Harley-Davidson is a brand built on a love for the open road, and its riders are passionate for the freedom that it offers. Yet for some riders, that freedom has come at the expense of their safety and their very identity.

For Sikh men, the turban is a deeply important part of their identity. For decades, Sikhs who rode motorcycles found themselves choosing between their beliefs and their safety, as all Sikh men are required to cover their hair as a symbol of respect and humility. Because traditional motorcycle helmets violate this religious tenet, the Ontario government passed legislation in 2018 that exempts Sikh men from the law requiring all motorcycle riders to wear protective helmets. The law was a hard-won step forward, but it also introduced a critical question: How could Sikh riders engage in their passion and still ensure their safety while riding without a traditional helmet?

Harley-Davidson, a brand with a very diverse ridership, recognized the opportunity to engage the sizable Sikh motorcycle community that is part of its base. This created an interesting and unusual challenge: How to develop an alternative to a motorcycle helmet so Sikh motorcyclists would no longer have to choose between their beliefs and their safety.

If anyone could address this challenge, it would be the world’s most iconic motorcycle brand and its largest Canadian dealership Pfaff Harley-Davidson. Harley-Davidson attracts riders of all cultures, yet it’s often perceived to be the choice of old white men. Stepping up to a challenge like this was an opportunity for Harley-Davidson to help a group of riders overcome a big hurdle to fully embrace their passion and to send a signal about the importance of diversity. The size of the need is large; Canada is second only to India in the number of Sikhs in the country.

Through conversations with Sikh riders, an interesting historical truth was discovered. In ancient times, Sikh warriors would go into battle with chain mail woven into the fabric of their turbans. This provided protection without violating religious tenets. It sparked our thinking: Why couldn’t a modern-day equivalent be created to provide the safety that Sikhs deserve? It also led to the insight driving the initiative: with the right motorcycle gear, Sikh riders could be empowered to protect who they are.

Tough Turban is a marriage of ancient traditions and modern, high-tech engineering. It’s a turban made of impact-resistant materials that also fully respects the requirements of the Sikh faith.

A critical step was the development of the turban itself. Armed with a powerful concept, they assembled their team of industrial design experts with experience in 3D printing and composite fabrics used in bulletproof clothing. After a series of prototypes, a final design was developed. About half the overall fabric is normal turban material, but the outer layers include Dyneema, a 3D-printed carbon-fibre take on chain mail, and non-Newtonian foam, which is normally pliable but hardens instantly on impact. These are the elements that make it a tougher turban.

With the design complete, the next part of the plan was the communications needed to get the word out. A website was the anchor of the effort. It houses a video that profiles several Sikh riders discussing the need the Tough Turban addressed, as well as highlighting how the turban was actually engineered. Along with the video, open-sourced production files for the turban were published to enable manufacturers anywhere in the world to be able to produce the turbans in their own markets. PR support outlining the initiative launched in early June, including posts on all of Pfaff Harley-Davidson’s social channels.

The Tough Turban initiative has been a resounding success.Media response exploded overnight with coverage in 171 US media outlets, 54 in Canada, 18 in the UK and 11 in India totaling 238.8 million earned impressions and an advertising value of $2.19 million.

Quantitative research with people who own or are planning to buy a motorcycle showed a significant shift in perception after they’d been exposed to the Tough Turban initiative. 87% saw Harley-Davidson as more favourable (52% much more favourable and 35% slightly more favourable), 86% saw Harley-Davidson as more innovative (54% much more, 32% slightly more), 83% saw Harley-Davidson as more inclusive (54% much more, 30% slightly more), and 85% were more likely to consider buying a Harley-Davidson (47% much more likely, 38% more likely)

Three manufacturers have reached out to explore large-scale production, including the world’s largest producer of two-wheeled motorized vehicles. The potential to save lives through this idea is enormous. It could offer protection to millions of Sikh motorcyclists globally.

After hearing about Tough Turban, British Sikhs were inspired to ask their government to re-examine their turban laws.