Details of Harley-Davidson's "Back to the Bricks" strategic plan are now emerging, and while I'm still suspicious of the idea that the company can double profitability this year, and then double it again by 2029, two concepts should, at the very least, help put it on better footing. Or arrest its continued fall from grace.
Chiefly, Harley-Davidson's new CEO Artie Starrs wants to bring back the Sportster, and is saying the upcoming entry-level Sprint will be under $10,000. Those, combined with Harley-Davidson's Nightster, would give a lot of folks the ability to get into the brand for under $12,000, something the brand has continually failed to do in the last twenty years.
But in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Starrs has two interesting asides about the Sportster's return and life, as well as the upcoming Sprint motorcycle that might prove to forecast rocky seas, the first being that the Sportster was a loss-leader motorcycle, and that Harley hasn't quite figured out just how much the Sprint will be when it hits dealerships.
