MILWAUKEE (BRAIN) — Harley-Davidson, which has been eyeing the e-bike market for several years, announced Tuesday that it will create a dedicated e-bike division launching in March 2021.
The Serial 1 Cycle Company is named for the nickname of Harley's first motorcycle model, "Serial Number 1."
"It’s been a real long project," Aaron Frank, brand director for Serial 1 Cycle Company, told BRAIN.
"We've been working on it for a couple years now. Interruptions due to the COVID pandemic have kind of messed with our schedule in the last year, where we were hoping to be speaking about this a lot sooner. It’s really exciting now to be able to launch the brand and explain our partnership with Harley-Davidson fully. It’s a really good day for us."
The Serial 1 brand is led by a team of Harley-Davidson alumni including Frank, Jason Huntsman, its president; Ben Lund, the vice president of product development; and Hannah Altenburg, the lead brand marketing specialist.
Lund is a former design engineer at SRAM who joined Harley-Davidson in 2018.
"The pandemic has been both a blessing and curse, from an operational standpoint," Frank said. "From a manufacturing standpoint, it’s been a bit of a disruption, but the overall positive effect, if we can say that, is the effect it’s had on the bicycle industry as far as getting people on bikes as a safe way to socially distance and exercise. Especially in urban areas, this is a really great alternative to mass transit."
The company will announce its model line-up, pricing and categories soon, Frank said. "Over the next couple years, we're planning a full portfolio," he said, adding they will be distributed primarily direct-to-consumer and through select Harley-Davidson dealers in North American and select Western European countries.
The bikes are designed and developed in Milwaukee and produced by a global contract manufacturer with facilities around the world that Frank declined to name.
Serial 1 Cycle Company, LLC, is a Delaware-registered limited liability company. On Tuesday Harley released its third-quarter earnings report. The company said dealer inventory was down 30% from last year and while U.S. motorcycle sales were down 10% — the 15th consecutive quarter with declining sales — that exceeded analyst projections and is better than the 25% decline last quarter. It reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.05.
Harley has been hinting at an e-bike since 2018, first suggesting that e-bikes would be part of its LiveWire electric motorcycle program. Harley also bought StaCyc, an electric balance bike brand sold in bike shops and motorcycle shops, in 2019.
