Jared “the Jammer” Mees Unequivocally Takes First Place in Both Races, Earns 50^th Career Win;

Indian FTR750 Factory & Privateer Riders Sweep Back-to-Back Podiums

BARBERVILLE, FL (July 20, 2020) – Indian Motorcycle Racing, presented by Progressive Motorcycle Insurance, kicked off American Flat Track’s 2020 opening weekend in commanding style – earning back-to-back podium sweeps.  As the sport’s premier race bike, the Indian FTR750 took the top six and top nine spots on Friday and Saturday night, respectively.

Ultimately taking control of both races was five-time Grand National Champion and Wrecking Crew Rider Jared Mees, who earned his 49^th and 50^th career wins. During the Volusia Half-Mile I, Mees displayed a seemingly effortless win as he separated himself from the pack on his way to a commanding victory.  On Saturday night, at the Volusia Half-Mile II, Mees started the Main from the second row behind, but was able to slide through the field and take home his second win of the weekend.

“Our team has been chomping at the bit to get out on the track and race since the season was postponed,” said Gary Gray, Vice President – Racing, Technology and Service for Indian Motorcycle. “To get out there and have the success we did two days in a row really made a statement.”

Joining Mees in the box in both races was reigning Grand National Champion and Wrecking Crew Rider Briar Bauman, who finished second both nights. During the Volusia Half-Mile I, Briar held third place until the final lap where he was able to overtake Indian FTR750 privateer Sammy Halbert to finish second. Briar had another competitive outing at the Volusia Half-Mile II, where he ran in second for a vast majority of the Main.

Mees starts off the season as the series points leader with 50 points, while Briar Bauman is in second with 40 points, followed by fellow Wrecking Crew teammate Bronson Bauman who sits in fifth with 27 points.

The season looks to continue on August 28, in the Northeast, at a to-be-determined track. For more information on Indian Motorcycle Racing, visit IndianMotorcycle.com and follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

There is so much political stuff going around, I just had to send this for balance. Let’s do some philosophy and statistical work….

Whether times are good or bad, happy or sad, let’s stay together…

My life is incomplete and I’m so blue, ‘cause I can’t get next to you, babe… credit the Temptations

–El Waggs
Best Breast Editor
Bikernet.com™

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Indian Motorcycle will be at the 80th Sturgis Rally. Due to the current circumstances, there will be no official owners ride or event. If you are planning to attend Sturgis, here are some additional details:

Sturgis patch will be available at the dealership

Demos will be available at the dealership and on Lazelle Street

VIP Demos for owners will be at the dealership

Owners that sign up for Elite Status at the dealership during Sturgis will get a special gift while supplies last

Ride safe & we hope to see you at the Sturgis owners event in 2021!

This year at the 80th Sturgis Rally, Indian Motorcycle has a VIP Demo Experience that is only for our owners. You have to sign up online before the event to reserve your spot.

An invite-only VIP demo experience for Indian Motorcycle Owners.

About this Event – August 7 to 15.

Because you’re an Indian Motorcycle Owner, you’ve been invited to an exclusive VIP Demo Experience hosted by Indian Motorcycle at the Sturgis Rally.

With this invite you get:

– A thorough walk around of whatever model you choose to ride

– A self-guided, one-hour demo ride

– A special gift

Date: VIP Demos are available almost every morning of the Sturgis Rally from 7:30 – 8:30am. *Please arrive early.

Where: The Indian Motorcycle Sturgis dealership, 2130 Main St, Sturgis, SD 57785

To sign up for the VIP Demo Experience, click the green register button above to sign up for a motorcycle to demo (while they last).

There is limited availability, so please RSVP quickly!

When: Arrive 15 minutes early. Kickstands up at 7:30 am and return at 8:30 am.

Bikes that are available to reserve:

3 – Indian Challengers

2 – Indian Chieftains

2 – FTR 1200s

1 – Indian Roadmaster

1 – Indian Springfield

1- Scout Bobber

Please arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled VIP Demo and make sure to bring proper riding gear: closed-toed shoes, long pants, and eye protection.

We will NOT HAVE helmets you can borrow.

This is an owner opportunity only.

