Opinion / Harley-Davidson LiveWire: can America’s most iconic motorcycle brand ignite Gen Z with its first electric bike?
- New Harley-Davidson CEO Jochen Zeitz’s Hardwire project hopes to slim down and ‘rewire’ the brand as it faces an ageing customer base and environmental concerns
- The brand’s first electric bike, LiveWire, shows promise – but to sell it Harley needs to appeal to a younger, hipper, urban and more conscious consumer
This article is part of STYLE’s Inside Luxury Column.
In 2012, when I moved from Europe to the US, one of the first things I bought was a Harley-Davidson Softail Slim. It was a transformational purchase. It deepened my love of motorbikes. And it opened a new world – being the proud owner of a Harley.
It was love at first sight. I did not plan to buy a motorbike, I was just curious to experience the legendary brand. When I entered the showroom on a weekday evening, I saw the bike and the desire was immediate. I did not even have a motorbike license, so I decided to get one over the weekend. When I had it in my hand – after the brief three-day training programme common in the US – I went back to the showroom on the Sunday afternoon, paid for it and rode home.
I still remember it as the most unique purchase I have ever made. The bike was handed over with an initiation ritual at the showroom and the general manager told me that my life would never be the same again. He told me that owning a Harley was like belonging to an exclusive club, where strangers from all walks of life unite around their fascination with freedom and the iconic American brand.
Soon enough I started customising the bike, which not only made it more mine, but also catapulted the total spend well into the realm of luxury purchases. Even today, the customer experience at that Harley-Davidson showroom stands out, even in comparison with many luxury car brand experiences.
However, the brand – as Jochen Zeitz, CEO since March 2020, has pointed out recently – needs to bring back “desirability”. It seems that over the last few decades, Harley-Davidson has been relying a little too much on tradition to connect with young customers. It also boasts a bloated product range with a significant spread in prices, and presence across too many regions and countries. As a result, the brand needs not a “rewiring” as Zeitz and his team originally felt on taking over, but a more substantial overhaul.
Analysing my own thoughts on the beloved brand, I realised that no motorbike Harley had launched since the Softail Slim sparked a desire in me to buy another bike. No apparel line inspired me to buy. Even as a proud owner, it seemed that the brand was fading away.