Harley Davidson CEO Forced To Resign.
 

18 months ago Harley CEO Matt Levatich made the HD LiveWire a cornerstone of the iconic company's 21st-century strategy.

The livewire is a cutting edge Electric Motorcycle which initially got rave reviews from the the pro electric Media.

One Problem....Levatich literally bet the future of HD on the Livewire and it did not sell.

Yesterday HD abruptly announced that Levatich will leave his post and seat on Harley's board of directors.

Board member Jochen Zeitz will become acting president and CEO while a board search committee is formed and Harley hires an outside search firm to fill the job.

“The Board and Matt mutually agreed that now is the time for new leadership at Harley-Davidson,” Zeitz said in a prepared statement.

I worked at Harley in Parts & Accessories, Supply Chain, 2012-2015. Easily, the best working experience I had in 44 years.

The problems they are having have little to do with leadership and everything to do with the rapidly shrinking motorcycle customer pie. Had Matt not made the move into electric bikes, that would be touted as a reason for the decline. Previous leadership got them into 500 & 750 cc bikes built in India. Those haven't done much either.

They are smart and sophisticated at marketing their products; chased every market segment there was. Try as they might, the bulk of their customer base has remained aging baby boomers that could afford the product. That group is aging out, selling their bikes and moving on. When I was there, the #1 competitor for a new Harley was a gently used Harley. Supply has exceeded demand.

Next time you are at a car show, take a look around. Do not ask for whom the bell tolls.

They've been sinking themselves for years by their prices. I've built three Harleys and ridden plenty of other bikes over the years. When a buddy killed himself back in 06 I bought a brand new 07 Hayabusa to ride in his memorial ride to say f'u to him for doing it. I paid less than $10k brand new for the worlds fastest straight line production bike. I rode it for 15k miles and enjoyed every minute of it. Harley wants to charge double and triple that for old technology. No thanks. That's why used is their number one competitor. I still love a lot of things Harley, but my last one had the points cover that said "HD" put on upside down. My silent protest lol... My next Street Glide will either be used or built by me if for no other reason than principle.

William,

Suffice to say the proof is in the pudding. Take the IRONE for example.

Who in the world thinks this is a great sales hook for HD and a great way to spend R+D? Do you? Explain please. I am very interested.

The fact remains that the Bell has tolled - for Levatich.

Instead of competing for the motorcycle market that exists today He made recommendations to reinvent a portion of the business model that actually distanced HD from its core buying demographic and was justifiably fired because of those actions.

William,

One more thing this is where Levatich planned to take HD. This is the "Electric Scrambler Concept"

There was only a certain amount of "crazy" that the board of directors at HD were willing to put up with.

Call me crazy but I think that looks cool.


Harley was doing a deal with Alta Motorcycles awhile back but the deal fell apart. Alta ran out of funding and went bankrupt but not before developing a amazing electric dirt-street bike.

Charley

Good point on the collaboration attempt that failed.

Here is how I came to know HD as a kid. Like myself many kids got hooked on HD riding the BAJA - 100 (and its progeny) which was a competitive bike when raced by HD in the 1970’s, and the the SX series bikes which were the step to the sportster and the bigger bikes later on the street.

Hindsight is 20-20. How many kids like myself created riding skills on these small Harleys and then transitioned to the V twin? I think many.

In fact the Aermacchi Harley Davidson collaboration in the 1960's and 1970's was significant given the sales acceleration that HD had in the 1980’s through 2005 at least after the kids who rode the smaller bikes got hooked on the big bikes.

After HD abandoned the starter bike market in the late 1970's the kids still had 15 years to ride and wear out the remaining used small bikes.

This was my first HD:

That's funny! For decades Harley's core demographic has been fat old white guys. Everyone in any room there knows they have to 'distance' themselves from that group. I saw many marketing presentations demonstrating their efforts to reach not only a younger crowd but women, minorities, even LGBTs. I believe they re-designed the Sportster frame to better accommodate women, who are typically shorter. They are also making a big effort to develop ridership in Europe and China but tariffs, the exchange rate and antiquated laws are a challenge.