Always wear a helmet, eye protection, protective clothing, and obey the speed limit. Never ride under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Sign up today. Spaces are limited and must be reserved before the rally starts. CLICK HERE

Location

Indian Motorcycle of Sturgis

2130 Main St

Sturgis, SD 57785

United States

THE AIM/NCOM MOTORCYCLE E-NEWS SERVICE is brought to you by Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) and the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM), and is sponsored by the Law Offices of Richard M. Lester. If you’ve been involved in any kind of accident, call us at 1-(800) ON-A-BIKE or visit www.ON-A-BIKE.com.

NCOM BIKER NEWSBYTES

Compiled & Edited by Bill Bish,

National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM)

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com

The Harley-Davidson Street Glide is one of those bikes you should not mess with. Described by its maker as a stripped down version of a hot-rod bagger, the no-nonsense bike has been made with long trips in mind.

But baggers have also been favorites of the custom industry. Either reshaped from stock motorcycles or made from scratch on a custom frame, custom baggers are a common sight on American roads.

We’re not sure how many of them are in Europe, but you can count at least one, this one here. The work of a German shop that goes by the name Thunderbike, it takes a stock Harley Street Glide to whole new levels of cool.

The build is based on 2017 Street Glide Special, still packing the original Milwaukee-Eight engine. But other than that everything about it is enhanced, including the name.

Using custom parts made all over the world, Thunderbike kept the overall appearance of the motorcycle, but increased the size and reach of most of the hardware on the bike, from the front fender to the saddlebags at the rear. The fairing at the front, the fuel tank behind it, and the wheels – including the barely visible one at the rear – are of course custom, and contribute to giving the bike a retro-style look.

Thunderbike, who has been in the business of engineering motorcycles for the past 25 years, is usually very good at naming its creations too. And even if the name of this one might seem a bit pompous, there’s a reason for that.

The CCE in the name stands for Custom Chrome Europe, a parts wholesale company founded in 1986, while Thunderbolt is the creative side of the project.

So, no matter how you call it – Thunderbike CCE Bagger Thunderbolt or Harley-Davidson CCE Bagger Thunderbolt – this one is a mouthful.

This is going to be a tough one. Hell, this is one of the toughest years in a while. How the hell do you judge it. In a sense we don’t. We just deal with it and move on. That’s life. It’s always changing, whether we like it or not.

So, last year ended with the first run of the Salt Torpedo, the first streamlined trike, destined for Bonneville records, then Micah rolled it. He broke a bunch of codes that day, but he’s a brother. Another lesson I learned from the past. I watched men lose their lives because their brothers turned on them. A brother is a brother first.

I know a guy who was a president in a major outlaw club. He had a brother who stuck with him for 30 years and went to prison numerous times. When that brother purportedly did wrong, the leader immediately turned on him. After being in a club for all that time, the leader still didn’t understand brotherhood or leadership.

One more point about thinking, maybe two. First, fuck the guy down the street or the jack-ass car salesman, but a brother deserves special consideration. And finally, about changing your mind: Several folks pointed out my brother’s wrong-doing and how I should kick him to the curb. I could have taken that path, but I sought another route. I considered the Code of the West and took the path I chose. He’s still the pilot. Although, I’ll kick his ass if he fucks up again.

I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m a nut and at 72 I’m blowing up the farm and heading to South Dakota. With the help of Dr. Hamster, we bought a home in Deadwood and I blasted out here with my high-top van packed to the gills. I’ve never lived in the snow, but I’m going to in a big major way.

Hell, I was just about on the edge of Utah and stopped for the night in Coalville. The next morning snow was everywhere, and I didn’t know what the hell to do. I’m always on a mission, so at 6:00 a.m. it was still dark, but I was ready to roll. I didn’t know until I slid up in front of my new home, that I was supposed to be driving an all-wheel or 4-wheel drive vehicle. Fortunately, it is a ¾-ton vehicle.

At the continental breakfast I befriended another traveler, who lived in Wyoming and was on his way to Park City. “So, what do you suggest?” I asked.

“You might wait until the sun comes up,” he said and probably saved my life. I had to cut a slippery trail across the Continental Divide a couple of times and peel through the notorious Muddy Gap. My newish van was cool but got super shitty mileage. I remember sliding into a gas station in Laramie.

I’m a California boy. I’ve never experienced 15 degrees. You can’t imagine the terror on the faces in LA when you say 15 degrees. They about shit themselves. So, I drove through the entire snow-covered state of Wyoming in January, passing over-turned semis in the middle of nowhere.

