GÖNRGY and Harley-Davidson: Why It's About Youth, Not Millions

GÖNRGY and Harley-Davidson are joining forces—an energy drink brand and a motorcycle icon. The goal of this partnership is clear: to rekindle young people’s enthusiasm for motorcycling and make the path to getting a driver’s license more visible. There is definitely no major sponsorship deal behind this, even though the community suspects exactly that. The collaboration first became visible with a Sportster S painted in GÖNRGY’s colors.

The collaboration in three areas

• This is not a paid advertising deal. Each partner covers their own costs.
• Essentially, the goal is to encourage young people to get their motorcycle licenses again.
• On display at Harley Days Willingen, July 8–12, 2026.

What GÖNRGY and Harley-Davidson Are Really About

This collaboration brings together Harley-Davidson and GÖNRGY, the lifestyle and energy brand centered around Marcel—better known in the scene as MontanaBlack. Both bring a large, very active community to the table. And that is precisely the point of this partnership.

The origin of this story is surprisingly personal. Marcel is currently working on getting his motorcycle license, partly with the hope of being able to ride with his father in the future. His father has been a huge Harley-Davidson fan for as long as Marcel can remember. It was this personal story that led to the connection with the brand—not some marketing plan.

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What makes this special is that Marcel isn't doing this on his own. He involves his community every step of the way, from theory to the test. This puts the spotlight on exactly the topic that the entire community is interested in: how to get young people back on motorcycles.

Here's what GÖNRGY has to say about the partnership

GÖNRGY shared this statement exclusively with us. The team sums up the philosophy behind the collaboration as follows:

„The partnership between GÖNRGY and Harley-Davidson grew out of a real-life story for us. By getting his motorcycle license, Marcel fulfilled a personal dream—partly so he could ride with his father, who has always had a great passion for Harley-Davidson. For us, therefore, it’s a very authentic step to create content together and help young people discover the joy of riding motorcycles.“

GÖNRGY Team

Not a million-dollar deal, but a real idea

No sooner had the partnership become public than rumors began circulating in the community about a massive sponsorship budget. This was further fueled by the fact that Monte repeatedly wore Harley-Davidson hoodies and other apparel during his streams. People quickly got the impression that he was there as a paid advertising icon.

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That's not the case. This is explicitly not a traditional advertising or sponsorship deal. Two brands with strong communities want to make a difference together and introduce a young audience to the world of motorcycles in the first place. If you look at the partnership this way, you'll understand it better than if you focus on how much money is supposedly involved.

From Dortmund to Willingen via the Snow Show

The collaboration was first unveiled at the Motorräder Dortmund trade show. On display there was a Harley-Davidson Sportster S—the 1,250 cm³ sport cruiser—featuring GÖNRGY’s distinctive design. The bike is a custom bike built by Harley-Davidson Hamburg Nord. Dortmund was the starting point, which is why the photos taken there fit so well with this story.

From the trade show, it was off to the big stage. The bike made its first spectacular public appearance at the Snow Show in Willingen. At this hill climb race held at the ski jump, specially modified motorcycles—including Harleys—battle their way up the slope. The competition reached millions of viewers via television and social media. By then, at the latest, it was clear that something bigger was happening, and speculation began within the community.

Now comes the next step. Since Harley Days Willingen, taking place July 8–12, 2026, is Harley-Davidson’s main event in Germany, GÖNRGY will be there as a prominent partner. The brand will make its presence felt and put the bike in the spotlight.

The Three Stops on the GÖNRGY Bike Tour

• Premiere of the Sportster S at the Dortmund Motorcycle Show, set up by Harley-Davidson Hamburg Nord.
• First public appearance at the Snow Show in Willingen, a hill climb race held at the ski jump that attracts millions of viewers.
• Next stop: Harley Days Willingen 2026, where GÖNRGY will be a featured partner.

The sore spot remains the driver's license

The real value of this partnership lies in the next generation. One of the biggest problems facing the motorcycle world is that fewer and fewer young people are getting their driver's licenses at all. This is exactly where the partnership comes in, because it introduces a very large, young audience to the sport.

I watched Marcel take the driver’s license test live on his stream alongside some teenagers. The first round went wrong right away, which, to be honest, was kind of endearing. And I’ll openly admit that I didn’t understand some of the theory questions at all. I was just as clueless as the young people in the stream. Some questions are simply worded in an implausible way and aren’t even written in language that’s really easy to understand.

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It's too expensive to get started

The second issue is the cost. With many mandatory training hours and a price ranging from about 2,500 to 4,000 euros depending on the class, the German motorcycle license is among the most expensive in Europe. The rules themselves are largely the same across EU driver’s license classes, but in Italy or Spain, you can get on a motorcycle with significantly fewer required hours and lower costs. If a collaboration of this magnitude helps bring more young people back to motorcycling, then that’s a win for the entire community. And yes, at this point, it’s perfectly fine to build a lobby to make getting started more affordable again.