Another popular whine is that Harley has priced themselves out of the market. The 2020 Sportster has an msrp under $10,000. For the most part, Harley final-assembles bikes right here in the USA. The plants are unionized, workers are well-paid and have good benefits. You cannot have it both ways. I spent my entire career in manufacturing operations; it is very difficult to compete with countries that do not treat workers as well. The manufacturing plant I spent 20 years of my career in is now mostly empty; everything moved to Mexico for $3/hr.

Another reason for high cost is the exclusivity Harley buyers demand. Special models, trim, paint. Very easy to amortize tooling expense over 500,000 units, less so over 5,000.

I truly hope they find a way through this.

You might be seeing Mary Barra going through the same thing in a few years, just saying.

Regarding HD though, the Sportster has to be the worst design in starter bikes. The too-high center of gravity for a beginning biker is just a terrible design, so the redesign to better suit women is probably a better design overall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dua8yF8SAP4

Even today with a 40 year old bike look at the grin on these kids faces...even today.

They are still messing with them!

Agreed.

They are looking for a new CEO right now. Best of luck to HD.

That is my greatest fear. As of now Matt Levatich could stand a pretty good chance of being hired at GM.:rolleyes2:

I was like that, but was learning how to ride a clutched 5 speed Kawasaki Enduro at 10 years old after stepping up from a Z50 mini bike. Later went on to ride motocross before buying my first small street bike at age 17. I wanted a Harley back then but no way could I afford one even back in the 80's. It wasn't until I turned 40 that I could afford to buy a Harley outright and since then have bought a number of them.

Kids today see a hopped up HD bagger and more than a few have said "I wish I could afford one" with many of them knowing it's priced out of their income bracket while in their 20's and 30's. Hence the reason Harley created their own finance division. Their bike's are still over priced and to many, it's a statement to ride a Harley or most wouldn't even bother at the prices they cost today. As a matter of fact, I bought another bagger last year and this time chose a bone stock used 2014 FLHXS to customize. A lot cheaper to spend 14K on a gently used 5 year old stock bike than it was to buy the new one at nearly twice that amount.

I agree that Harley's used market is their biggest competitor. Doubt I'd ever ride an electric. Ever!

Even my kids are riding 2 strokes and hopped up 2 stroke scooters. I suppose they might ride an electric in their lifetime. I'm considering buying my son his first Harley in a couple years so he can ride with me on US road trips. Just to spend time with his old man and forge some adult memories while his face is in the wind.

As to what William said-when I was going to SEMA- I was able to attend some marketing classes that were run by some of the HD marketing folks. It were very interesting as to how they viewed their customers-and how they ran their marketing campaigns. In fact one of the recent (a few years ago) ads that they had on TV epitomized how they did what they did...it in effect said, "When our competition turns right, we go left!" So many commercials are all alike, so to capture a customers attention, you have to be different. That in effect is Harley. They march to the beat of their own drum.



Also keep in mind, H-D's motor clothes/parts and accessories make lots of money as well. Finally their branding is off the hook. H.O.G (Harley Owners Groups) are very strong and nationwide. The import folks owners groups can only wish that they could be one tenth as successful. The company I worked with spent thousands of dollars every year emulating our Harley stores owners groups to try to get the Import owners "clubs" to get more involved. It never worked.



You don't see too many folks with Honda/Kawasaki/Suzuki tattooed on their arm or back, but their are plenty of skin examples of the Harley logo everywhere you look at any motorcycle event. That's a marketing persons dream...free advertising and liking the product so much that they permanently put it on their skin :)


I really enjoyed those classes at SEMA. :biggthumpup:

Some good points there Bruce. This thread must have gotten my juices flowing a bit today. I had just put new custom seats on my putter last week and it was near 50 degrees when I got home this afternoon. With that said, I quickly took the bike off the charger and pulled it outside to fire it up and knock the dust off of it. It still sounds like nothing else when you fire up a V-twin with big cams and a good pipe on it. Still need to melt some more snow up here and clear the pea gravel off the pavement before I'm riding in 2020.

https://i.ibb.co/fGxh2vF/IMG-9355.jpg

Both of these comments are so true. "Harley" is a big part of peoples lives and even a lifestyle for a good portion of the buyers. It's not just a bike to put around on.
It may sound like I'm down on Harley, but I love Harleys. They will charge what the market will bare and I can't fault them for that. It doesn't mean I have to like it though.

You really can take the brand with you.

Sometimes the entire bike. https://gawker.com/dead-biker-buried...-ca-1513561570

I bought a new Sportster 48 model a few years ago and I like it for what it is. Also, the new Harley museum in Milwaukee is worth seeing.

My local HD dealer here had some vintage bikes on display in addition to the show room and the separate brand and accessory sales building. The policies put in place by Harley last year forced them to surrender the franchise due to new requirements to build a brand new dealership facility- an edict coming directly from HD.

The dealer now sells Royal Enfield and lawn equipment. Sad but true.

I do not understand how making it harder for people to access your product in a regional area, to see it and buy it can actually increases sales?

Like many on this site I have had a few Harleys, currently have one left. I was going to purchase a new one about a year and a half a go and visited a few dealerships. I found the culture of sales tactics, border line arrogance was less than desirable. Now I can negotiate with the best of them but these guys left me feeling like my business doesn’t matter, take it or leave it .The days of standing in line virtually for an HD are long gone and I suspect their market segment will continue to shrink.

Almost like the company decided to tell its core buyers, hey we do not want your business any longer. Not bright if you are going to stay in business and keep paychecks coming to folks who work for the company.

Part of the recent plan to re invent HD? "We hate our legacy customer" Makes you wonder.

I've owned 4 HD's in the last 4 years...all vintage. Just sold my last one (65 Police Special 2 weeks ago). Thought about buying new, but I just don't relate to the styling of those bikes and I too find the current sales approach a turn off. Hipsters sales people who "Jam" sporadically on the dealerships instruments that are set-up more centrally on the sales floor than the bikes! I was talking to one of them about a new Nostalgia last year when they broke into a song and I couldn't hear a damn thing the sales rep was saying!!!

I respect HD as they lead the cruiser industry forever, but I just could never get into the "HD or Nothing" mantra that everyone was chanting a few years ago. I remember going to a bike night when I had a Ducati and not one of the HD guys would even talk to me, not to mention that I have no idea how each owner of a black Harley could find his bike in the mass of black ones.

I still wanted an American-made big cruiser so I bought a Victory Vegas. I loved that bike, but when I got married and had my son, I sold it. Just too dangerous with the antique drivers (the people not cars) where I live. Maybe another someday, but since they canned Victory in lieu of Indian, even they lost me. I'll check one out when the time comes, but that whole deal stunk it up too.

Did the same thing Mark. Rode all thru the 90's until my son was born and packed them in. Started up again in 2015, but like many things...it isn't the same as it was back then :) Riding now is 10 times more dangerous then it was in the 90's...

I used to ride all over the US and Canada on a 900 Kawasaki in the 70's. Now I barely get to a stop light on my Harley. We're five miles from a stoplight where I live, though.

The texting and driving makes the odds of getting picked off much higher. I bought a Jeep, take the top off and me and my wife enjoy the experience almost as much as riding our Harleys.
Who knows tho, I may get a weak moment and buy one!

My driveway in 2016 and the 65 I just sold...

That 65 is sweet!!

Thanks Crush. This one was even nicer, but not nearly as rare as the tank shift bike...

The 50 wasn’t too shabby either....

