Found in Translation

Hog Wild for Harley
He sits, hands on the throttle, ready to ride. Faded black leather covers his
clunky boots and is zipped up around his torso. He revs the motorcycle’s
engine, with its trademark thundering sound. He is grateful for the
customizations he made to the exhaust system to amplify the bike’s roar. He’s
fifty-two years old, and he loves his Harley, an iconic symbol of the American
lifestyle. Yet he doesn’t live in California, Nevada, or Arizona. And his name
isn’t John, Mike, or Bubba. He’s not from around these parts. He has lived in
Japan his entire life, and his name is Yamada Tar .
Japan is full of Yamada Tar s—it’s a stereotypical Japanese name, the
equivalent of John Smith in English. Even though the country has many
homegrown brands like Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, and Yamaha, Harley-
Davidson is the local market leader when it comes to motorbikes. The Japanese
didn’t become Harley fans by some stroke of luck. Translation helped make it
happen. Founded in 1903, the company has been translating its product
information into other languages for nearly as long as it has been in business.
If a Harley-Davidson enthusiast in Japan wants to learn how to operate his bike
or how to customize it, he’ll turn to his owner manual. And it had better be in
Japanese. Harley’s biggest international market outside the United States is

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Japan, and it has been for a number of years.
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Translators who work on technical manuals often joke that no one ever
reads the fruits of their labor. Not so in the case of Harley-Davidson
customers, who frequently devour the owner manuals to learn how to make
adjustments to their bikes. Today, the company translates into twenty
languages, such as Czech, Greek, Norwegian, and Turkish. Some brand-
specific terms present special challenges, such as jiffy stand, which means
“kick stand,” or derby cover, which is the cover for the clutch, so named
because of its resemblance to a derby hat at one point in the brand’s history.
Translation is certainly a critical enabler of Harley-Davidson’s global
revenue. Today, its international business accounts for more than 30 percent of
total revenue. However, sometimes the barriers to business go beyond just
culture and language. Take the case of China, where motorcycling is not
widely recognized as a recreational activity but rather as a means of affordable
transportation. There are also significant legal barriers to overcome. Due to
the popularity of small scooters in China, many large urban areas have placed
restrictions on all two-wheeled vehicles to reduce noise and environmental
pollution.
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While China remains a tough nut to crack for the Milwaukee-based
motorbike manufacturer, the company enjoys success in many other nations.
Not what you might expect for a brand that most people associate with being
quintessentially American.