The Day I Saw 'Pigs' Fly

The recent event, which sees hogs—the affectionate nickname for Harleys—take to off-roads and race circuits, is evidence the brand knows how to play in the rough too

- Zaihan Mohamed Yusof

SEPANG — In my 20 years of reviewing motorcycles, I have never been put through the wringer more than at the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle DRT Experience in mid-July.

With the mercury hovering above 34 deg C on July 16—it feels hotter than that—trying out a range of Harley-Davidson models off-road, as well as on the circuit and the roads around the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, is as fun as it is a potential health hazard.

DRT stands for dirt, road and track, and this is the fourth edition. The first kicked off in Thailand in 2022.

At least eight different models have been set aside for the 2025 edition, a one-day programme running from 9am to 5pm.

As American country singer Dolly Parton sang in the 1980 song, I ask myself: "Workin' nine to five, what a way to make a livin'?"

It is an eye-opening experience because I am trying out the motorcycles in conditions atypical of the sleek image of Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

Doing power slides on a dirt track, leaping off a ramp and getting downright filthy with mud—this is probably far from the brand's traditional image of cruisers with spotless chrome on the open road.

In Malaysia, I learn that "pigs can fly" and hogs—the affectionate nickname for Harleys, because of their low exhaust grunt—love mud.