Harley-Davidson

Anthracite Grey Harley-Davidson TB-2 Is the Unlikely Low Rider S Superbike

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com As part of autoevolution’s Custom Builds Month, we talked aplenty about a number of customized Harley-Davidson motorcycles handled all the way in Germany. The country is home to a very active shop called Thunderbike, who over the past 25 years has made a name for itself in the industry with literally hundreds of projects. On Monday, July 13, we talked about the TB-1 Superbike, a conversion of a Low Rider S the likes of which we don’t get to see that often. As it usually happens with Thunderbike ideas, the TB-1 has a sequel of sorts. It is called TB-2, naturally, and is, at least as far as the paint goes, a more conservative approach than it’s older sibling. Most of the changes designed for the TB-1 have been kept on this one. The bike’s stock wheels (19-inch front and 17-inch rear) have been replaced with bigger hardware, namely 21-inch front and 18-inch rear, to give the machine a “slimmer” look. Turning the Low Rider into a racer-style bike was achieved through the fitting of a lowering kit for the telescopic fork, Hyperpro shock absorbers with height adjustment, and of course a custom new front fairing. The listed of custom parts fitted on the motorcycle comprises around 20 elements, and even if we are not told how much the conversion cost, simple math (that is adding the prices of each of those parts) points to it being worth a little over 5,000 euros (roughly $5,600). That does not including the bike itself, the man hours spent on assembling it, and of course the base Low Rider. The thing that sets TB-2 apart the most from its earlier incarnation is of course the paint job. Whereas on the first iteration the shop went for a dark […]

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Sultans of Steel by Kromworks Is Superbly Crafted Harley-Davidson Custom Art

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by Elena Gorgan from https://www.autoevolution.com As much as you appreciate a good – and good-looking – motorcycle from any manufacturer out there, there is no denying there is but one way you’re guaranteed to stand out: with a custom build. That’s what Tedja Wijaya was also thinking when he approached his friend Andi from the custom shop Kromworks in Indonesia, with the request that he build him a bike that would truly be one of a kind. Andi and the team build for him the Harley-Davidson-based sportster known as Sultans of Steel. Sultans of Steel was completed and delivered at the beginning of the year but, given the location of the custom shop and the fact that 2020 has proved to be, generally speaking, the absolute worst, news failed to register on the international radar. The bike is so beautiful and beautifully executed that we couldn’t have overlooked it and not included it with similar pieces of art, detailed as part of our Custom Builds Month theme. The Sultans of Steel rolls on 23-inch (58.4-cm) rims with Avon rubber, and features an exposed Sportster 883 engine, H-D Softail rear shocks and catalog brakes, but otherwise it’s Andi’s work of art. It’s a superbly crafted piece of jewelry that stands as tribute to raw metal, and simplicity as the ideal means for said tribute. Crafted from stainless steel, with the occasional brass inlays for necessary contrast, the detailing on this bike is astounding. With curves and aggressiveness overload, it stands out for stark minimalism in the design, as well as the refusal to use any other material than those mentioned. There is a single downtube and a single backbone, while the double cradle design stands out for extreme curvaceousness. Both the vintage leather seat and the rear fender seem to float

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Harley-Davidson Rallies on BMO Upgrade, Expected Turnaround

