Extension of Harley-Davidson Product Line to Include a “Do-It-Yourself” Custom Motorcycle - Business Proposal

Executive Summary

The Harley-Davidson Do-it-Yourself line of motorcycles is a segment of Harley-Davidson, INC that will develop, distribute, market, and service a high end line of 100% custom customer built motorcycles.

The company mission statement is:

“We ride with our customers and apply this deep connection in every market we serve to create superior value for all of our stakeholders.”

These DIY kits will be produced to the standards that have made Harley-Davidson the leader in American made motorcycles. Significant effort will be expended to create an easy to follow build sheet, an easy to use web-based design system, as well as developing a dealership/customer relationship during the build process. In today’s custom motorcycle market, there are no factory motorcycle companies providing what these DIY kits will offer. Granted, there are a number of custom motorcycle shops throughout the market place, but with costs reaching well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, for many Harley riders, a custom bike like this is well out of reach.

There will be considerable market inertia to be overcome with the release of a DIY motorcycle kit. In the past, the world “custom” was synonymous with bolt on chrome piece, leather side bags, and if you could afford it; a custom paint job. With the introduction of the Harley-Davidson DIY kit, the word custom will take a on a whole new meaning. Customers will be able to pick out their frame, motor, transmission, fenders, lights, gas tanks, front end, etc. providing a level of customization never before seen from a production motorcycle company. The motorcycle market is currently estimated to be about 7 million registered riders just in the United States who spend approximately 4.2 billion dollars a year just on Harley-Davidson related products. With market trends pointing towards a growing, younger, and wealthier customer base the potential to corner the market could not be greater.

Because there are no...