Why the First Step Matters

One point in particular seems important to me. It’s not primarily about these young people hitting the road right away or drinking GÖNRGY. It’s about them getting their driver’s license in the first place and finding their way into motorcycling. Not everyone buys a Harley right after that—that’s only natural. But once someone enters this market and wants to ride, they rarely lose interest. What they start with is secondary; the main thing is that they’re actually on a motorcycle.

The real benefit for both brands

And that’s exactly where the real benefit lies—for both brands. Anyone who discovers motorcycling today through Marcel and GÖNRGY will always remember who introduced them to this hobby. That memory is tied to the name—to Harley-Davidson just as much as to GÖNRGY. That is precisely the real benefit that no paid commercial can deliver. It starts early, and it pays off for both brands for years to come.

My appeal to the community: Show a little understanding here. It's not about money, and it's not about showing off. It's about getting more young people to smell gasoline again.

Marcel's own bike and his performance in Willingen

In addition to the GÖNRGY Sportster S, Marcel had another bike built just for himself. It’s a Harley-Davidson Low Rider ST, built by Thunderbike, one of the most famous custom shops in Germany. It remains to be seen whether this bike will be on display in Willingen.

As for the performance at Harley Days: It’s not a huge event, but there are a few things planned around the bike—and we’re deliberately not giving everything away just yet. If you’re there, be sure to take a closer look at the GÖNRGY performance.

Why Reach Is So Valuable Today

On top of that, there’s a point that’s well known in today’s marketing world. People’s attention is fragmented, target audiences are scattered across countless platforms, and the organic reach of traditional channels has been declining for years. Reach has thus become the real currency. It’s rare to find someone who has a genuine, credible connection to a hard-to-reach young target audience, and collaborations like these usually don’t even get off the ground. So when someone with that kind of reach champions Harley-Davidson and motorcycling, it creates the kind of access that traditional advertising can hardly achieve anymore.

I'm familiar with this problem from my own work. The Harley target audience itself is hard to pin down—it’s diverse, has strong purchasing power, but is scattered across countless channels. That’s exactly where my strength lies with Harleysite. Across many channels, I’m able to reach a large portion of this community in one place. To be honest, what I’m less successful at reaching are the very young—my core target audience tends to start at age 35. And that’s exactly the gap filled by someone like Marcel, who has a connection with younger people whom I—and the traditional motorcycle world—otherwise hardly ever reach.

Give young people a chance

And that brings me to my real point. Let's just take it easy for a change. We need to give young people space again and be more open-minded, instead of excluding someone just because we suspect they might be making money.

Let’s reach out to the young people instead, just like at the Snow Show in Willingen, where lots of young people—including small children and entire clubs with their young members—came along and really got some attention there. That’s how you welcome people and show them that they’ve found their place in this scene.

We can be a little more optimistic again. When someone with such a connection to young people is enthusiastic about the brand and about motorcycling, that’s a stroke of luck we should all be happy about.

— Wolf

Motorcycle Licenses in Europe: A Cost Comparison

Motorcycle licenses across Europe follow the same categories: A1 for riders 16 and older, A2 for riders 18 and older, and the unrestricted Class A, which is obtained in stages. What varies significantly are the required training hours and the costs. Germany is at the higher end of the spectrum in this regard.

• Germany: Class A, approximately 2,500 to 4,000 euros depending on the scope, plus many mandatory special driving exercises on country roads, on the highway, and at night.
• France: A2 with at least 20 hours of training, including 8 hours at the training ground and 12 hours on the road.
• Italy: A2 requires only about 6 hours of mandatory practical training, a theory test with 30 questions, and a maximum of 3 allowed mistakes.
• Spain: A2, roughly 400 to 800 euros; after two years, promotion to the open class.

It's not that the rules are more lenient elsewhere, but getting started in Italy and Spain involves significantly fewer required hours and lower costs. As of July 2026.

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Frequently Asked Questions About the GÖNRGY-Harley Partnership

Is this partnership a major sponsorship deal?

No. This is not a traditional advertising or sponsorship deal. The main goal is to get young people excited about motorcycling. Each partner covers its own costs.

Which motorcycle is the focus of attention?

A Harley-Davidson Sportster S with a 1,250 cm³ engine, built as a custom bike in the GÖNRGY design by Harley-Davidson Hamburg Nord, first unveiled at the Motorräder Dortmund trade show.

What's the story behind Marcel's own Harley?

Marcel is also having a Harley-Davidson Low Rider ST built by Thunderbike. This is his personal bike, which he is paying for himself, and it features the GÖNRGY design, separate from the display bike.

Where will this collaboration be seen next?

At Harley Days Willingen, July 8–12, 2026—Harley-Davidson’s main event in Germany.

As soon as Harley Days gets underway, we'll be reporting on the GÖNRGY appearance in Willingen. If you stop by, you can hear the story behind the bike right at the booth.

Photos: Harley-Davidson