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by Christiana Sciaudone from https://www.investing.com Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) shares rose 5% after an upgrade by BMO Capital. HOG was raised to outperform from market perform by analyst Gerrick Johnson, who also boosted his price target to $33 from $23, MarketWatch reported. The average price target is $26.75, while the highest is $34, according to data compiled by Investing.com. The stock was trading around $27.28 on Tuesday. Johnson is more positive on the motorcycle maker thanks to management changes and the “high level of credibility” that Chief Executive Officer Jochen Zeitz has brought to the company. While retail sales may not recover quickly, key metrics like used bike prices and dealer inventory levels should improve, showing proof of a turnaround, MarketWatch quoted Johnson as saying. Last week, Harley-Davidson said it would cut 700 positions across global operations, with about 500 expected to exit in 2020. The company said it is overhauling its global operating model to become a “leaner, more nimble” organization. HOG has seven buy ratings, 10 holds and one sell, according to data compiled by Investing.com. Harley-Davidson’s stock surges after BMO Capital upgrades, raises price target to highest in the Street by Tomi Kilgore from https://www.marketwatch.com Shares of Harley-Davidson Inc. HOG, +5.55% hiked up 3.4% in premarket trading Tuesday, after BMO Capital’s Gerrick Johnson became the most bullish analyst covering the motorcycle maker following an upgrade and price target boost. Johnson raised his rating to outperform from market perform and lifted his stock price target to $33, which is 27% above Monday’s closing price of $25.92, from $23. His target is now the highest of the 19 analysts surveyed by FactSet. Johnson said he’s more positive on the company after recent management changes, as new Chief Executive Jochen Zeitz has brought in “a high level of credibility” that investors have

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Harley-Davidson GP-Style Is the Radical Way to Make a Breakout

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com “Probably the most radical Softail who saw the light of day” – this is how the Germans from Thunderbike describe one of their builds from two years ago. And just by looking at the two-wheeler, you can tell they’re not far from it. Thunderbike has been in the business of customizing Harleys for more than two decades now. The shop seems to be determined to break some record or something, as they now have in their portfolio several hundred bikes customized in one way or another. For its work, Thunderbike uses both stock Harleys, which it modifies, or custom frames built in-house, which they generally gift with Harley hardware. The one in the gallery above is called GP-Style, and it is somehow related to the Grand Prix we talked about earlier this week – that bike, in turn, is an evolution of another build by Thunderbike, the Outerlimit. The GP-Style was completed back in 2018, and believed it or not, it used to be a stock Harley-Davidson Breakout from that year. According to the shop, “except for the last screw, the Breakout was disassembled; frames and attachments scanned and were taken as a base for our new parts.” And that shows, as this is nothing like what the American bike maker lets loose in Milwaukee. The motorcycle comes with more custom parts that we can count. The wheels – both sized 21-inches – are from the Digger series and come with many spokes – that allowed for the installation of a “huge” perimeter brake from Brembo. The engine is a Milwaukee Eight 114 from the Breakout series, sitting inside a custom frame drawing its fuel from a Thunderbike tank. The entire frame, so different from what Softails are over at Harley, rides on an air

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Racing Red Harley-Davidson Grand Prix Pushes the Outerlimit to the Extreme

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com Over the past few months, as part of our various special coverages, we’ve talked at length about certain custom motorcycles coming from Germany. As you can see, we’re not quite done yet, because the number of extreme builds a certain shop there is responsible for is huge. The shop is called Thunderbike, and this weekend we’re showing you a machine it unveiled at the 2016 Custombike show in Bad Salzuflen, Germany. It’s called Grand Prix, and it’s an even more radical interpretation of another build that goes by the name Outerlimit. The Outerlimit was made for one of the shop’s customers specifically to mirror the design and colors of a Lamborghini Aventador. Built on a custom frame, it sports a Harley-Davidson twin cam 120R engine linked to a 6-speed manual transmission, which gives the bike a power output of 140 ps and 190 Nm of torque. Likewise, the Grand Prix too uses the same Screamin’ Eagle, packed in a frame that offers a 1,780 mm (70 inches) wheelbase, 132 mm (5 inches) caster, a steering head angle of 36 degrees. That makes the overall design of the bike pretty similar to the Outerlimit, only there are exceptions, too. The most visible one is the color. Instead of the white used on the Lambo-mimicking bike, this one comes in racing red, hence the name Grand Prix. The wheels on the build are a tad different, too. The custom shop went for a new design, more aggressive, for the rims (they are sized 23 inches at the front and 21 inches at the rear) to give the motorcycle a more racing-like look. We are not being told how much the Grand Prix cost to put together, but we do know that a lot of CNC-machining, CAD design

