As Harley-Davidson gears up for its India comeback with Hero MotoCorp, its loyal riding community is hoping that this translates into positive news for timely supply of spares.
“It has been quite challenging for many of us to find vital parts for our motorcycles since the time Harley first decided to shut down plant operations in India,” says a member of the HOG (Harley Owners Group) riding community. An owner of the powerful Fat Boy, he is the CEO of an automotive company who did not want his name featured in this story.
Harley, of course, tied up with Hero subsequently as part of a revival plan in late-2020 for India and July 3 this year saw the partners jointly announce the launch of the X440 in Jaipur at a price tag starting from INR 2.29 lakh. While the American motorcycle maker is hopeful that this will pave the way for a better future in India, Hero will be targeting a larger presence for itself in the rapidly growing premium bike space.
The HOG community is an integral part of the Harley landscape in India given that the riding experience is essentially what the iconic American brand is all about. Quite unlike commuter offerings which make up a large part of two-wheeler sales in the country but are only used for basic rides to work and back, premium motorcycles have a niche user base which seeks long rides during the weekends and so on.
Royal Enfield, the market leader in the mid-capacity bike segment, focuses on precisely this aspect of the outdoors with its customer base beyond selling its products. It has a core group of riders who take off on their motorcycles in groups for long rides and meet at exclusive meeting points to share their experiences.
Likewise, the HOG riding fraternity, which numbered a little over 10,000 members till recently, also focuses on carefully planned and detailed trips to every nook and corner of India and sometimes even beyond.
Tough Times
These diehard Harley loyalists have been facing rather stiff headwinds since the time the company first announced its plans to call it a day in India. “It has been particularly difficult for those of us who take frequent trips on our bikes. Breakdowns can often cause long waits for spares,” says the disgruntled rider quoted earlier.
According to him, these periods can stretch into weeks and even months sometimes depending on the kind of parts required. While some Harley riders insist that it is “virtually impossible” to get anything on time, there are others who say things are not as dire as they are made out to be.
“Well, it can be challenging sometimes but this depends on the riders too. Those who use their bikes more often than the others obviously have more repair jobs on their hands,” says another Harley enthusiast. He admits, though, that availability of spares has been a “nagging problem” for a while now.
“It is not as if one can fix the issue with some random component and then assume that the problem is solved. Harley motorcycles bikes are premium machines and need very specific parts for their longevity,” he adds. The CEO rider also drives home the point that the HOG riding community has a fair share of wealthy/influential people who “put all this behind” when they get on to their machines and just enjoy the ride.
“Nobody really worries about people’s designations and the like. The Harley community is not about hierarchy and most of us just unwind and discuss experiences on the road. Riding our motorcycles is a great stress buster,” he says.
According to him, technicians are also not easily available to fix faults though other riders believe this is not always the case. “Big cities have some competent mechanics who can cater to repairs. They are familiar with Harley motorcycles and do a reasonably good job,” one of them insists.
While some riders are patient enough to hang in there and get parts imported for their bikes, other Harley enthusiasts who are tired of waiting for their spares have apparently moved on to other models.
League Of Its Own
A large section of diehard Harley loyalists continue to remain hopeful that its comeback plans with Hero will help in assuring availability of spares for its other brands that are still part of the Indian landscape. “Harley is in a league of its own and deserves the best. The HOG community is keeping its fingers crossed that the arrival of the X440 will mean better days lie ahead,” says a rider.
When Harley first decided to shut down its Indian operations (prior to announcing its tie-up with Hero) in September 2020, it was some months into the outbreak of COVID when the world had gone into a tailspin. The company had earlier joined hands with China’s Zhejiang Qianjiang Motorcycle Co, a subsidiary of Geely, to manufacture sub-350 cc motorcycles as part of its larger strategy for midsize offerings in emerging markets.
At that point in time, a section of industry observers was of the view that the American brand was struggling to find its loyal set of riders who were willing to cough up big bucks for their prized Harley motorcycle. It was perhaps this reality that prompted the company to work on a rebooted strategy that would involve roping in allies for growth markets like Asia.
According to a top official who had spoken to this writer then, “It is by no means an easy task to reboot a brand which is already in an advanced stage of evolution. Harley stands for something robust and solid with a DNA that is unique to its heritage and legacy. Attempting a makeover when it is at the end of its evolution cycle becomes particularly difficult.”
There was a time during the Harley tenure in India when it attempted something different in November 2013. This was the time it announced that it would produce the all-new Street in 500 cc and 750 cc versions. It was the first bike platform developed for young riders across the world and just not for markets in the West, as was the norm till then.
For India, the news was particularly significant as the Harley plant in Haryana was identified as one of the global platforms for the bike while Kansas City in the US would cater to the other. Unfortunately, the Street did little to help Harley in India.
Focus On Emerging Markets
It was in July 2018 when Harley-Davidson had made an elaborate investor presentation (More Roads to Harley-Davidson: Accelerated Strategy) and referred to consumer spending on discretionary, premium products “reaching critical mass in China, India and Southeast Asia”. While China’s motorcycle volumes were “expected to grow rapidly”, India’s 250-500 cc motorcycle segment was expected to grow at around 25% annually through 2021.
The next step, therefore, was to enter into a strategic alliance in Asia to launch a 250-500 cc motorcycle within two years in India (hence 2020), and into other emerging markets in Asia over time. The idea was to “expedite market entry and increase brand access and volume” while leveraging its “world-class” partner’s manufacturing scale and retail footprint.
A beginning has now been made with Hero MotoCorp which has been a market leader in the two-wheeler space for over two decades now. Its local rivals, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor, already have successful partnerships in place in the form of KTM and BMW Motorrad respectively.
While TVS acquired Norton Motorcycles of the UK in early 2020, Bajaj is now eyeing new global frontiers with Triumph (again of the UK) in addition to its strong alliance with KTM. In this backdrop, Hero also needs a formidable ally and will be hoping that the partnership with Harley will scale new heights. The latter, in its turn, will pull out all the stops to ensure that it makes a stronger mark this time around.
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