So, we closed on this house in the Presidential district of Deadwood. Most of the homes, including ours are over 100 years old, each with a variety of historic details. One of my goals was to live within walking distance of downtown, a town of 1270 folks. I stayed for a couple of months, then the Redhead flew out and I got to test her ability to deal with it.

Alison is 57 and dealing with hot flashes constantly. She doesn’t like the heat, any heat. She melts, and Redheads are sensitive to any climatic changes. She loved the Deadwood digs, slid down the narrow stairs, fell in the black ice coating the steep, cracked concrete sidewalks, got back up and rocked on.

She got edgy about getting back to her job, managing a rickety marina dead center in the port of Los Angeles. I started another Chance Hogan book around the swarm of bad behavior surrounding the drug-infested, outlaw run marina, plus Chance trying to build a 45 flathead for Bonneville.

Last year, I finished a screenplay about board track racing and soldiers coming back from WWI. I’ve started to circulate it around the movie industry, but screenplays are a dime a dozen. I’m astounded what gets made into a movie. So many, you can tell someone who has never been in a fist fight wrote it.

But to me, it’s about the creative endeavor, like building the Salt Torpedo and watching it blast down a desert street in the Lucerne Valley near where Lienweber cams are ground. Sometimes, that’s good enough for me, move onto the next project and there are many. In this case I said the Salt Torpedo would be the racer I could take to the salt numerous times. Can you see the dichotomy in my thinking? Can I let my desire to accomplish something and move on get in the way?

I’ve never liked the celebrity part. Maybe, that’s a factor? I wouldn’t mind if someone else took it and got the fame. That’s why I didn’t expand the chassis so I could pilot it. I wanted it to be as slick and fast as possible, so Micah got to ride it. How many more times can I make it to Bonneville? And there’s always the money aspect. Going to Bonneville ain’t cheap for a grubby biker.

In the middle of trying to finish the Torpedo, which was a long-standing project attempted by some fine builders, but ultimately us shop rats had to take the reins and make something happen. Between Kevin Kahl, myself and Micah McCloskey we stayed the course and she’s ready for the real deal on the salt.

Since the roll-over, I’ve fixed everything except I need to build a couple of front fender brackets and Paughco is making me another gas tank. I spoke to Ron Paugh and Chris, his fabricator yesterday about modifications to the tank. I believe it was a 1.2-gallon puppy, and that could be pushing it. They made it slightly wider.

Of course, the Covid hit and us old folks needed to sequester ourselves, and that worked for me, although it’s about time for a haircut.

Delvene Manning cancelled Bonneville for this year and it all fit into my master plan. I received a fortune cookie recently. It said, “It is brave to do something, not knowing the outcome.”

Speaking of fortune cookies and Chinese laundries. Buddha, a philosopher, not a god, originated in India, but ultimately the mantra slipped into China and changed some, but the words contain the same guidelines. He was just a guy who came from wealth and tried another more-humble path. He was a very bright guy who attempted to understand life and figure it out.

I’m not trying to sell anyone on Buddhism. But the philosophy of mindfulness is real and scientifically proven. If and when you are faced with bad thoughts, they can be altered, removed and replaced. And here’s a big one: You can find nirvana under any circumstances.

Here’s a great example. Dave Zien, lost a leg when he hit a deer. It was the second deer he hit. The first one he gutted and cleaned alongside the highway. Dave rode a Harley for 1 million miles, then was forced to switch to a trike. The guy has a heart of gold and just kept going with a very positive attitude. He’s currently working on two memorials, one the Rock memorial for veterans and another for motorcycle freedom fighters.

Then, of course, there’s a brother who gets depressed over anything. He’s healthy, young and strong. He has funds and friends but can’t say a good word about anyone or anything. The stress is killing him. He could fix that with mindfulness and understanding the mind.

So, when we closed on this property, we made a plan. A house is like a pallet to an artist. You can do so much to make it your home in the style of your choosing. This area contains a myriad of history and western styles, but I decided our theme will be an historic Chinese Whorehouse.

Okay, so that’s just a theme with no solid backing, but it’s going to be a fun experiment with some antique Asian stuff, brass dragons, art with half-dressed women and of course, motorcycles. Kelly Dube is sending me an antique, silk, embroidered, sexy Chinese cheongsam dress to display. Don’t ask me about the opium den. There are poppies in the garden, blooming.

