Bryan's Blog

Harley-Davidson CEO Jim Ziemer ran a mean drag race.

The smell of spent fuel and burnt rubber filled the air. The rumble of two V Rod Revolution engines at full tilt attracted a crowd to the Harley-Davidson Acceleration Nation tent in front of the Ocean Center in Daytona. Two competitors sized each other up before climbing aboard to see who would be king of the H-D Dyno Drags. Chris, the man on the mic, hyped the match to the crowd. The two racers pulled in their clutches and twisted their throttles, building up rpm in anticipation of the launch. The lights on the tree drop fast. Both men lean forward, the wheels of the V Rods spinning crazily on the dynanometer beneath them. They run through the gears quickly, then tap it out and hold it wide open. It was a close race, but there can only be one victor, and today the winner is Jim Ziemer, CEO of Harley-Davidson.

Ziemer's reaction time was only .56, but he scored a .16 light, just enough to give him the advantage. He finished the 1/4-mile run in 11.09 and hit a top speed of 107.71 mph. Gotta hand it to him. That's even better than what I could pull off dragging the 2009 Muscle at Infineon during the 2009 Harley-Davidson intro.

Afterwards, Ziemer graciously took time out to sign autographs and pose for pictures. It's refreshing to see a company CEO being hands on, not being content to be a figurehead only, but putting himself out there to listen to the word on the street. But I wouldn't expect anything less from the leader of The Motor Company.