'Dark Rides' Conducted By Harley Davidson Owners To Express Solidarity With Dealers

Hundreds of Harley-Davidson owners organized a countrywide protest ride to express solidarity with H-D dealers in India

Image: @harleydavidson

Harley-Davidson Owners Group (HOG) on Sunday, November 22, conducted “Dark Rides” across 14 cities of the country to express solidarity for the Harley Davidson motorcycle dealers in the country. The Harley-Davidson Dealers' Association, along with Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.), and supported by the Federation of Automobile Dealers' Associations of India (FADA) took out rides across Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Lucknow, Delhi, Gurugram, Jaipur, Indore, Bhopal, Raipur, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Guwahati, to lodge a protest and support the dealers' cause. Former HOG Director, who resigned from his post in support of the dealers told the media that the closure of the Harley Davidson’s operations would cause huge loss to the dealers who invested crores in the business. While the common consumer with the closure of operations would lose out on the riding experience for which they bought the bike. "The common consumers who have bought the bike would face difficulties in getting spare parts and services," he further added. Earlier this year in September, the American Premium Motorbike manufacturer announced to discontinue sales and halt manufacturing operations in the country, but the brand will continue to remain in India, but with a different business model The brand in October announced a partnership and distribution agreement with Hero MotoCorp, which will offer a smooth transition for Harley riders. According to Harley Davidson, the partnership with Hero is to incorporate selling and servicing Harley-Davidson motorcycles, selling parts and accessories, as well as general merchandise, riding gear, and apparel through a network of brand-exclusive Harley-Davidson dealers and Hero's existing dealership network in India. Meanwhile, the existing Harley-Davidson dealers are now opting for legal options as they say the compensation is ‘unreasonable’ as compared to the investments they have made. Before discontinuation, Harley-Davidson had the largest pan-India footprint of dealers among premium motorcycle brands. It is also the first premium motorcycle brand to have set up shops in India in 2009, and by 2020, Harley-Davidson had over 33 dealerships across the country.