HARLEY-DAVIDSON has resumed motorcycle production this week in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania after supplier issues forced the production lines to halt for around two weeks.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that both plants would again be up and running, citing a company official as the source of the news. The move affected all models currently in production at the facility, with only the LiveWire remaining in production.
Harley remained tight-lipped regarding which company the production halt was brought on by, although with the LiveWire remaining in production, it’s fair to assume the issue was in relation to an engine or drivetrain component.
Confirming the closure, a statement to the media from Harley-Davidson read:
“This decision, taken out of an abundance of caution, is based on information provided by a third-party supplier to Harley-Davidson late on Tuesday (5/17) concerning a regulatory compliance matter relating to the supplier’s component part,”
The move to close production came at a time when rumours around Harley-Davidson announcing a 975cc version of its Pan America begin to gain momentum. It’s thought the brand could be slotting the smaller of the Revolution Max engines into the high-tech adventure motorcycle, sending it in to do battle with the middleweight pack. It’d send Harley into the thick of a highly competitive sector, headed by bikes like the Triumph Tiger 900, KTM 890 Adventure, and incoming Ducati DesertX. Whether this model will now be pushed back – if it arrives at all – because of the production break remains to be seen.
