As ever, the Powersports industry doesn’t sleep. Here’s the most recent industry to-dos floating about as of a few days ago:
- Harley-Davidson has released its second-quarter results, showing a sales slump and a withdrawal of its annual forecast predictions.
- After the financial hullabaloo of the past year, KTM has officially resumed production – and to set riders’ hearts at ease, they’ve also given us a projected timeline for their 2026 model year.
- Honda’s readying to show off a new EV bike that will be born in the same category as their Urband Concept scooter.
- Indian Motorcycles’ “FORGED” series released their final bike, and it’s Indian’s new beast, the 2025 Chieftain PowerPlus!
Let’s start on the industry news side of things and work our way across, shall we? 🙂
Harley-Davidson Reports Second Quarter Sales Slump
Annual Forecast Put on Hold Due to Tariff Uncertainties
Harley-Davidson’s not having an easy time of things…and if this new quarter results are any indicator, we recommend keeping a close eye on the rest of 2025 and 2026 for this brand.
According to a press release from Harley-Davidson – published to PRNewsWire at 7 am this morning – Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company (HDMC)’s revenue was down by 23% year-over-year. Global motorcycle shipments were also down 28%, and global sales were down 15% year-over-year. International dealer inventories were also down 28%, with tariffs costing Harley a whopping $13 million this quarter alone.
All of the above doesn’t look good; in fact, perhaps this is why Jochen Zeitz – previously confirmed to have stepped down from Harley’s role of CEO, now listed AGAIN as Harley’s CEO – has announced a new partnership, stating the following below:
| “While our second quarter results continue to be impacted by a challenging commercial environment for discretionary products and an uncertain tariff situation, we are extremely pleased to announce a strategic partnership for HDFS with KKR and PIMCO that generates significant value for Harley-Davidson on all levels. Our strategic partners have valued the HDFS business at approximately 1.75x post-transaction book value. We expect this will unlock $1.25 billion in cash and leaves HDFS well positioned to serve our customers and dealers.
With the cash from the transaction, we plan to reduce our debt by $450 million and accelerate our $1 billion share buyback program announced last year, by the purchase of $500 million in the second half of ’25. We also have the flexibility to invest up to $300 million of additional funds into future growth opportunities.” – Jochen Zeitz, Chairman, President and CEO (??), Harley-Davidson. |
To break down the above quote:
- The part of Harley-Davidson that sells motorcycles (HDMC) is not selling as many motorcycles.
- The part of Harley-Davidson that sells financial services (HDFS), however, shows that the company has great worth beyond the motorcycles. Harley-Davidson believes their assets are worth more than the rate at which the market is currently valuing them.
- Due to the above facts, KKR and PIMCO are teaming up with HDFS, and Harley-Davidson is expecting to have about $1.25 billion in cash to play with.
- Using that $1.25 billion, Harley will be paying off $450 million of their debt, buy back $500 million of their shares, and still have up to $300 million to invest in cool stuff for their community for the coming seasons.
In short, Jochen’s good at figuring out the money part of Harley-Davidson, and it appears that he is stepping back into his role as CEO to help Harley-Davidson along. We may not have an annual forecast for the company yet, and with leisure vehicle demand in the U.S. declining as consumers respond to an uncertain economy, we look forward to seeing what a potentially capital-light business model will look like for HDFS… and what that will mean for Harley’s motorcycle side of things.
For a detailed look at Harley-Davidson’s second-quarter performance and the strategic HDFS transaction, check out Harley-Davidson and Reuter’s contributions below:
- Harley-Davidson Delivers Second Quarter Financial Results and Announces HDFS Transaction with KKR and PIMCO
- Harley-Davidson misses second-quarter profit estimates as tariffs weigh
KTM Resumes Production, Sets Timeline for 2026 Models
The Austrians Return!
KTM’s been through the ringer, and they’ve finally made it out. Mazel tof!!
To recap where this all began, let’s look at KTM’s timeline to date:
- A circa-2021 reminder before we start: According to PIERER Mobility’s press release back on the 21st of September, 2021, Bajaj had “contributed 46.5% out of its approx. 48% shares currently held in KTM AG by PTW Holding AG (the majority shareholder of PIERER Mobility AG).” This move allowed Bajaj Auto to gain control of a 49.9% stake in PIERER’s majority shareholder. In short, Bajaj was 0.2% away from a majority stake in KTM way back in 2021, before things got overly gnarly.
