Bikers feel used after Harley-Davidson goes ‘totally woke’: ‘It’s a suicidal brand’

Harley-Davidson is reportedly facing mounting criticism over the motorcycle manufacturer’s decision to go “woke.”

The company’s decision to go “woke” was made clear in a Twitter/X post published last month by conservative activist Robby Starbuck.

In the tweet, Starbucks highlighted the various ways the company has embraced “woke” politics.

Look:

It’s time to unmask Harley Davidson.@harleydavidson used to be one of the most beloved brands in America, but recently they’ve gone completely woke under the watchful eye of CEO Jochen Zeitz.

This is what we discovered:

• Openly supports the “equality bill” that would give men access to the… photo.twitter.com/15kPUy8WVY

— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) July 23, 2024

As Starbucks notes, the company supports the Orwellian “Equality Act,” supports drag queen read-alouds for children, and supports DEI.

In addition, the company allegedly forced its 1,800 employees to participate in a virtual workshop on how to become allies of the LGBT mafia and donated millions to an organization that promotes racial essentialist zealots like Ibram Kendi and Robin DiAngelo.

And the company “celebrated their legal department taking on a woke 21-day challenge for racial equity and literacy, with speeches including ‘Black Panthers, White Lies,’ a BLM speech and Ta-Nehisi Coates’ ‘Case for Reparations,’” ​​Starbuck said.

Harley Davidson forgets core customers, falls into woke DEI mode, feels the backlash from Americans https://t.co/yNVAB9YA87 via @BIZPACReview

— BPR-based (@DumpstrFireNews) July 24, 2024

Speaking to Fox News this week, a number of loyal Harley-Davidson fans expressed their deep disappointment and anger over the brand’s new “woke” tendencies. They’re particularly angry because they feel like they were used to build the brand, but have since been thrown away.

“Harley has used the motorcycle clubs and the loyalty of many bikers for decades to build the brand,” motorcyclist and former criminal gang member James “Hollywood” Macecari told Fox News.

“The bikers stayed loyal to Harley during the AMF (American Machine and Foundry) years in the ’70s when the bikes were junk and no one else wanted them. Come on. What brand gets tattooed all over people like Harley? You know? Harley got loyalty and billions in free advertising from the bikers,” he added.

And this is how the company decided to pay back the motorcyclists.

“The relationship with bikers worked for Harley for decades,” Macecari continued. “Then all of a sudden, if I walked into a Harley-Davidson dealership with my patch, they would give me the cold shoulder, even though I probably made more than half of the owners.”

Motorcyclists are not happy about it.

“It’s branding suicide,” South Dakota bike shop owner Vinny Terranova told Fox News. “A lot of bikers are going to Indian. They killed Harley. It breaks my heart.”

According to Fox News, riders have been expressing concerns about the company since German-born CEO Jochen Zeitz took over in May 2020.

“A Harley that was worth $30,000 a few years ago is now only worth $4,000,” Terranova said. “People don’t even want to be associated with Harley anymore.”

The boycott has real consequences for the brand.

For example, last month only 60,000 motorcyclists attended the Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, compared to 80,000 the year before.

Harley-Davidson was also boycotted at this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

Look:

It’s another day at the Sturgis Rally and another day of the @harleydavidson tent is a ghost town with very few people walking in. In a normal year their tent is FULL.

When we expose wokeness, it is powerful.

Bikers do NOT want wokeness from Harley! photo.twitter.com/51StJAPdAE

— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) August 8, 2024

After being exposed as a WOKE brand, Harley-Davidson gets the Bud Light treatment at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

HARLEY BUTTON
LIGHT DAVIDSON
2023:… photo.twitter.com/FOCJQPhGuM

— I Meme Therefore I Am (@ImMeme0) August 8, 2024

That said, not everyone believes the brand has become ‘woke’.

“Harley didn’t get woke,” an employee at a Texas dealership told Fox News. “They don’t hire transgender influencers to ride Harleys on the road. None of these training programs (that led to the ‘woke’ allegations) were mandatory.”

Fair point. But still. For example, it is a fact that the brand “openly works to reduce the number of white suppliers, dealers and employees,” as Starbuck reports.

It is also a fact that Harley-Davidson organizes race training.

Meet Michael Welp and Bill Proudman, the founders of White Men As Full Diversity Partners, where they provide corporate training to white men to become woke DEI allies.@HarleyDavidson bragged about sending “70 leaders” from Harley Davidson to a 2-day DEI summit with this… photo.twitter.com/xsrsJCQDWo

— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) July 25, 2024

If this nonsense isn’t ‘woke’ madness, then what is?

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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer engineering from Purdue University.

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