Harley-Davidson has been in the news a lot lately, and not always for great things. The company's coffers have seen a routine decline in recent years, if not decades, largely in part due to its intransigence toward change. Cruisers, and the lifestyle the brand has cultivated with the Boomer generation, have remained the steadfast direction, even as that market slips.
To its credit, the Motor Co. has offered other options, including the pretty damn great Pan America platform. But one motorcycle that still costs as much as the rest of the bagger lineup, things that only the wealthy can afford, doesn't make for a sound business model. And its delving into electrification has been...not the best, as even those started pricey, come down to more reasonable MSRPs, but failed to capture the audience it most desperately needs: The youths.
I've opined about this topic a lot since taking over RideApart, as I've hope the brand could see the forest for the trees. I still very much like Harleys, the brand, and the American spirit that's baked into the company's DNA. And I've come to the brand's defense when idiotic D-tier political commentators believed that it was Harley's going woke that caused its financial issues. It freakin' wasn't.
So I was especially happy to read Jim Farley's, Ford's CEO and member of Harley's board, take on the situation, and speak about how for the company to survive another 100 years, it needs to change. I couldn't agree more.
Farley joined the Harley-Davidson board in 2021, as he was nominated to serve by Harley's outgoing CEO, Jochen Zeitz. It's unclear whether or not Zeitz ever listened to Farley or sought his counsel, but Farley's tenure at his own Ford has been one largely of success. The only failure to speak of is one that parallels Harley's with Ford's Lightning electric F-150 which was recently discontinued.
But Farley is a businessman that knows what's what, and he's been largely able to weather many of the same storms that Harley-Davidson has been through, as Ford is a company steeped in heritage, and often plagued by history and its own customers' whims and wants. Unlike Harley-Davidson, though, Ford isn't beholden to those same aging actors, and has routinely risen to the moment and offered new generations ways into the Ford fold, i.e., the Fiesta and Focus STs, as well as the new Bronco Sports, and Raptor family lineups.
That's all to say, Ford's CEO has some thoughts on what Harley needs to do to ensure it has another 100 years of operation.
Speaking with Argentina’s La Nación, the executive stated, "Harley-Davidson, like Ford, is a global icon, but they also have to change. They can’t stay the same. They can’t live in the past. They have to live in the future." Now, Farley doesn't elaborate on that point, but his point is a valid one. Stagnation doesn't lead to growth, only to death.
Harley's lineup is basically iterations of the same bike with slightly different motors and slightly different body cladding options, apart from the Pan America. But if you look at BMW or Honda, which operate on far larger scales, there are cruisers, sport bikes, off-roaders, and so much more. And each of them are investing more and more into their respective quote-unquote entry-level models, as those are the hottest things in the market right now. Why? Because of a few reasons, including folks not wanting just large-displacement heavy motorcycles, and no one can afford those $30,000 to $40,000 heavyweights that Harley loves to advertise.
Wages are down, inflation is up, and the price of everyday expenses is too burdensome for most to afford such luxuries.
There's still room in the market for those cruisers, but Harley-Davidson desperately needs to diversify its lineup. And, supposedly, it's working on that, as an entry-level bike was announced before Zeitz left, and new CEO Artie Starrs came in. That's good news, as that market is red hot and could help Harley out of the hole its dug for itself. I'll also say that a smaller displacement Pan America, something with the brand's smaller V-twins, wouldn't be a bad idea if Starrs or Farley or any board member is listening to me.
Change, in the end, is inevitable. At least if you want to survive. We adapt or we don't, it's that simple, and I hope Starrs listens to his board, I hope he listens to the market, and I hope Harley has another 100 to 200 years of operation. It's quintessential Americana, and I don't really want to live in a world without it.