I’ve wanted to cut a dusty trail out of California. When that didn’t happen in the ‘90s I moved to San Pedro, which put me just 6 miles from my aging mom. It was a good thing, because I was able to hang with her until the end a couple of years ago. I stuck around San Pedro and Wilmington for almost 20 years, the longest I ever stayed in one place.

When I turned 70, I had an awakening. Brothers and sisters were beginning to pass away at an increasing rate. When we’re younger we banged along like nothing mattered, but there comes a time, when you start to see physical changes.

Suddenly one day you know you’re no longer climbing the hill, but you’ve crested the top and you’re heading into the valley of death, but fear no evil… We are all going to die, just some die sooner than others.

When I hit 70 and was in decent shape, I figured I might have another 10 years to build shit and try something new. Don’t get me wrong, Jerry Branch helped guys work on cars, tune motorcycles and trimmed his own trees into his 80s, you just never know. Hell, Clint Eastwood is still making films at 78.

I might still run Bikernet, write books and stories when I’m 80 and that’s cool. I can go with that, but I didn’t want to do it in Los Angeles. I needed a fresh pallet, and after years of searching and planning, I set my sights on Deadwood, and the Redhead loves it. That’s a major factor.

Your partner is always a major factor. If it wasn’t for Nyla’s support, I could have never bought the building in Wilmington. Many women would have run from that grubby project in the industrial wasteland of the Port of Los Angeles. It’s amazing, and I supported the Wilmington Waterfront effort for 15 years, and just now they seem to be moving on it.

The worst mistake Wilmington ever made was to become part of the city of Los Angeles and allow all the port’s wealth to slip to Downtown Los Angeles. Wilmington would be magnificent for the kids if they stayed a city.

Just a couple of years ago, I worked with two local artists to create a considerable sculpture to represent the people of Wilmington at the entrance to the waterfront. The port suggested some off-the-shelf Walmart icon entrance with no connection to the people of Wilmington. We will see what happens.

Then, like a nut I stumbled onto a Kraft Tech frame at the Long Beach swap meet, and on my way out of the asphalt parking lot surrounding the stadium, Brad, Nyla’s brother, called and asked me if I needed a Panhead engine. Presto, I was building another bike.

 I’ve always considered myself a blue-collar builder. I’m an enthusiast, not a pro bike-builder.

It’s sort of a confession and a cop-out, but I never wanted to compete with the brothers and sisters I covered in magazines and on Bikernet™. I do my absolute best to build bikes that are structurally sound and reliable. But I just don’t consider myself a pro.

I also have a problem. I’m too tall for the bikes I like to build. That fucks with me. Actually, my Sturgis Shovelhead I built 10 years ago, almost fit. Check this shot with Bob T. at the bars. So, when I finished the funky ’69 Panhead Chris Callen said, “What the hell, did you shrink that bike?”

He was right and I ultimately installed the longer, new round-leg Paughco front end and reworked the rear seat suspension for a better ride. It handles better but doesn’t have the tight bobber look I planned.

On the other hand, as we got into Dr. Hamsters 1950 Panhead, I could build something tight and cool. It would fit a thinner, shorter man to a tee. This was supposed to be a joint effort, but the covid fucked with that big time and Christian’s (Dr. Hamster) duties included only finding parts. He’s not doing too well with that.

I’m still waiting on a generator for the Pandemic Panhead with a regulator cap and an outer primary. It took several months, but finally the headlight arrived, in the nick of time. The good doctor saved my health several times, so it’s easy to be patient.

I was sorta in the middle of finishing the Torpedo and a brother Hamster needed to make some bucks anyway he could, so I turned Dr. Hamster’s project over to Mike. Mike, like the rest of us has some health issues and space issues, so the project ended up back at the Bikernet Intergalactic Headquarters.

During the time Mike had the Pandemic Pan, a major shift occurred. We had the Knuck frame straightened and fixed by Dr. John. The Pan engine fit, but the heads were too close to the backbone of the frame and we didn’t want to mess with the frame anymore. The seat post was altered for the engine and we didn’t fix that. Dr. Hamster got frustrated and threatened to sell the project as a basket. Mike and I convinced him to start looking for a Panhead frame. He sold the Knuck frame for a bundle, so it worked out.

