Harley-Davidson revs up to close NYSE

Harley-Davidson’s 100th birthday celebrations went off with a roar as CEO Keith Wandell marked the close of business at the NYSE on Friday. 

Wandell has twice rung the bell in Wall Street, but Friday’s event – fed via satellite from celebrations outside the Harley-Davidson museum in Milwaukee where the brand launched in 1903 – saw him astride a Harley, closing the stock exchange with a series of revs as a crowd cheered him on.

The celebrations included a 7,000-strong parade of Harley-Davidson riders through downtown Milwaukee as well as 60 bands performing over three days. 

After closing the NYSE, Wandell told Fox News that while the stock had been consistent recently, he was ‘cautiously optimistic’ people were starting to spend again, adding that he could think of no other brand capable of bringing together fans from around the world the way Harley-Davidson had. 

At one point in 2008, shares in the motorcycle brand were trading for less than $15. As Wandell closed the exchange on Friday, however, Harley-Davidson stood at $59.98 a share.