- KTM’s “unprecedented financial crisis” was first aired to the public in late 2024, with platforms like Mexico Business News stating that KTM’s loss of €2.5 billion (US$2.6 billion) meant that the company was working hard to stabilize its operations. At this time, KTM’s debt totalled more than €3 billion, and declining global demand led to 100,000 unsold motorcycles, or around one year’s worth of potential sales for KTM.
- It was also around this time that we learned KTM had to let go of 750 employees, all of whom represented the first wave of cost-cutting measures as the company applied for judicial restructuring proceedings.
- 2025’s first quarter saw an update in news reports from the likes of Power Systems Research, declaring that KTM had “entered self-administration under Austria’s insolvency laws, granting it a 90-day protection period from creditors.” A temporary halt in production was initiated at the Mattighofen factory, listed to last until the end of February 2025.
- By late February of 2025, we heard from RevZilla that 300 additional layoffs were put into effect between January and February as KTM entered into an agreement compelling the company to repay at least 30% of its debts. This meant that €548 million ($575 million USD) was due to be paid to KTM’s creditors by May 23.
- Legalities included the fact that KTM’s creditors filed €2.2 billion ($2.3 billion USD) in claims, but KTM was only told to pay back €1.7 billion ($1.8 billion USD) of that original amount. The full restructuring plan was purportedly accepted by creditors on February 25th.
- Per Powersports Business, Bajaj Auto was the parent company that swooped in and came to KTM’s rescue. We’re told that €600 million was made available in addition to the 200 million euros already provided, totalling €800 million ($905,244 USD) aimed at revitalizing KTM. Of course, this move meant that Bajaj was given the opportunity to invest a 50.1% stake in Pierer Bajaj AG.
- Today (July 30, 2025), we know that Bajaj’s 50.1% stake in KTM is basically a done deal, with both parties simply awaiting pending regulatory approval of the majority stake.
Now that y’all are updated with the facts, we’re here to celebrate the fact that KTM has, as of two days ago, officially resumed production!
According to coverage from KTM’s press release, Mattinghofen is back to a full-time, five-day work week. The festivities join other news: New models are slotted to be revealed in the coming weeks… and all this before EICMA!
LC4 platform models to be revealed for the 2026 model year include the 690 ENDURO R as well as KTM’s 690 SMC R. As anticipated, CEO Gottfried Neumeister is excited at this new movement:
“A special thank you goes to our employees, who have made this restart possible through their tremendous dedication, flexibility, and team spirit over the past months. Their commitment during one of the most challenging phases has been – and continues to be – a key success factor for the company’s future development… Restarting production gives us the stability we need to fully refocus on quality, customer proximity, and further development.”
– Gottfried Neumeister, CEO, KTM (KTM’s press release) |
A big congrats to KTM for the hard work of all involved to get to this point, and may our good Powerports industry continue to blossom with dedicated rides for our bevy of roads – both across the pond and beyond.
For more detailed information on KTM’s production restart, visit KTM’s website and read their press release:
Rumor Has It: Honda Is Primed to Reveal an EV Bike Ahead of EICMA
New Electric Sports Model to Join Urban Concept Scooter
The world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer has been revving to introduce a new machine – and judging by the recent tease on Instagram, it’s going to be a zero-emission offering for the emissions-conscious masses.
According to the teaser provided by Honda Motorcycles Europe on YouTube, September 2nd is the official date that this electric motorcycle will be revealed. This is also slotted to be Big Red’s very first “electric sports” model, directly based on one of the EV Fun Concepts originally presented in the press release Honda published back during EICMA. Back then, we knew this pint-sized bit of zip was a naked sports model equivalent to a mid-sized gas-guzzler, and that it was posited to have a range of around or more than 100km, or around 62 miles.
Currently, the tease video shows a prototype-style taped bike with a single LED headlight, no lever on the left handle and a rather massive dash, upon which we assume that Honda will have cute tidbits like charging status, range predictions, and possibly perks like a navigation system. The addition of a single-sided swingarm and Pirelli Diablo Rosso III rubber gives serious signs that this machine is headed for the sporty sector, but until the thing is debuted, we cannot give a full opinion… so we will hold our peace until September 2nd.
