[LiVE]

I was at my dealer yesterday and they have several LW's on the floor (funny thing is that all the sales guys seem to have a love-hate relationship with it....it's not a real HD but it is more fun than anything else on the floor!). Anyway, I saw a sold ticket on one and was told that they are not technically allowed to sell it yet and that no new LW can be sold under the new brand until something is cleared up on the business end with the spinout. First I heard of this and so was wondering if there is any truth. I have found HD sales staff to be less than reliable.

FWIW...my #421 is still rocking like it is brand new and I am very happy to have the HD branded original. I hope LW takes off someday

 

[BHigerd]

The love-hate relationship, I'm convinced, is common among the Harley dealership crowd. If they have one and it runs, it's generally a love thing (example: Adamec Harley President, Jacksonville, FL). The current Harley Davidson CEO made a HUGE mistake disenfranchising the "Harley" name from the bike when the world is declaring war on fossil fuels. Shows a real lack for future thinking. Maintaining the division, with R&D, was estimated at a mere $300M (+/- $50M). That's a small price to keep moving into the main future automotive technology as a leader in the field. If I were on the Harley Davidson Board of Directors, I would vote to fire the current CEO, bring back the former CEO on an interim basis, and really look at the future.

 

[Phaedrus]

I was at my dealer yesterday and they have several LW's on the floor (funny thing is that all the sales guys seem to have a love-hate relationship with it....it's not a real HD but it is more fun than anything else on the floor!). Anyway, I saw a sold ticket on one and was told that they are not technically allowed to sell it yet and that no new LW can be sold under the new brand until something is cleared up on the business end with the spinout. First I heard of this and so was wondering if there is any truth. I have found HD sales staff to be less than reliable.

FWIW...my #421 is still rocking like it is brand new and I am very happy to have the HD branded original. I hope LW takes off someday

That's funny. My 2022 LW1 was delivered to me last week, by my Harley dealer.

And my LW1 needs some warranty service, and my HD dealer is taking care of that just fine.

 

[BHigerd]

That's 100% correct! The "vested partner" Harley turned to was used by the current CEO in what is one the dumbest business moves I've seen in years just to temporarily lower prices (a short-term fix). Harley still owns Livewire (majority, I believe). Just buy it back, make it better each year, and expect a future for EVs with Harley the leader in 2 wheel versions. Or sell clothes.
Dang guys, I helped Freightliner enter school bus chassis. This is a no-brainer. Your current CEO just can't see it.

 

[Phaedrus]

The Harley "divestment" of Livewire seems a smart financial move by HD. It retains 74% ownership, while taking Livewire public and gaining maybe $500M in capital for Livewire expansion and development. Plus the sales method effectively let HD increase its assets by, some say, almost $2B while avoiding regilatory issues that would have been faced by Livewire going public through an IPO.

Livewire is still looked at by the public as being HD's EV motorcycle, so there is no brand identity problem there. And a good bit of corporate America doesnt even really understand that Livewire EV is truly an independent company (on paper at least).

So, all around it looks like HD did some smart financial planning to rapidly expand its footprint in the EV motorcycle arena.

Now to see if dealers will really embrace livewire in the future.....

 

[BHigerd]

Best part of this site, is we can agree to disagree. And yet it's still about a crazy motorcycle!

EDIT: Still feel the same, but I have to give you one. I just received a text from a contact at Adamec Harley, where possibly the most Livewires were sold (?), a complication of multiple Jacksonville, Florida HD Dealerships. The have a bunch and there might be a good deal for someone. And yep, they are selling the next generation of Livewires without the dumb hole in the fender as soon as they sell off my version.

I still think Harley should have kept it clear they are developing EVs. Because on Cape Cod, home of a bunch of Boston educated self-proclaimed thinkers, they seldom even realize Harley makes an EV. It's ONLY because it says "Harley Davidson" and Harvard taught them to read that they make the connection.

 

[Tacjitsu]

FWIW...my #421 is still rocking like it is brand new

NICE!

 

[xophere]

It is a huge split. But in truth the HD name may never work with this market. And if the company wants to survive they could use the capacity that becomes available as the sell less HD's to make LW's. Eventually HD dies and LW is the future. Certainly brand is valuable. But can the brand ever be electric high tech motorcycles? I might agree two brands with a strong relationship might make more sense. While the dealer was friendly it was clear they didn't know how to sell to people outside of the customers they understand.

 

[wk8314]

I was at my dealer yesterday and they have several LW's on the floor (funny thing is that all the sales guys seem to have a love-hate relationship with it....it's not a real HD but it is more fun than anything else on the floor!). Anyway, I saw a sold ticket on one and was told that they are not technically allowed to sell it yet and that no new LW can be sold under the new brand until something is cleared up on the business end with the spinout. First I heard of this and so was wondering if there is any truth. I have found HD sales staff to be less than reliable.

FWIW...my #421 is still rocking like it is brand new and I am very happy to have the HD branded original. I hope LW takes off someday

 

[xophere]

Good luck and that sucks. I hope they get it sorted for you.

 

[Wavshrdr]

FYI - Adamec in NE Florida still has some new leftover HD LiveWires. DM me if you want a great salesperson to work with.

As for what people associate with the HD brand I think can evolve over time. Maybe the LW was a bit before its time with HD but at the same time, I did think it shifted the market's perception of what HD can build. So when they actually made a great electric bike (sure a few faults with it) it made a lot of non-HD buyers actually look at the brand and got a lot of attention. Maybe the traditional HD owners weren't a fan but it did bring new blood into the brand which it desperately needs.

So when Harley came along with the Pan America, who would have thought they could have actually built a great ADV bike. I think that surprised me as much as the LW did. For the HD traditionalists it at least had a v-twin at its core but totally a new direction. I can't tell you how many friends I have who never would have bought a Harley plunked down a deposit on the Pan America. They were selling their BMW GSs or Multistradas. Harley really put some thought into that bike and I am seriously considering selling my Multistrada and buying one.

Harley maybe had 1 or 2 bikes in the last 40 years that I was seriously interested in buying until recently. Now since 2020 they've built 2 that I am interested in and I bought 1 of them and the other is highly likely. So glad to see them thinking outside of their previous mindset.

 

[xophere]

Yep and I certainly never would have been in a Harley dealership without it. Exposure is real. My type would be way closer to BWM or a bike from Asia. But I was happy to support a US built bike. I allowed my mind to expand the notion of buy local to add as a positive to the consideration.