Daily Slideshow: Historical American Motorcycle Brands Struggle to Survive

The American Struggle

"Are millennials buying fewer motorcycles?" This popular question has been doing the rounds recently with the issues that the motorcycle industry is facing. Some believe that millennials are buying fewer motorcycles than previous generations. Others argue that millennials are buying as many motorcycles as previous generations but, due to the financial state of the world, millennials are buying more secondhand bikes. So, the debate goes on but, what's not up for debate, are the sales figures for American motorcycle manufacturers - they're down almost across the board. Brands like Harley-Davidson, Excelsior-Henderson, and Curtiss have all seen their sales figures drop. Only Polaris' Indian has managed to avoid taking a sales hit. Check out the Curtiss Warhawk pictured above, it's the first and possibly last v-twin produced by the brand. 

Excelsior-Henderson

The Excelsior-Henderson brand, its trademarks, and intellectual property went up for auction in January in Vegas. Unfortunately for Excelsior, their minimum reserve wasn't met, so the brand is still in search of its new owner. Although, auction expert Paul d'Oreléans said, "I don't think that auction story is finished, it's just a matter of bidders coming to terms with Dan Hanlon (who owns the brand), and vice versa... Mecum has a lock on brokering the name for the next six months, so stay tuned.." Pictured above is the 1931 Excelsior-Henderson KJ, which was capable of reaching 100 mph, thanks to its 40 hp engine. 

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Curtiss

Last year, the Confederate motorcycle brand announced plans to change its name to 'Curtiss', after the iconic aviation and motorcycle hero, Glenn Curtiss. But the brand is making an even bigger change in the shape of its partnership with electric motorcycle manufacturer, Zero Motorcycles. Curtiss had planned to launch the 'Hercules' an electric motorcycle, this May but have just unveiled the 'Zeus' prototype, which is also an electric motorcycle. It's unclear if the Zeus has replaced the Hercules or if we can still expect another electric motorcycle from Curtiss. So, will a name change and some help from Zero Motorcycles be enough to bring Curtiss back to prominence? Time will tell. 

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Harley-Davidson

This past January, Harley-Davidson released its sales figures for 2017, which showed a worldwide sales drop of 6.7%. The largest slide in sales was to be found in the brand's home country, the U.S., where sales fell by as much as 8.5%. Elsewhere sales dropped by 3.9%. The brand sees a lack of millennial customers as the problem and electric motorcycles as the solution. According to Matt Levatich, Harley-Davidson's president, and CEO, "As we expand our EV capabilities and commitment, we get even more excited about the role electric motorcycles will play in growing our business.". We will see whether this strategy works when Harley brings their electric motorcycle, Project LiveWire, to market in the next 18 months. 

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Polaris' Indian

On a lighter note, Polaris' Indian is actually doing quite well. Since Polaris acquired Indian in 2011, it has been pumping out models based on Indian's nostalgic past. Evidently, this is what people want right now as it seems to be one of the few American motorcycle brands doing well. Hopefully, brands like Harley-Davidson, Excelsior- Henderson, and Curtiss will be able to turn things around soon and keep up with Indian's success. 

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