That brings us to July 6th, and yesterday Haul Bikes picked up five bikes from the intergalactic headquarters in Wilmington. Two are Dr. Hamster’s, the Pandemic and his ’90 FLH.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to make a pass. That was a learning experience about the Run What Ya Brung Class. I was too busy building to read the rule book that year. I thought it was run what ya brung, no rules. Not so Kimosabe.

Live and learn. Which brings us back to the Salt Torpedo and rules. There are no trike classes in the SCTA or the AMA, but there are streamliner rules. The FIM decided to include a trike class, when I reached out to Dennis Manning and found out that there was no Trike Class at Bonneville. FIM stepped up. We have tried to follow all the Streamliner rules for the SCTA, AMA, FIM and the trike rules from the FIM.

In addition, a 25-year inspector from the SCTA has tried to coach us through the process. Rodan recently quit, because they said he was too old, bullshit. There’s more to that story, but he emailed me a Streamliner, inspector’s, check-off SCTA form. We have been through it a couple of times. We’re trying, but you never know. The scrutineering process is way more terrifying than making a pass.

Sometimes I think it’s all about the outlaw in me. I’ve always lived on the edge of the law and always pushed the limits. I don’t like authorities, sheriffs or judges. Hell, I think it’s why we ride choppers.

That’s not all. Property values went going through the roof and I consider selling the Intergalatic Headquarters in LA and setting up a new shop in Deadwood. Talk about a thought process. I started looking into all the factors, challenges, obstacles, resources, you name it.

Just for a test, I reached out to Jesse James and asked him who moved his shop. He said the Dunkle Brothers. This is a big family business and they sold out just a month before the Covid struck. There’s that thing about timing. Timing is everything.

I met with one of the Dunkle brothers and he took me through the process of moving the shop—fuckin’ scary. I had to have a bunch of crates made, capable of working with forklifts, made. All the little shit goes in the crates. They come and move all crates on one truck and all the equipment onto another truck and off it goes to Deadwood.

I thought about my wives and the girls in my life. I’ve loved so many. When I needed a partner who fits, she always arrived. There have been major slip-ups in my life that I regret. When a brother says he has no-regrets, I think bullshit. I’ve made plenty of wild mistakes, some of which I will regret to the end.

If you do lots of shit, ride wild roads, chase the wrong broads, you’re bound to make mistakes, but hopefully you learn something from each encounter. The key is to keep going.

There was a David Mann painting that sported the adage, “Don’t let the bastards get you down.” I asked the boss of Easyriders, if I could have it, since it hung in my office for a decade. I helped him reach his goal to sell the company, but he turned me down. That was one of my favorites for a couple of reasons, the stellar art and the message. Everyday can be an adventure, if you let it. Every day presents you with challenges and opportunities, if you have the guts to get up and get rolling.

Right now, I’m staining my deck and looking out at the hills in the Badlands. This house we bought couldn’t be more perfect. Every day I give a nod to the beauty surrounding me. I walk up the hill to where Wild Bill Hickock was buried next to Calamity Jane. I asked if I could have a plot for Bandit’s bones and I’m working on it.

Covid or riots, it doesn’t matter. life is still damn good, and nirvana surrounds all bikers who read Bikernet, my books or Bandit’s Cantina. Hang on as the next adventure unfolds.

Ride Fast and Free Forever,

–Bandit

Sponsors:

For Twin Cam and M-Eight Touring
Photos and text by ROGUE

Blow by is pressure that is forced past the rings and cylinder walls and ends up in the crankcase and then into the oil tank. All internal combustion engines have a certain amount of crankcase pressure and it does increase with miles. Large cubic inch engines have a tendency to have more blow by as well.

The Vented Dipstick comes with a sheet of instructions and I suggest you read it before starting installing this product.

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com

Since a little over a decade now, the motorcycle family over at BMW Motorrad included the so-called F Series. The models in this family are some of the most preferred choices of riders looking for bikes equally good for everyday use, but also packing touring capabilities.

This week, the German bike maker announced a series of upgrades for three of the F Series bikes. As such, the F 750 GS, F 850 GS and F 850 GS Adventure get updated with new color schemes, new standard equipment, and more choices when it comes to optional equipment.

