In Cuba, it's not just the old sedans that take you back in time: about 200 Harley-Davidsons, many of them old, backfire on the island, repaired, transformed, pampered by enthusiasts.

Once a year, for ten years now, they meet for a long weekend in Varadero, a seaside resort 145 km east of Havana, to "share the passion" as explained one of the organizers, Raul Brito, 60, proud owner of a 1960 Harley, the "last model to enter the island" after the 1959 revolution.

A Harley-Davidson at a rally of enthusiasts, February 11, 2023 in Varadero, Cuba © YAMIL LAGE / AFP

Until that date, Harley-Davidsons, the most legendary of American motorcycles, numbered in the thousands on the island, where even the police were equipped with them.

Then the stigmatization of everything that came from the United States in the first years of communist power threw them into the shadows, but without ever being able to extinguish the flame of the amateurs.

Antonio Ramirez, 60, a former Havana taxi driver turned mechanic owns four Harleys, including a custom orange tricycle.

A biker on a Harley-Davidson tricycle during a rally of enthusiasts, February 11, 2023 in Varadero, Cuba © YAMIL LAGE / AFP

His first motorcycle belonged to his grandfather, then to his father "who used it to go to work".

Today, "I buy them in pieces and I restore them", he says, black jacket and scarf on his head.

Everyone agrees that the opening of links, thanks in particular to the development of tourism, has for several years facilitated the arrival of original parts for repairs thanks to "family, friends, foreigners" who travel to the island.

"It was more difficult before, you had to invent everything. Today, it's easier to import parts, but we still make a lot of them by hand," explains Sergio Sanchez, a professional mechanic from Pinar del Rio. , 300 km away.

A vintage Harley-Davidson during a rally of enthusiasts, February 11, 20223 in Varadero, Cuba © YAMIL LAGE / AFP

In fact, "there are not many original Harleys left, almost none, due to the lack of parts", explains the one who used to steal his father's Harley as a teenager, so passionate was he. .

"A 1947 piston is impossible to find today," he says.

"Open Air Museum"

As for many products on an island under American embargo and which suffers from recurring shortages, the exchange of good tips is done by word of mouth and its modern version, Whatsapp groups.

This year, Sergio Sanchez came to the rally with a white and black 1947 Harley that the police used at the time.

Bikers in Harley-Davidson, during a gathering of enthusiasts, February 11, 2023 in Varadero, Cuba © YAMIL LAGE / AFP

In good condition, it was restored in "6 months in 2019" because the restoration of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States three years earlier had exploded the arrival of travelers and therefore the possibilities of entry of coins, says Sandy Léon, 46, who took part in the restoration.

"Today it's more complicated and more expensive," he said in an allusion to the cooling of relations between Washington and Havana, and to the economic crisis hitting the country with the depreciation of the Cuban peso.

A Harley-Davidson at a rally of enthusiasts, February 11, 2023 in Varadero, Cuba © YAMIL LAGE / AFP

Carlos Pupo Sablon who traveled the 660 km that separate Varadero from his province of Holguin (east), won the prize for the participant who traveled the greatest distance to come to the rally and reached an agreement with a Canadian.

The latter, also a fervent fan, provided the budget (15,000 dollars) so that Carlos could buy his motorcycle from a Cuban family who had owned it "since it left the factory in 1951".

A professional mechanic, Carlos took care of restoring it "with period parts" to "keep the original aesthetic", he explains in front of the sparkling light blue model that the Canadian can use when he is on the road. 'island.

Harley-Davidson bikers in a street in Varadero during a rally of enthusiasts, February 11, 2023 in Cuba © YAMIL LAGE / AFP

Like the colorful sedans that make Cuba's reputation (estimated at 60,000), motorcycles prior to 1960, including Harley-Davidsons - cannot be exported because they are considered "national heritage".

An additional collection in the open-air museum of vintage vehicles that Cuba has become over the years.

© 2023 AFP