a Harley rider or owner compared to enthusiasts of other bikes was the focus on longer journeys.
“Each time we head out it is never less than 100 kilometers,” the club’s founder said. “We head out to the super highway, we head out to national highway, we head out toward Balochistan [province], the coastal highway.”
The group’s latest long journey was to Gilgit-Baltistan, home to some of the highest peaks in the world, including K2, the second tallest mountain globally.
“The roads they have, the kind of terrain and the beauty in the mountains and the snowcapped mountains with the rivers flowing in the jungles on your side, this kind of a scenery with this kind of mix, I don’t think that anybody can see anywhere in the world,” Qureshi said.
“I have been there [in the northern region] about four or five times before,” Mir said. “But on a motorcycle, it was like a new experience for me. Because with the 360-degree view, I could see everything in just one glance.”
Mir said the experience was “so surreal” he teared up a number of times during the journey.
“I had been dreaming of doing this all my life, all my childhood. And I finally got a chance to actually do it.”
Qureshi added:
“It was the most satisfying ride in the world … This is the journey that probably each and every biker in this world would die for.”
But financial difficulties are making these types of journeys more and difficult as Pakistan reels from high fuel and energy prices.
Reforms required by a $3 billion IMF bailout, including an easing of import restrictions and a demand that subsidies be removed, have already fueled annual inflation, which rose to a record 38.0 percent in May. Interest rates have also risen to their highest at 22 percent, and the rupee hit all-time lows in August before recovering in September. Pakistan also raised petrol and diesel prices to a record high last month.
“Harleys have been very expensive, they are still considered very expensive,” Qureshi lamented.
“And with the recent fall of the rupee vis a vis the dollar, the cost has gone really up.”

Pakistani bikers rev up Harley-Davidsons for ‘most satisfying ride in the world’