Rumor: Harley-Davidson and Alta Motors Are Parting Ways

[Silent But Dirty]

Hey Judas.... things are kind of quiet on the mother ship !!!! The folks hear deserve an update ???? Don't you think ????

I'm sure we will get some more info sooner or later. As far as I can tell, it's only been reported by one site so far.

I don't think as owners we have anything to worry about.

 

[Speedkills]

Hey Judas.... things are kind of quiet on the mother ship !!!! The folks hear deserve an update ???? Don't you think ????

I understand your desire to hear the latest gossip but I'll push back a bit and say, no, we don't deserve an update in any way. When it's public information it will be released. If Judas isn't talking about it, when he seems so happy to jump into other things, I imagine someone at his company has asked him not to talk about it. You've had things in our work life that are confidential haven't you? Part of life from what I've seen. So what can we really get by pushing on this? Ask someone to violate their confidentiality? Have them get tired of being asked why they don't answer and just go away? I don't see a win here from pushing. Clearly he's in this thread, and clearly he is not answering, I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he has a good reason.

 

[WoodsWeapon]

Well put.

 

[Philip]

I think Judaslefourbe would really love to update us, but he values his job more.

 

[teddyquinn]

I'm sure we will get some more info sooner or later. As far as I can tell, it's only been reported by one site so far.

I don't think as owners we have anything to worry about.

Recently picked up on topspeed.com also, but agree that I don't think there's cause for worry, and I liked Judaslefourbe's business-as-usual chiming in to pack replacement. H-D is in the midst of celebrating their 115th anniversary, so perhaps questions will be surfaced at various press events should this storyline continue to pick up.

Would rather Alta prepare a measured, non-emotional response (if all true) than something like a tweet from Marc a-la Musk's "going to take Tesla private at $420 / share."

 

[AndyB]

Harley-Davidson Opening R&D Facility in Silicon Valley for Electric Motorcycles

https://www.asphaltandrubber.com/news/harley-davidson-silicon-valley/

 

[Silent But Dirty]

Harley-Davidson Opening R&D Facility in Silicon Valley for Electric Motorcycles

The plot thickens...

Hopefully none of our favorite people at Alta jump ship.

 

[strider]

Hmm. This could be troublesome. If they are able to throw enough money around they could attract talent from Alta and Zero. That's what happened to Mission Motors. Google, Apple, and Tesla were able to hire their engineers away.

 

[snydes]

That’s exactly what I was going to say. Harley partners with Alta to figure out how to get started in the EV game, opens a shop down the road and cherry picks Altas best talent. Pricks.

 

[Philip]

HD will be building an electric motocrosser, an Alta competitor.

 

[teddyquinn]

That’s exactly what I was going to say. Harley partners with Alta to figure out how to get started in the EV game, opens a shop down the road and cherry picks Altas best talent. Pricks.

What’s a bit unsettling is that Alta is currently - per their careers page - looking to fill a bunch of engineering roles, several of which are focused on EV / battery tech. Competing in a limited talent pool with someone like H-D will be challenging for a startup, but hopefully the Alta folks (and prospective new hires) have a passion for their mission that is sort of worn on their sleeve.

Money talks (a lot), but I have to imagine there’s an energy at Alta that isn’t replicated at a H-D R&D lab. Plus, Alta’s off-road first plan is something H-D would certainly struggle to replicate (and isn’t likely their plan).

Crazy times...

 

[Ultratoad]

No surprises here.... I will support Alta for as long as they can go.... I think Harley used and abused them.... Don't forget, Alta's products are fantastic !!!! Harley has a history of catch and release.... AND that is why I will probably never own a Harley !!!!

 

[WoodsWeapon]

it seems theyre getting used and abused at every turn. From the big 5 not allowing them in any meaningful pro racing, to this HD situation.

 

[Rob41]

I hope Harley didn't just run with the tech. And I really hope Alta will keep their talent energized and on the leading edge of what's about to come.

The ZERO and KTM efforts missed the mark for serious MX or serious off roading. And maybe they weren't trying to do that. Alta is the first and only, to be able to go punch for punch with the ICE bikes but the question is for how long?

I have to believe the horseless carriage is right around the corner so to speak. As soon as the competition figures out the software/controller then there will be excellent offerings from many companies.

The MX/ST chassis etc isn't the hard part (all of the big ICE players do well there), it's the software and controller that makes the Alta so good. It all makes me wonder how long it will be before E out numbers ICE.

I hope Alta hangs in there for the long run, but I suspect it won't be long before we see equally capable bikes from all the major and minor manufacturers.

 

[snydes]

I want to believe Alta protected themselves in case of this scenario.

 

[Rob41]

I want to believe Alta protected themselves in case of this scenario.

I hope so. They are the first to take it all the way and deserve to remain a force in the market.

 

[Philip]

I hope Alta remains the best and all the other bikes suck as before. J/K.

 

[teddyquinn]

I hope so. They are the first to take it all the way and deserve to remain a force in the market.

Definitely the first to take it all the way in terms of a viable off-road / MX option on the same or better level of performance as ICE bikes (with some caveats), and much better off-road execution than Zero and others. However, as I'm sure we all know, the market doesn't owe Alta anything. Good news is, they make an incredible product, have sizable demand, and have loyal, evangelist type of customers. No idea on their total sales and key financials, but have to believe they're exceeding expectations.

They've definitely benefitted from coming at this from a dirt-first approach, and while they may branch out into more urban / street (supermoto aside), I just don't see any immediate competition from any of the other brands in the off-road area. However, as soon as there are changes to how the AMA / FIM treat electric in SX and MX, I'm sure we'll see some big moves from the big guns (keeping my eye on Yamaha; the first of the production MX 4Ts).

Hopefully Alta will keep attracting, motivating, and retaining top talent and have the support and patience of their board / investors. They've only been in production for a couple of years, and launching a new vehicle brand is so difficult, especially for mostly hobby / enthusiast vehicles. EBR knows how hard it is, as does Motus motorcycles.

 

[strider]

Time will tell. I have seen this movie before in High Tech (Cisco is famous for this) and we're watching it play out in EV cars. The big OEMs are worried about cannibalizing their ICE sales. Even with Tesla showing them there is a market they are only creating EVs because governments are forcing them to do so. I think the motorcycle world will be similar. Honestly this move by H-D is interesting and shows that they are in a tough spot and need to try something bold.

I'm still in for an EXR. 6 more days until I can sell stock....

 

[snydes]

Harley’s dilemma is it’s main demographic is shrinking and it needs to create a product that appeals to a different crowd. Die hard Harley guys won’t even acknowledge the Live Wire as a Harley if it ever comes to be, so not much worry of cannibalizing their ICE bike sales IMO.