Last week’s list of intrigue gives way to another list of residuals, starting with Harley’s CEO hunt:
- Some of Harley’s Shareholders are trying to ensure that Jochen Zeitz isn’t able to be reelected to an Executive position as the CEO hunt continues ( and they’re so driven they’ve even made a website you can visit)
- Honda is committed to getting the price of their electric bikes on par with that of gas motorcycles, and to do that, they’re opening up a new plant in India in the next three years.
- EV motorcycle brand Verge has officially made it to the Guinness World Record books by beating the world’s longest EV ride on a single charge – and they made it with 7 minutes to spare!
- Indian Motorcycles has just given us a look at their new 2025 Challenger and Pursuit Elite models!
Might as well start with the Roarin’ Orange Board Room for particulars on Harley’s incubating executive power, yes?
Industry Insider: Harley-Davidson Shareholders Call to Remove Zeitz Immediately
The Winds of Change have been Blowing a Little Harder in Milwaukee…
Remember when Jochen Zeitz stepped down from his role as Harley-Davidson’s CEO with the completion of his five-year Hardwire Strategy? Well, Harley-Davidson has apparently been out of a CEO since the end of 2024… and yet, despite the need for a new Chairman, we’re told that certain board members have the opinion that no CEO is – currently – better than having Jochen back.
According to coverage from CycleWorld, a New York investment fund by the name of H Partners has held its position as one of Harley-Davidson’s most significant shareholders for almost five years. H Partners has a significant 9.1% stake in the legendary American motorcycle brand, so they get a larger portion of the decision for things like – say – electing a new CEO.
The problem lies in the hearsay between 2022 and now, and we’ll list it in point form here for easier access:
- Jared Dourdeville, a principal at H Partners who has been involved with Harley since 2022, resigned from his board position on April 5th of this year. An SEC filing showed that Jared resigned because his preferred choice for Harley’s new CEO wasn’t chosen (presumably by Harley’s side of the board table). It is important to note that Zeitz still has considerable influence over the board at this time
- After this affair, H Partners was purported to have sent an open letter to other shareholders citing “major execution issues overseen by an absentee CEO,” a lack of transparency from the CEO and Presiding Director towards the rest of the board, and an unwillingness from some long-standing board members to hold the CEO accountable for what H Partners describes as “severe value destruction and the cultural depletion of this iconic American company.” In short, Powersports autocracy meant H Partners didn’t have the control over decisions that they wanted; Zeitz and Linebarger, however, did.
H Partners has since launched a campaign to prevent Zeitz, along with two other board members, Thomas Linebarger and Sara Levinson, from being reelected. The campaign includes:
- A call to other shareholders to vote “Withhold” on the reelection of Zeitz, Linebarger, and Levinson.
- A call to remove Zeitz as CEO, effective immediately, with an interim CEO elected to serve until a new CEO is chosen.
- A call to shareholders to demand that the new CEO be someone who can “repair the relationship with dealers, engage with riders, respect and strengthen the brand, improve the corporate culture, restore the physical presence of the Company at its historic Milwaukee headquarters, and return Harley-Davidson to greatness.” (This one’s our favorite)
In short, H Partners wasn’t feeling heard on the board and Harley-Davidson didn’t choose H Partners’ preferred candidate, so H Partners is pushing to stop Zeitz n’ friends from getting back in, adding in a politely-wrapped accusation of bad executive behaviour with a demand to balance the board out and a plea to reconnect with the Harley-Davidson community.
Suffice it to say that Harley-Davidson’s 2025 annual meeting of shareholders on May 14th will serve to be an eye-opener for the future of the brand.
While we’re waiting, be sure to check out and share the website – yes, an entire dedicated site – that H Partners created to rally shareholder support to save Harley-Davidson in the way that they best think will preserve the brand: www.freetheeagle.com
For any other details, be sure to also head over to CycleWorld’s extremely thorough coverage below:
Electric Everything: Honda is Working Toward EV Bikes at ICE Prices
Electric Motorcycle Production Plant in India to Begin in 2028
Big Red is still focused on electric transportation options being the future; as such, new goals have been shared in their recent press release, nd with it comes a goal to bring down the price of electric machines.
According to Honda’s release, our favorite multi-conglomerate manufacturer is making significant strides in its quest to make electric motorcycles a viable option for the masses. Honda admits in this release that one of the main struggles with the transition to electric motorcycles has been the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO); electric motorcycles are too expensive for the power and accessibility that they afford riders across the globe.
Honda recognizes this latency in the EV market and is actively working to bridge the gap. Their ambitious goal is to bring the three-year TCO of their electric models in line with that of comparable gas-powered bikes, factoring in things like running costs, machine maintenance, and battery lifespan.
To achieve this holy grail of competitive pricing, Honda is laying down some serious groundwork – and by serious, we mean a multi-million dollar production plant in India. The plant is set to be erected by 2028 and will focus on producing a wide range of EV models (presumably the two-wheeled kind) at an extremely competitive rate.
Here’s the order of attack:
- Focus on TCO
- Establish a dedicated production facility in India
- Commonize modules
- A secure and stabilize battery supply
In short, Big Red is going to use the same type of battery or the same kind of motor in lots of different bikes. By using the same parts for many bikes, Honda can:
- Make things faster (It’s quicker to build bikes if some of the parts are always the same)
- Make things less complicated (The factories don’t need to learn how to build a million different parts)
- Make things cheaper (Buying lots of the same part makes each part cost less money)
The idea is that India-manufactured bikes will cost Honda less to make the bikes; they can then sell for about the same price as regular gas bikes so that more people can try electric motorcycles.