For a closer look at the teaser images and initial details of Honda’s upcoming electric sports model, head over to Motorcycle.com:
Indian Releases 2025 Chieftain PowerPlus
Kyle Bertsch, Satya KrausJeremy “Twitch” Stenberg Put their Signature on “Forged” Series’ Final Bike
Indian Motorcycle’s acclaimed FORGED video series has wrapped its latest season, and the trifecta of builders for this final machine have outdone themselves.
According to Indian’s press release, the builders of this new 2025 Chieftain PowerPlus – Kyle Bertsch of Forever Rad, Satya Kraus of Kraus Motor Co., and Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg himself – bestowed their creation to former UFC World Champion, Cody “No Love” Garbrandt. The result benefitted from billet aluminium, carbon fibre and handcrafted components, with both Satya and new owner Garbrandt having been quoted with the following:
| “We designed this bike not only to represent what’s possible, but to help define what’s next… It was about pushing the boundaries of performance and design and creating parts that riders can actually use and feel the difference. Partnering with Cody and Indian Motorcycle gave us the chance to prototype new components and rethink what a Chieftain can be.
This bike is just a straight street ripper. There’s no BS. There’s no glossy paint. There’s no fancy this or that. It’s classy but it’s mean, and it’s all about business.” – Satya Kraus, Kraus Motor Co. founder (Indian Motorcycles) |
| “When I got the opportunity for the Forged series, it was amazing… And once I was paired with Kraus, I was like a kid on Christmas and couldn’t wait to get on the bike. I rock a lot of Kraus products on my other bikes and just know that those guys are riders, through and through. It’s one of the best days of my life to be able to have a bike that’s built by them that I’m going to ride and really enjoy.
Getting on it, I was just super impressed. I mean, I had my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. I don’t think I’ve smiled that much on a bike.” – Cody “No Love” Garbrandt, former UFC World Champion (Indian Motorcycles) |
In case you’re wanting a gander at the official list, here’s the (exorbitant) list of stuff that went into the 2025 Chieftain PowerPlus build:
- Black Stone Tek Forged Carbon Wheels/Brocks Performance
- Kraus RTX8 Brake Caliper
- Kraus RT Performance Brake Pads
- Kraus ARP Caliper Hardware Kit
- Spiegler Brake Lines
- Kraus Öhlins Inverted Front End
- DTF Carbon Front Fender
- Kraus Low Profile Spoke Mount Hardware
- Denali D14 Headlight
- Denali D4 Running/Turn Signal Lights
- Klockwerks Chieftain Windshield
- Kraus Hart-Luck Riser Base
- Kraus Shorty Bar Mounts
- Kraus Stainless KR Low Bar – Thermal Gold
- Indian Raidal RS Mirrors by Rizoma
- Kraus Radial Master Cylinder, Clutch Perch, Adjustable Levers
- Hart-Luck ODI Grips
- DTF Carbon Dash Cover
- Custom Tank Emblems
- Kraus Seat by Saddlemen
- Kraus Coil Relo Mount
- Kraus Charcoal Canister Delete Cover
- Kraus Max Lean Floorboards
- Kraus Adjustable Foot, Shift, and Brake Levers
- Kraus Passenger Foot Pegs Mounts
- Kraus Max Lean Mini Boards
- Kraus Custom Derby Cover
- Modified OEM Side Panels
- Custom Trimmed DTF Carbon Rear Fender w/ Billet Machined Tail Lip
- Custom Kraus Billet Bag Mounts
- Fabricated Aluminum Bag Supports with Custom Bag Hardware
- Custom Chopped Saddlebags
- Kraus Hinge Cover
- Ciro Saddlebag Lights
- Polished Swing Arm
- Modified Öhlins Adjustable Rear Shock
- Preload Adjuster Mount
- Kraus Rear RTX8 Brake Caliper
- Kraus Rear Radial Caliper Mount – 108mm
- Fab28 Custom Stainless Exhaust System
- Modified Front Sprocket Cover
- Chain Drive Kit
- DID 530 Chain
- Kickstand Extension Puck
- Low Mount License Plate Mount
We wish Garbrandt the absolute best with his new build!
For additional details on the build, check out the video we attached to this article, or check out the press release connected to Indian’s FORGED series below: