PUHI — It gave new meaning to the term “dirty work.” Kauai Harley-Davidson’s Tim Lach yesterday gave away a $10,000 Harley-Davidson Sportster 833 Hugger to thank hundreds of island customers and to “give back to the community.” But Tanya Kalama
PUHI — It gave new meaning to the term “dirty work.”
Kauai Harley-Davidson’s Tim Lach yesterday gave away a $10,000 Harley-Davidson Sportster 833 Hugger to thank hundreds of island customers and to “give back to the community.”
But Tanya Kalama of Puhi and Wynson Rapacon of Lihu‘e had to get dirty before they could drive it away.
Both were finalists in a contest Kauai Harley sponsored that tested knowledge of the Harley-Davidson brand and Kaua‘i.
And because both finalists answered all 15 questions correctly, they had to compete in a tie-breaker — diving into a pool of mud outside the business on Kaumuali‘i Highway in Puhi to find the right key among 10 that would allow the Harley to roar to life.
By late afternoon and surrounded by well-wishers, Rapacon won ownership of the bike and was ready to ride off into the sunset.
“We are giving away a Harley-Davidson because we want to, and we will give away one every year” from now on, said Lach, owner of the only Harley-Davidson-licensed dealership on Kaua‘i.
Lach said winners of the scavenger hunts will drive a machine that is unique in the world of motorcycles.
“H-D is the pinnacle of motorcycles,” he said.
Kauai Harley wanted to give away a motorcycle, but not just to anyone.
Lach said contestants had to be 18 years or older, be a Kaua‘i resident and not have owned a motorcycle at the time of the contest.
A question about the Harley-Davidson brand and Kaua‘i were asked on 98.9 FM and 99.9 FM each day from Oct. 16 to Nov. 3. One question dealt with who operated the first Harley-Davidson dealership on Kaua‘i.
Kalama and Rapacon sent in the right answer to Harley Kaua‘i that kept alive their chances of winning the motorcycle: Andrades Garden Island Cyclery, which Larry Andrade operated in Kapa‘a in 1948.
Lach said he hired Cyrus Andrade, the grandson of Larry Andrade, to keep alive a tradition in which an Andrade family member continues to be commercially tied to Harley-Davidson.
The idea for the contest came up three months ago, driven by the success of his business and the need to give back. Lach opened Street Eagle Hawaii in Puhi on 2003, renting motorcycles and selling T-shirts bearing the Harley-Davidson name.
His chance to have his business grow came in 2005, when he and others talked with Pacific Harley-Davidson in Honolulu about opening a dealership on Kaua‘i.
That proposition became a reality in May of this year, when Street Eagle became Kauai Harley-Davidson/Buell.
Though the front lawn of his business showcases, perhaps, up to 100 Harley-Davidson motorcycles at any one time, Lach says he plans expand his current site into a “Harley-Davidson complex.”
In his early 40s, Lach has been connected with the motorcycle business for 18 years, either owning or managing shops or stores in Hawai‘i, Arizona and Florida.
At one time, Lach served as general manager of a 70,000-square-foot Harley-Davidson megastore in Arizona with 150 employees.
Go to kauai-d.com or call 245-1773 for more information on Kauai Harley-Davidson.
• Lester Chang, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@kauaipubco.com.