Neat.
As an additional update, we’re reminded that Honda has been working with multiple battery partnerships to build top-tier batteries (as well as a stable and reliable supply chain) perfectly suited to the bikes soon to be built in India.
For more details on Honda’s EV strategy, be sure to check out the coverage on the manufacturer’s website:
For the Record: Verge Hits the Books for New Single-Charge Range
Guinness Book of World Records New Successful Attempt with 7% to Spare
Range anxiety is real, especially on an electric motorcycle – but for Verge, range worry is fast shrinking to nothing.
According to a recent report highlighted by ADVPulse, Finnish EV bike brand Verge Motorcycles made a World Record attempt at EV bike range recently and won, setting a new Guinness World Record: The “Longest Journey by an Electric Motorbike on a Single Charge.”
All told, an impressive 193 miles were covered in city conditions, with the bike breaking the record with 7% battery life to spare. As Verge CMO noted, the bike could have gone even further, but the team prioritized data reliability with the ride taking an agonizing 16 hours to complete.
Here are the details of the successful record run:
- The record attempt took place in London on March 22, 2025
- The bike was an unmodified Verge TS Pro
- Piloting duties were shared by EV advocates Sam Clarke and Sara Sloman, while Guinness World Record officials meticulously verified tracking, battery monitoring, and route validation elements.
Naturally, all members involved are excited about what this means for EV motorcycling in non-city-dependent conditions (hills, perhaps?).
For those of you who are not yet aware, the Verg eTS Pro carries a monster of a battery channeling 137 horsepower and a staggering 738 lb-ft of yanquedos; this is accompanied by a city range of 217 miles and highway range of 124 miles, beating out that of Zero Motorcycles’ DSR/X.
With Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) now compatible with Verge’s TS Pro, rapid charging allows TS Pro riders to get from 0 – 80% charge in a remarkable 35 minutes.
Yay, Verge!
For the full story on Verge’s record-breaking ride, head over to ADVPulse:
Indian Motorcycle Shows Off New Challenger Elite and Pursuit Elite
Exclusivity at Indian’s Finest.
It’s 2025, and you know that that means: New limited edition machines from Indian Motorcycles!
Thanks to a press release published to PRNewswire, we’ve gotten a clear look at Indian Motorcycle’s limited-edition Elite Challenger and Elite Pursuit bikes. Following the tradition of previous Elite models, both the 2025 Challenger Elite and Pursuit Elite come fully loaded with the potent and obligatory PowerPlus 112 engine as well as premium features like a PowerBand Audio package with four 100-watt speakers for the Challenger Elite and six 100-watt speakers for the Pursuit Elite.
We’re told that these exclusive beauties will have some sweet custom-quality paint jobs and be produced in small numbers. Only 350 Challenger Elite bikes and 250 Pursuit Elite bikes will be rolling out to markets at a price range of $39,999 and $44,999; that’s $6,500 and $9,500 more than their standard counterparts, respectively.
Beyond the allure of exclusivity, standout features for these models include the following:
Indian 2025 Challenger Elite
- Multi-layered paint finish with shattered glass particles for added depth (inspired by AMA Hall of Famer Gene Walker).
- A “nod” to Walker’s PowerPlus racebike on the center dash.
- Individual numbering
- Special Elite badging
- Blacked-out Dark Horse finishes
- Five-spoke cast aluminum wheels
- Electronically-adjustable suspension system, controlled via TFT dash
- Heated grips and seats
Indian 2025 Pursuit Elite
- Multi-layered paint job with hand-painted gold accents, drawing inspiration from the PowerPlus models built for the US Army in 1916
- Individual numbering
- Special Elite badging
- Blacked-out Dark Horse finishes
- Five-spoke cast aluminum wheels
- Electronically-adjustable suspension system, controlled via TFT dash
- Heated grips and seats
The above packages translate to a very nice power package of 126 hp and 133 lb-ft of torque – a slight increase over the PowerPlus 108
Riders looking to further soup up their ride will be able to pull from Indian’s extensive parts accessory catalog, which includes nifty additions like Pathfinder Adaptive LED headlights, driving lights, LED saddlebag lighting, headdress floorboards, and Flare windshields (the latter being on the Challenger Elite only).
With all of the nice bits out of the way, Indian is proud to continue to support fantastic ‘ware – soft and hard – in the following lists:
SOFTWARE
- Indian’s Rider Assist Package (Bike Hold Control, Electronic Combined Brake System, Blind Spot Warning, Tailgate Warning, and Rear Collision Warning)
- Indian’s Smart Lean Technology (an IMU-managed suite of rider aids)
- cruise control
- 7-inch touchscreen
- Bluetooth Connectivity with Apple CarPlay support
- USB charging
- keyless ignition
- remote locking storage
HARDWARE
- Non-adjustable inverted forks
- Brembo M4.32 brake calipers
The release points out that while the Elite models offer a step up in exclusivity and styling, the performance and core components are largely consistent with the higher-spec standard models; in short, think of these bikes as “turnkey customs with distinctive aesthetics.”
The Challenger Elite and Pursuit Elite are slated to begin shipping to dealerships this month, so stay tuned.
For a closer look at the new Indian Challenger Elite and Pursuit Elite, be sure to check out the press release from PRNewswire:
