I get a lot of flack from the Harley-Davidson faithful. A lot of it. Through emails, in RideApart's comments section, on social media, and yelled at me while I'm out on the street. Everyone has an opinion on my, and this site's, Harley coverage.
I, however, stand by it.
Despite what some may see as spiteful criticism, I'm a fan of the Motor Co and its long history of building motorcycles. One of the first bikes I rode after I learned to ride in the first place was a Sportster, which I very much enjoyed. And I've ridden numerous Harleys since, having both great and not-so-great times—that's the case with nearly every manufacturer.
Harley, however, just can't seem to get out of its own way in recent years. OK, maybe recent decades is more of an honest assessment. And that incapability of figuring out its footing is something that we've covered extensively, both because it's news, and also because we do actually care about the brand's future.
We're enthusiasts through and through, and a world without Harley is one that's a little dimmer.
But the brand's flailing direction shows in its current lineup, its annual earnings, and the general outward talk by its executives whenever something negative comes up. There have been lawsuits both fighting Right-to-Repair and against those hurt by poor engineering. The whole Harley's Gone Woke! crusade by a bunch of Z-list internet trolls. Moving part of the company's production to Thailand to go around tariffs and import duties. The failure to bring anything out that'd satisfy a younger crowd, i.e its X350 and X440. The Pan America being essentially forgotten after a baller launch. LiveWire as a whole. Don't get me started on Alta.
And the list goes on and on, unfortunately.
Harley-Davidson can't keep operating in this manner. It can't keep plodding a path that doesn't change its direction. What's the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different outcomes. I want Harley-Davidson to succeed, though. I want to see the company flourish.
Which is why I wanted to write this story, a story I've been toying with for a year as I've watched the company far more closely than ever before. A story where I play a role as Harley's CEO Jochen Zeitz's mirror. Where I have the power to steer the Motor Co. out of the proverbial storm. Offering my own view of where Harley should head.
You see, despite the rhetoric online, Harley-Davidson needs diversification. It's the only way it'll survive.
Diversify and Add Lightness
Harley's current lineup is heavy. It's heavy with models designed for a single specific group, and also heavy in displacement. Neither of those things bode well for long-term health, though neither should be eschewed completely.
Our current age is one that's marred by inflation. Nearly everything these days costs ten arms and five legs. And I don't know if you know anything about human anatomy, but most of us only have two of each.
It's made luxury or fun goods—you know, things like motorcycles—that much harder to obtain, as we all fight and claw our way through life's necessary expenses, including housing, rent, food, water, and the like. That makes a lineup that consists strictly of $20,000 to $40,000 cruisers—and one lonely adventure bike—a hard pill to swallow.
Yes, I know there are cheaper Harleys, but they're not that much cheaper. A Nightster carries an MSRP of $10,000, but in all the dealerships I've ever been in, I've never seen one for less than $15,000. The world's moved on from this price range of motorcycles. They've moved on from the over-priced cruisers. No one can afford them.
Yet, in the same breath, people still want motorcycles. They want the freedom they provide. But they want something cheaper, which is why Triumph, CFMoto, Royal Enfield, Honda, Kawasaki, and others are offering such machines and having banner years.
Even BMW and KTM are getting in on the cheap-bike games, much to their elation as the class has become one of the hottest markets. And granted, Harley's been here before with both the Street 750 and 500. But those bikes were pretty half-assed, to be blunt. They were just worse, cheaper versions of the rest of the lineup. Nothing stood out apart from them being bad. And it showed as everyone who rode them wasn't fond of them, and Harley pulled the plug on each of the bikes in 2021.
But imagine a sub-$10,000 Harley-Davidson. Imagine an entry-level Harley built for the masses.
Oh wait, we don't have to. The X440 and X350 exist. Which brings me to my next point.
Harley's lineup has two distinct issues when it comes to engineering: weight and displacement. Nothing in the Harley lineup is under 100 cubic inches or 1,000cc. Everything has over 100 horsepower. Everything weighs a metric ton.
How does Harley-Davidson, which has one of the best motorcycle training schools around, expect someone to go from the company's X350 and X440 trainers (in the markets where they're offered)—both of which have sub-50 horsepower and are featherweights—and immediately head into a dealership for something that's twice or three times the weight, not to mention twice the horsepower?
It's not only dumb, it's bad business.
But, say Harley-Davidson relents and finally brings those two small-displacement motorcycles stateside. Say they offer them at a discount to new riders who take a Harley Riding Academy course. Build it into the program's fees. Imagine the outcome then. Folks would be able to go from their training to purchasing a bike they intimately know all within the same afternoon. They'd be able to capture these people within the Harley ecosystem, starting at the bottom, but getting into it early and potentially staying there for life.
Harley could, potentially, have made lifelong customers. And customers which, despite the naysayers, wouldn't dilute the brand but would instead help Harley expand to new folks and demographics—something Harley sorely needs despite the anti-woke campaign—instead of only barking up the same old white guy tree. The same tree that's actively dying off or aging out of riding. The same tree that's put Harley in the position it's currently facing. The tree that isn't buying motorcycles anymore.
There's also opportunity elsewhere.
Do Right By the Pan America
Withering on the vine is the only way I can describe what's up with the Pan America. The bike, which I've enjoyed in the past, has such potential as an entire lineup. But instead, it's wasted away in the shadows ever since its debut. Harley-Davidson sorta finally made some concessions this year with the Pan America 1250 ST, making it into more of a sport cruiser, but there are still so many other avenues it can take. One of which would be a smaller version, echoing my points above.
Just as with my prior arguments regarding other Harley models, the Pan America is too big, too expensive, and too heavy. It's a good bike, but you have to already be in that full-size adventure bike market to want one. And then you also have to want to pay the Harley premium for one. That's a small niche. Yet, there's room for Harley to grow the lineup with a middleweight version—the hottest market in adventure bikes—as well as a small displacement version ala the KTM 390 Adventure R by using either the X440 or X350 platforms.
For a middleweight competitor, Harley could even save a lot of R&D by adopting one of its smaller engines from the Sportster, and then doing away with the trick auto-leveling adjustable suspension and trunkful of technology that it's crammed into the big Pan Am.
Less horsepower, less weight, less complexity, and less cost of development would produce something I believe would be far more attractive to the market than strictly a full-size adventure bike that starts at $20,000. Harley could develop its own Yamaha Tenere 700 or Honda XL750 Transalp fighter.
There's hunger for off-road. There's hunger for lighter, more nimble motorcycles. Harley has the parts. It has the know-how. It wouldn't be that hard. And adding to the Pan America lineup would further diversify the company's clientele beyond the old white guy demographic that, again, is currently killing it.
You know where that brings me.
Diversity Matters in Your Customers
I'm so sick of hearing folks complain about diversity. It's what makes this world fucking great. Without diversity you wouldn't have tacos or banh mi, you wouldn't have beautiful artwork, you wouldn't have the lunar landings, and you wouldn't have motorcycle culture as we know it.
But more than that, Harley can't afford to not diversify its customer base. Seriously.
Awhile ago, the brand used to disclose the median age of its owners. In 1987, the year I was born, over half of Harley owners were under the age of 35. By 2006, that number was down to 15%. Two years later, Harley stopped telling folks median ages, as the last reported was 46.7 years old. That number is likely around the same or higher as of 2025, as both the price of Harley's offerings have risen, the median salary has stagnated, and cost of living has soared. And through it all, Harley-Davidson hasn't changed its marketing, which is full of old white dudes with beards, as that was the traditional customer.
But those guys already have motorcycles. They all have Harleys and the regalia you associate Harley with. You're not going to be able to sell to them forever. Yet, Harley has tried. And despite the claims of "going woke" in so much as they've added a black person or woman to some of the company's marketing materials, it just hasn't moved the needle enough to save the company from continual falling revenue and motorcycle sales. I mean, a 60% decline is a helluva drop.
And Harley's statements after the whole "Woke" campaign were beyond tone-deaf.
Harley-Davidson can no longer just serve the very loud core cruiser market. It has to expand to new demographics in order to survive. That's a tall order given the current climate when any sort of push against the fragile white-male ego, sure, but what's the alternative? Death, death is the alternative. A world without Harley-Davidson. A world without the brand's history and heritage. A world that's changed for the worse, just because some third-rate internet assholes called you names like 'woke.'
Come on, you're Harley-fucking-Davidson. You made motorcycles to fight in World Wars. You kicked off a counter-culture movement. There isn't a motorcyclist in the world that doesn't know your name. It's time to plant the flag and get to work.
I do believe Harley-Davidson can weather its current storm. I believe in the company and I want to see it succeed. I do think it should give up on LiveWire, but I've already written that story. That's why I'm waiving my normal consulting fee and giving Harley's executives—hello, Jochen—this playbook because I do think it's a winning strategy. Harley just needs to execute it.
Get on it, Harley, and let's see you stay around for another 122 years.
