Eric Cerini's first job was washing motorcycle parts in his father's Harley Davidson shop in Donora.
Eventually, Cerini graduated to mechanics. Although he went away to get his degree and serve in the military, he came back to the family business. Today, He and his brother, Ernie, are co-owners of Ernest Cerini Inc.
"I grew up working in the store," Eric Cerini said.
Just as Cerini has grown up in the business -- now serving as co-owner of Ernest Cerini Inc. -- the Harley Davidson motorcycles they sell have grown into a respected, and cherished, product.
We've grown up and we've become respectable citizens," Cerini said of Harley Davidson.
This year, Harley Davidson marks its 100th anniversary.
Labor Day weekend is the culmination of the anniversary. That celebration will include three days of events in Milwaukee, including a parade featuring 10,000 cyclists who each have raised more than $5,300 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and three days of concerts featuring such musical superstars as Kansas, Eddie Money, 38 Special, Peter Frampton, Poison, The Doobie Brothers, Joan Jett, Billy Idol, REO Speedwagon, Styx and Steppenwolf.
The Cerinis' business has a tradition almost as rich as the Harley-Davidson motorcycles they sell.
Ernest Cerini started the business May 20, 1920, in Donora. The motorcycle shop the company still operates in Donora was built in 1925.
His son, August "Babe" Cerini, took over the business in the mid-1970s. In 1997, the Rostraver Township location was opened. In 2002, the Uniontown location was added.
Babe's sons, Ernie and Eric, took over the business in 1999.
The original Harley Davidson was a bicycle with an engine attached. Harley has gone through numerous evolutions -- from the knucklehead, to the panhead to the shovelhead, the evo and the twin cam 88 -- all a reference to the changes in the motorcycle engine.
Today's Harley's have fuel injection with security systems. They can include CD players, and LAD readouts for the oil tank, for example.
Harley Davidsons can range in cost from the Sportster for slightly more than $16,000 to about $30,000 for a customized bike.
"Folks will come in and drop $18,000 to $19,000 for a bike and then they will personalize it for several thousand dollars more," said Eric Cerini, whose own personal motorcycle has gone through several evolutions over the years.
Cerini said celebrities such as Jay Leno or NBA superstar Karl Malone, each motorcycle enthusiasts, have improved the image of Harley Davidson.
"If you ask someone from an older generation what they think of motorcycle riders, a lot of their descriptions match the 1 percent of riders," Cerini said. "Today, when you ask someone what they think of motorcycle riders, they would have a whole different description."
The upgrading and modernization of the Harley Davidson dealerships have also improved the company's image. The Rostraver location looks more like a retail store than a motorcycle dealership of old. He called the business "a big toy store."
"People aren't afraid to come in," Cerini said. "In the old days, they'd expect to come in and see a guy with long hair and beard throwing down a beer."
Cerini said Harley Davidson is "the top of the food chain" in the motorcycle industry.
"Harley Davidson is an image," Cerini said. "It's a lifestyle. It's a family.
"When you buy into Harley Davidson, you buy into the family."
That family includes the Harley Owners Group, or HOG, chapters, numbering nearly one million members nationwide. The HOG chapters meet monthly, hold group rides several times a month and raise money for charity.
"It's that lifestyle that brings people in and that's what brings them back," Cerini said. "I've had people come in and say 'I've waited all my life for a Harley.'
"This phenomenon did not happen overnight. It took hard work by Harley Davidson, the dealerships and the motorcycling public."
"We're ending one century and we're beginning another. This is a beginning - the beginning of the future."