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Harley-Davidson Vancy Has Both Thunderbike and Roland Sands in It

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com Just like garages specializing in tuning or rebuilding cars, custom motorcycle shops are a dime a dozen. Nowhere in the world are there as many in the U.S., though, and over the years some incredible two-wheeled machines have been revealed here. But that doesn’t mean the rest of the world is sitting idle. From Asia to Europe and Australia, shops are doing their best to come up with their own worthwhile designs. Most of the time, they fail, and the number of such high profile organizations outside the U.S. is not that big. In Europe, the most active Harley-Davidson shop are the Germans from Thunderbike. Over the past 25 years or so, they came up with literally hundreds of builds, both based on stock Harleys, or using custom frames and Harley engines. Being so active means Thunderbike was quickly noticed by the big names from across the Ocean, and the shop has been a constant presence in the H-D build-off competitions over the years. At times, some collaborations were born. So is the case with this bike here, one the shop calls Vancy. Based on a Harley-Davidson Iron, it came to be as a product that uses parts made by Roland Sands, the American motorcycle racer turned designer of custom motorcycles. Built as “the perfect example for the fact that you can get a new custom Harley with relatively small money,” it features a new suspension system, a new exhaust and a new air filter, but also parts meant to make it look better than stock, such as a new seat, new grips, and of course a custom paint job on the rear fender and fuel tank. We are not being told exactly how much this customization work is worth, but the Germans are know

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Harley-Davidson to cut hundreds of jobs as part of turnaround strategy

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by Rajesh Kumar Singh from https://www.reuters.com CHICAGO (Reuters) – Harley-Davidson Inc (HOG.N) on Thursday said it will lay off 500 employees this year as part of new Chief Executive Jochen Zeitz’s efforts to revive the struggling motorcycle maker. As part of the overhaul, Chief Financial Officer John Olin will leave the company effective immediately. Darrell Thomas, treasurer, will become interim chief financial officer, it said. Harley-Davidson’s sales have been declining for the past five years in the United States, its largest market, as its baby-boomer customer base ages. The economic pain caused by the coronavirus pandemic has further dented retail demand. In response to weak sales, the Milwaukee-based company has cut production, leading to 140 job cuts last month at its factories in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The latest cuts are in addition to those layoffs, a company spokeswoman said. Zeitz, who took over in February, is hailed for turning around the Puma brand’s near-bankrupt business. His restructuring strategy, dubbed The Rewire, is aimed at making Harley a leaner and more nimble organization. It seeks to reset product lines, focus on the company’s core strengths and prioritize profitable markets. “Significant changes are necessary, and we must move in new directions,” Zeitz said. Harley said the measures announced on Thursday will lay the foundation for a five-year strategic plan to revive sales that the company expects to share in the fourth quarter. In all, the restructuring will eliminate 700 positions globally. It will result in a $50 million restructuring charge in 2020, including $42 million in the second quarter. While the overhaul is expected to be completed by the end of the year, Harley said it will likely cause additional restructuring charges in 2021. The company will provide more details of the financial impact in its second-quarter earnings report later this month.

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Harley-Davidson Announces Rewire Progress