Why did you sell them?

I sold the first 3 when I lost my job in 2016. I was out of work for 18 months, so it was sell the bikes or cash in some retirement funds. Made more sense to sell the bikes. I just sold the FLP because I had more into it than I felt comfortable with and our dollar dropped compared to the US dollar, so I could get out with only losing $1,000. I may hang up my helmet as I really don’t ride much because I live in the city and there are too many a-holes on the roads not paying attention! That said, I am keeping an eye out for another mint 90 Fat Boy for some garage art ��

Distracted drivers have become a HUGE issue to MC riders in the last decade & was a factor in me hanging up my helmet. I had become increasingly concerned about being ghosted by a 17-yo girl that might be texting “LMFAO” to a girlfriend with me in the wrong place/wrong time.

My cousin has 6 bikes and lives on a farm in the middle of the country. He rarely rides anyplace with traffic for this reason. He likes deserted two lanes in the middle of nowhere these days and by comparison twenty years ago he used to ride all over the country. Not any more.

You had some nice putters there Mark. I love the old FLH's and I'm a sucker for Knuckle's, Pan's, and Shovels. My buddy has a nice 66 FLH that looks similar to yours, and he has a few other early bikes including a 36 which is Uber rare.

Myself, I live 10 miles outside the nearest city, so for me, there are no traffic lights around. Hang a couple of lefts or a couple of rights and my face is in the wind. If I head 20 miles SW of my place, I'm entering the Rocky Mountains here in western Canada. Hwy 40 through Kananaskis is gorgeous and there aren't many places that give you that feeling of freedom as you head up to the pass at 7200' and down the other side on a 175-mile loop. Gotta keep your head on a pivot nowadays, and when you're not watching out for cars, your watching for animals cause they'll wreck you just as bad when you're cruising through their domain. Still fun to get out and ride...just have to use enough common sense to out-think all the lick-tards around us. That and I avoid city riding for the most part. Here are a couple of my rides...former and current. The first shot is from a ride we did in the fall of 2019 to Waterton Parks. About 90 minutes south of my place.

https://i.ibb.co/Lx35JPg/IMG-6315.jpg
Waterton Parks 2019. 103" Stage 3 Sleeper

https://i.ibb.co/nmmjcjb/Road-Trip-Day-3-4-099.jpg
Trip down the west coast back in 2009. 120" Performance Bagger

https://i.ibb.co/bPPrvWL/Misc-200.jpg
My old hot rod. 124" of pure nastynous. Would smoke the tires for 150' anytime / anywhere

If you know Harley's and the engine performance side of things, you see a common denominator on the 3 bikes I posted pictures of. Each of them has a D&D pipe on them, the first sign of the bike not being stock as these are the best 2 into 1 header pipes made for those who love big cams, high compression, and ported heads. The flamed bagger was 124" R&R stroker and made 132 hp with 124 ft-lbs of tire-shredding torque. I could keep up to Gixxer's with that bike and topped it out more than a few times at an undisclosed mph where the needle would be buried. I have a thing for horsepower and often enough have trouble leaving anything stock.

I've always ridden under the assumption that someone was trying to hit me.

The old bikes are tough to beat Graeme and you can have 2 or 3 for the price of one muscle car! I bought a Kendon trailer to tow my bike outside of the city to ride, but it is a pain in the ass to have to drive an hour each way just to go for a short scoot.

OK that’s it stop all the bike talk or I’ll make a beeline to the Harley dealer! Love the stories good stuff and also gets me thinking about summer which is just around the corner.

You definitely want to be more careful. You'll get lost in a pothole around the "D". Motor City and it has the worst roads in the nation. Ugh... :hmmm:

Was cubed up with a couple of former CVO engineers at Harley. Once asked them about factory performance exhaust. Meeting federal noise regs was a challenge until the gubmint said the fine would be $10k per bike/per day.

Scratch one very profitable product line.