Harley-Davidson pulls out of North Myrtle Beach motorcycle event

Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company along with the local Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson dealer have pulled out of the planned North Myrtle Beach motorcycle rally event, according to the event organizers.

Businessmen Harold Worley and Mark Lazarus, a current and former Horry County Councilman respectively, had planned to have a representative from Harley-Davidson's corporate office offering test rides of their latest motorcycles.

The local Harley-Davidson dealer would have rented a storefront owned by Worley near the intersection of Ocean Drive and Main Street in North Myrtle Beach and a tent on Ocean Drive with Harley merchandise. A site visit by a corporate representative on Tuesday indicated the event was getting a green light, Worley said.

The two were notified Friday that the corporate office along with the local dealer were concerned about several tooled down elements of the event, including the lack of outside vendors being allowed by the city.

Worley said the corporate representative said the company also had concerns about whether they would be welcome in North Myrtle Beach because of a flier that had been circulated by the city to explain the differences between the partners' original request and the current request.

"When Harley-Davidson saw that flier on Wednesday they became very alarmed that if they did come to Ocean Drive that they would be harassed by the city of North Myrtle Beach. It’s obvious that they are not welcome, so they’ve decided not to come," Worley said. "Another concern for the local Harley dealer was that without the other vendors, there might not be enough draw for people to come to the event."

A Harley-Davidson corporate representative was not immediately available Friday and a message was left with the North Myrtle Beach spokeswoman Friday afternoon.

View the flier in a link above.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.