ROAD NEWS
HARLEY-DAVIDSON’S NEW HEAD HONCHO
T
here is a new man in charge at America’s
most famous motorcycle manufacturer,
with the keys to the Harley-Davidson
castle officially being handed to the
company’s German born Chairman.
Harley-Davidson announced that the Motor
Co.’s new President and CEO will be current
H-D Chairman Jochen Zeitz. The Germanborn
executive has been technically in charge
of Harley since he took over as acting head
of the company after the abrupt departure
of previous CEO and President Matt Levatich
in February, but the announcement cements
him as the man to lead Harley-Davidson
going forward.
Zeitz officially takes control as Harley’s new
president and chief executive officer during a
tumultuous time in the company’s history.
Sales have dropped heavily in recent years
along with Harley-Davidson recently taking
more financial hits after being used by
politicians as a target of trade wars. With
many forecasting the death of the iconic
American manufacturer if its fortunes
aren’t turned around the company recently
embarked on revamping its image along
with reinvigorating its product lineup.
With many of the most recent new models
being modern updates on previous Harley
products, the new Pan America adventure
tourer and Bronx Streetfighter models offer
a glimpse of the internal combustion future
of Harley-Davidson. Both bikes are built upon
the new Revolution Max engine platform
– which comes in 950cc and 1250cc forms –
and were previously expected to arrive later
this year.
80 KIWI RIDER