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from https://motorcycles.einnews.com Harley-Davidson Announces Rewire Progress, New Operating Model and Leaner Organization to Drive Focus and Efficiency Milwaukee, July 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As part of its comprehensive efforts to rewire the company (The Rewire), announced in April, Harley-Davidson, Inc. (“Harley-Davidson”) (NYSE:HOG) today announced an overhaul of its global operating model, including a leaner, more nimble organization. Initial Rewire actions are expected to result in restructuring costs of approximately $42 million in Q2 2020. The company plans to share a summary of The Rewire, including additional costs and expected savings, when it releases its Q2 results. “The Rewire is progressing very well and substantial work is being done to eliminate complexity and get Harley-Davidson on a path to winning. Our new operating model is simpler, more focused and enables faster decisions across the entire company,” said Jochen Zeitz, chairman, president and CEO of Harley-Davidson. “We’ve taken a hard look at our entire set up, our spending, and how work is getting done, to align our operating model, structure and processes. We are building a strong foundation to drive a high-performance organization in the future.” Changes to the company’s operating model under The Rewire include all areas of the business globally, from commercial operations to corporate functions. Changes have also occurred in the company’s leadership, among them, Chief Financial Officer John Olin has left his role, with current VP Treasurer, Darrell Thomas assuming duties as interim CFO until a successor is appointed. “Significant changes are necessary, and we must move in new directions. I thank John for his commitment during his 17 years with the company and for his leadership during this critical phase of The Rewire,” Zeitz said. Overall, the streamlined structure requires approximately 700 fewer positions across the company’s global operations with approximately 500 employees expected to exit the

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Harley-Davidson Glamor Is Shovelhead Reloaded

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com There’s something special about older Harleys. Maybe it’s their looks, maybe the engineering, or perhaps just nostalgia, but there are fans out there, not few, who would always choose an aging Harley over a newer one. And the same goes for custom shops. In America, there are countless garages who like to take these old Harleys and customize them beyond recognition, as shown in June’s The No Show online event set up by the Milwaukee bike maker. Elsewhere, however, things are a bit different. Take Europe, for instance. The continent is Harley-friendly, yes, but far less so than the home market. There’s no decades-old tradition there of riding these bikes, not in the way we have it in the U.S., and that means that custom shops, few as they are, usually steer clear of older H-D bikes when it comes to customizing them. Have a look at one of Europe’s largest custom bike shop, Thunderbike. These guys probably have hundreds of customized motorcycles made over the past 25 years, but most of them are recent Softails, because this is what customers in Europe like. But there are exceptions, and this here Super Glide is one of them. Also built by Thunderbike, it comes as a testimony of how older Harleys can be better platforms for customization than newer ones. The bike is an FXE from 1977, and it was given its current shape at the end of a three-month long build that took place in 2016. It sports a Shovelhead engine inside the stock frame, and custom parts all around. An S&S Super E carburetor, custom struts, special wheels and fenders, and of course a unique fuel tank are just a few of the over 20 aftermarket pieces of hardware that went into building the

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Harley-Davidson Black Power Is a Cheap Way to a Custom Motorcycle

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com This year’s King of Kings competition was one for the ages. A total of 15 bike builders from across the world, specialized in remaking Harleys, took the center stage with their incredible creations until one of them, the Apex Predator, was crowned ruler of them all. Being essentially a competition intended for the bike maker’s international network of dealers, King of Kings (known in previous years as Battle of the Kings) lacks the glamour of other things American. Thus there’s a good chance you didn’t know that much about the bikes and their builders, whom we’ve covered extensively back in May. This competition has been around for some time, though, and the shows of the past are equally as exciting in terms of projects as the one that just ended. Case in point the Harley-Davidson called Black Power we have in the gallery above. The bike is the work of German Harley shop Thunderbike itself was not an entry in the competition, but was inspired by one: the 2017 Thunderbike entry known as the Custom King. Black Power is based on a Harley-Davidson Iron 883, and has been designed in the usual Thunderbike way, with a wealth of custom parts making their way onto the two-wheeler, and then wrapped in a special paintwork which in this case is obviously black. Following the tradition of the Harley competition, there are fewer custom parts featured on this build than usual, but the result is equally stunning. We have new toppers and new covers for the ignition, new handlebar and new speedometer, new exhaust system and of course a reworked fuel tank, just to name a few. Thunderbike does not say how much the conversion of the Iron cost, but the parts listed by the shop do not

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