Malta Chapter Takes on the HOG Spring Rally in Senigallia!

We did it! Our members rode all the way to Senigallia, Italy, for The HOG Spring Rally — the second bi-annual event, and it delivered big time!

The day dawned early when 18 members on 13 motorcycles were fired up for the trip. From home to the Virtu Ferries for the crossing to Pozallo, then gas down to Messina for yet another crossing to Villa San Giovanni on the Italian mainland. A big push to Matera for the first overnight and a late but excellent dinner at the Autin restaurant saw everybody happy to hit the sack. The morning after promised riders a great breakfast and coffees at the BARI H-D Dealership where we were met by the Director and Ladies of Harley Officer and Chapter members, themselves preparing to depart to Senigallia too!! The excellent weather had played ball with our riders. But leave it to Zeus, we hit heavy rain and even some ice for an hour of this push up the Adriatic coast autostrada. Deterred we were not, and all rolled into our hotel Majestic in Senigallia late evening on Thursday. Phew!! With nerves of steel, we still managed to get refreshed and off to the HOG rally where we went to enjoy the music and food. Tutti ben arrivati!

The weekend delivered as promised — all the excitement was in store! Members sampled the 2026 range of motorcycles on test rides, swapped technical comparisons, war stories, and jokes, and enjoyed great banter and good fast food, as one does at these rallies. On Saturday, the Malta Chapter was invited to the Rotunda pier building on the Lungomare for an 'apri-cena' do by Route 76 Chapter. More food and drink flowed, and there was a surprise visit by Sal Da Vinci, the San Remo singer winner, who apparently is a Harleysta too and is sponsored by H-D. The group then took part in his entourage walk through the streets to the big stage in Piazza Garbaldi for a night of music and dancing.

The rally was a biker's paradise: top-name stalls like Metzler Tyres, Route 76, Vance & Hines and Jekyll and Hyde exhausts, mechanics ready to fit your latest upgrades, and many more stalls selling biker goodies, leather jackets, helmets, comms, patches, punk rings, and jewelry too — it was endless! Plus, there was 24/7 entertainment with the Vida Loca bus in the Rocca moat and the now familiar H-D big stage with none other than The San Remo winner Sal Da Vinci singing his latest hit Per Sempre Si! Last but not least, the Harley-Davidson dealerships were selling genuine H-D clothes, T-shirts, hoodies, pins, and badges, and we even had a surprise visit by Karen Davidson, great-granddaughter of one of the original founders; Willie G. Davidson. Food stalls serving sumptuous pulled pork to burgers satisfied even the biggest hunk bikers.

Sunday morning saw many a blurry-eyed member crawl to breakfast and start getting ready for the trip back down to Napoli to catch the ferry to Palermo, which was accomplished in brilliant sunshine. A brief but amazing stop at Isola Dei Liri allowed everyone to view the beautiful waterfalls and take group photos! Monday saw our intrepid riders rise and shine in Palermo, where they had a deadline to meet in Acireale and our sponsoring dealership. After some quick last minute acquisitions, off we went again down to Pozzallo, stopping in Acitrezza for lunch — Harleys don't run on empty tanks or tummies! The Virtu Ferry crossing back to Malta was uneventful and done in calm seas. Our band of roadies all said their goodbyes and headed off to their homes. Wow!! What an achievement, yet another milestone for the Malta Chapter — 2,176 kilometers all in, to be exact, and right up there with last year's Grimaud HOG Rally in San Tropez, France. We are fast becoming the long-distance touring group Harley-Davidson specifically designed motorcycles for! Long live the Malta Chapter!

A huge round of applause to our roaming Ambassador Gordon and our Lady of Harley Barbara for organising this amazing trip from A to Z for our members! Kudos also to our Director Jean for keeping everyone safe and looked after on the road, along with Road Captains Tamara, Kevin O, Kevin C, Sergio, and Jean — and of course, Gordon himself, our leader on this epic adventure.

— Write-up by Ray, the Chapter's Historian, May 2026