From this point onward, all three models come equipped as standard with visual upgrades like LED flashing turn indicators, a USB charging device at the front right of the cockpit, but also mechanical ones, including ABS Pro and Dynamic Traction Control (DTC).

The engine remains unchanged. The same powerplant breathes life in all three models, namely a 853cc liquid-cooled 4-valve, 2-cylinder, tied to a six-speed gearbox. Despite being the same on all bikes, the engine has different outputs depending on the model it is used for: 77 hp on the F 750 GS, and 95 on the two variants of the F 850 GS.

Visually, there are new colors on the table as well. The 750 can now be wrapped in Light White with tank center cover painted in vehicle color, and black matt painted rims, black handlebars and seat bench in red/black.

The 850 gets Racing Red with the tank centre cover painted in the vehicle color, and black-coated fixed fork tubes, black rims and seat bench in black/grey. For the Adventure, BMW introduces Ice Grey.

You can have a detailed look at all the changes BMW has in mind for the F Series in the press release section below. At the time of this writing, pricing and availability for the models are not known.

by Andria Cheng from https://www.forbes.com

For Harley-Davidson HOG -3.5%, the coronavirus initially led to production and dealership shutdowns and lower sales, but the pandemic could very well also help the iconic American motorcycle label—struggling with five straight years of declining U.S. sales—regain its cool factor.

Credit that to the new social-distancing penchant that has driven increased demand for different outdoor pursuits from biking to running. A case in point, Commerce Department reported on Thursday sporting goods and other hobby retailers posted a 21% jump in June retail sales from a year earlier, a rare bright spot among retailers that sell non-essential items. In another example, April U.S. sales of bicycles topped $1 billion, a record level, about double the average for the month, according to NPD Group.

“The ‘outdoor play’ seems to have made its way to Harley-Davidson in terms of increased demand,” said Wedbush analyst James Hardiman in a report on Thursday.

He upgraded his rating on the Milwaukee company to outperform from neutral. He wasn’t alone. His counterparts at UBS and BMO also upgraded the stock this week, following some others recently.

The stock has doubled since reaching a multi-year low of about $15 in March.

“Perhaps the positive by-product of this terrible pandemic is a renewed interest in the open road,” BMO analyst Gerrick Johnson said Tuesday.

Hardiman estimated the motorcycle maker’s June sales by units jumped in the low double-digits after declines of about 40% in April and at least 10% in May. Covid-19 also had dented the company’s first-quarter sales and profit it reported in April. Before that, Harley-Davidson’s sales in the U.S., its top market, declined for five straight years as the company faced an aging baby-boomer customer base with the sport having lost its traditional appeal, especially among younger millennial consumers.

But the pandemic may be changing some of that equation. Hardiman said his team’s conversations with dealers running Harley’s new-rider training classes suggest there’s “mounting demand.”

Meanwhile, as demand rises, halted production and the company’s reduced shipment of new motorcycles to dealers have raised the prices for used bikes on the market.

“More of our contacts are complaining of insufficient inventories than at any time during the 14 years we have been conducting our dealer survey,” the analyst noted, adding his team’s analysis of both new and used bikes available online showcases “the dramatic reduction in inventory.”

Higher used bike prices help to narrow the price gap they have with new bikes and make it more attractive for customers to shell out for new models instead, Hardiman said. That helps to reduce an “overabundance of used bike availability” and “allows the company to clean up the channel and ‘reintroduce scarcity,’” he said.

To be sure, the jury is still out on Harley-Davidson’s return to its formal luster. The company is saddled with debt and the pandemic and the fallout impact on the economy and consumer psyche may well curtail demand for its bikes, which cost anywhere from $8,000 to $50,000 as listed on its website. Harley-Davidson said it’s lowering costs, including last week announcing 700 job cuts. It’s also simplifying production to focus on more profitable models and prioritize on “markets that matter.”

The company in May named Jochen Zeitz, its long-time board member and former Puma chief who BMO’s Johnson said is well versed in corporate transformations, as its new CEO after former long-time chief Matt Levatich left earlier this year.

“We have long been among the most vocal of Harley-Davidson’s critics, and yet through both direct action and unintended circumstance, we now find the combination of potential demand drivers and margin opportunities to be extremely compelling,” Wedbush’s Hardiman said.