It seems the Rewire is well underway. A few weeks into the reign of Harley-Davidson’s new CEO, the Bronx streetfighter has disappeared from the list of upcoming models on H-D’s website.
We first saw the Bronx streetfighter back in July, 2018, when Harley-Davidson announced three new motorcycles built around a new liquid-cooled platform: A custom-style cruiser, the Pan America adventure bike and the Bronx streetfighter. In November, 2019, Harley-Davidson told us the machine would have a 975cc V-twin with a performance target of 115 hp, and 70 lb-ft of torque.
A lot has changed since last fall, though. Longtime CEO Matt Levatich left the company in late February, 2020, even before the coronavirus pandemic hit North America with full force. Since then, it’s been a string of bad news for H-D: Production shutdowns, drooping sales charts, money problems, and so on. Incoming CEO Jochen Zeitz (formerly of sneaker-maker Puma) has made it clear that Harley-Davidson is changing its course, scrapping some of Levatich’s plans for new models and other programs.
So, what’s getting the axe? It seems H-D is scrapping plans to build the Bronx. It was on Harley-Davidson’s “Future Models” webpage, and now, it’s gone. Does that prove Harley-Davidson won’t make this machine? Maybe not, but the Pan America is still there, and so are Harley-Davidson’s electric scooters/e-bikes.
This goes in line with some of Zeitz’s comments, about wanting to pare back Harley-Davidson’s lineup, and focus on segments that make money. It would seem difficult for Harley-Davidson to compete with the current lineup of superbike-based Euronakeds, no matter how much the company might want growth. Maybe, the Bronx is the first machine to get chopped—the question is, what might be next?
This is the FIRST Hardley that I would ever consider buying (With the exception of a streetable XR750) and they killed it.
They finally make a bike that is not a “cruiser for dying boomers” and they kill it.
Good
Too bad, it’s the only Harley I might consider owning.
This is the FIRST Hardley that I would ever consider buying (With the exception of a streetable XR750) and they killed it. I guess they looked at Indian’s FTR1200 and decided “Gee, that looks really good. Too bad we don’t have the skill/brains/courage to compete with Indian anymore.”
They finally make a bike that is not a “cruiser for dying boomers” and they kill it. Sad.