Is Harley-Davidson now bringing the Streetfighter Bronx back onto the scene?
On May 24, 2022, Harley-Davidson once again extended the naming rights for the Bronx in Europe until 2029, but that's not all.
Harley-Davidson continues to have massive delivery problems this year. There are only a few models that should have acceptable delivery times this summer, these are the Pan America 1250, Sportster S and Sportster Nightster. According to Harleysite information, the cards are currently being re-laid, and some incidents appear to require new strategies.
The Sportster models are not really in the water yet, but they don't seem to be as badly affected by supplier problems of any kind as, for example, the very popular Harley-Davidson Cruiser (Softail) models.
The Sportster Nightster should be at dealers from July
Sportster Nightster at Harley-Davidson dealers in July , and the announced accessories can already be ordered from the dealer. The focus currently seems to be clearly on the models with the Revolution Max engine.
Jochen Zeitz initially explained that he wanted to concentrate on the core customers and arouse desire among customers. He has undoubtedly achieved one of the two announcements; new and used Harley-Davidson motorcycles are among the most sought-after rarities these days. One can certainly doubt whether this is really the planned strategy behind the Hardwire plan.
Harley-Davidson is still tying up a lot of resources in the LiveWire division
The fact is that Harley-Davidson is relying heavily on the outsourced LiveWire project, although the electrical division is no longer directly part of the company, many resources in the Harley-Davidson company are still tied up in this area in the background to ensure that the new company is strong for the future positioning in the market. Jochen Zeitz obviously sees the future of electric motorcycles.
If we look at the political developments, he could actually be right; business will be good once the state starts subsidizing e-bikes.
But perhaps he is a bit over-motivated with the supposed green mobility idea because his core customers are not really ready for this step yet. Harley-Davidson is already very far ahead with the Harley-Davidson LiveWire ; the last and correct Harley-Davidson LiveWire models are currently being sold with attractively priced packages , which have been well received by customers so far.
One might therefore think that they don't need to be in such a hurry with further electric development, because we will still be able to allow conventional combustion engines for at least the next 8 years and if things go very well from the urban biker's point of view, even 13 years. Ultimately, this is about a hobby and not generally about vehicles for everyday use.
Is the company now pulling the BRONX out of the hat?
Harley-Davidson has to supply its authorized dealers with current models and at the moment there is a huge problem in this area. According to current information, people in Milwaukee are working on new strategies; it is currently not certain whether the planned Pan America with the 975cc Revolution Max engine will currently be launched in Europe. But there are new rumors that they want to pull the Streetfighter Bronx out of the hat again.
Strategically it could make sense as the target group addressed would be much larger. A Pan America 975 is certainly interesting for newcomers with a small driving license, but this target group is certainly not particularly large and every other customer can fall back on the 1250. If there is still free capacity for the 975 Revolution, the customer base for the Streetfighter Bronx model is certainly much larger.
The 1250 Revolution Max engine in particular meets all the requirements for a street fighter. Its easy-to-turn character fits incredibly well with a V2 class streetfighter. From 6200 revolutions it really gets going again, with Harley-Davidson having all the important ingredients for the step into a further division of the motorcycle classes.
Unfortunately, the only real problem is that we are generally talking about new customer groups here and hardly anything is delivered across the pond for the actual core customers.
The plans for the Bronx have been in the drawer for years, if they get the parts and assemble the Bronx for the European market in the USA, you could even expect the models this season, because the transport route from the USA would be half faster and you wouldn't have to send the parts to Thailand first. In any case, the Bronx naming rights for Europe were extended again on May 24th, 2022 until February 13th, 2029, which is why the already dusty folder has probably come back up.
This all costs time and money, one can ask oneself when the Harley-Davidson motorcycles will finally be delivered directly from the USA again, anything else makes little economic and ecological sense. So far it's just rumors and it would really be a surprise, but Harley-Davidson has to move more in order not to lose the trust of investors and with the addition of another division after the successful start of the Pan America it is definitely conceivable.
