Angry bikers have turned their backs on iconic motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson, accusing its chief executive of being “untrustworthy”.
The growing movement, spearheaded by conservative influencer Robby Starbuck, cites CEO Jochen Zeitz’s support for hardline policies on transgender childcare, critical race theory, climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Starbuck, 35, is now demanding the company fire its chief executive and is rallying motorcycle enthusiasts to support his cause at the world’s largest motorcycle event, the 84th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota.
‘The @SturgisRally riders are going to spread the word about this,’ Starbuck said. promised last weekjust days before the 10-day event began.
“Harley is hoping this will all be over. Are you ready to give up or make your voice heard?”
More and more riders say they are ditching their Harley-Davidson motorcycles
They cite CEO Jochen Zeitz’s support for hardline policies on transgender childcare, critical race theory, climate change, and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
Starbuck’s rally cry seemed to work, with one rally-goer telling him, “I rolled into South Dakota in my 2003 Centennial pre-woke edition Electra Glide,
“I heard the (Harley-Davidson) Sturgis headquarters will be like the Bud Light tent last year,” the rally-goer wrote, referencing the conservative boycott of the beer maker following an ad featuring transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. according to USA Today.
Country music star Travis Tritt also called the allegations against Zeitz “disturbing.”
“I seriously doubt that pushing a DEI agenda would be very popular among any of the HOG members I know,” he wrote.
“I look forward to discussing these issues with many of my fellow Harley-Davidson owners at @SturgisRally next week.”
Sean Strickland, former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion and long-time Harley enthusiast, also shared a video with X saying that he no longer supports the company.
“I’ve owned Harleys most of my life, but I’ll never own a Harley again,” he said in the video, calling Zeitz a “fanatic.”
“If you love America, you’re not going to own a Harley,” he said.
In a subsequent post, Strickland polled his more than 600,000 followers on whether he should sell his bike or destroy it.
‘Should I sell my Harley or blow it up with a machine gun?’ asked.
“I’ll never ride a Harley again unless they change their minds, which they won’t,” the former UFC champion added.
“If I sell my Harley, I’ll just be participating in this anti-American, progressive, freedom-hating agenda.”
More than 80 percent of respondents voted in favor of flying it.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion and longtime Harley enthusiast Sean Strickland shared a video in which he says he is ditching his Harley.
Amid the uproar, Starbuck said pressure is mounting on Harley-Davidson’s board to fire Zeitz.
“At this point, it’s an act of self-preservation for Harley to back down on its awareness-raising stance,” he said. wrote on Tuesday.
“If they don’t, the brand will suffer in a way that it won’t be able to recover from in the near future. The word is spreading among bikers, MMA circles and now men are joking with other men about owning a Harley.”
But with Zeitz retaining his post, Starbuck vowed Sunday to investigate the other board members.
“They don’t seem to care that the CEO is destroying the Harley-Davidson brand, and now I’m curious to know why.” he wrote.
Starbuck had accused Zeitz in a nearly 10-minute video of having a “total commitment” to DEI policies at Harley-Davidson offices and factories that produce its signature heavy-duty motorcycles, which are designed for use on highways.
This includes funding a recent Pride event in Pennsylvania, with face painting and balloon twisting activities for young people, as well as a “rage room” where adults can “let off steam,” he says.
The bike maker has also partnered with political groups that promote far-left ideas, including the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce, United Way and the Human Rights Campaign, he says.
Harley-Davidson’s money has thus promoted sex-change procedures for children and anti-racist efforts against “whiteness” and “Christian privilege,” Starbuck alleges.
He went on to say that DEI efforts have changed life within the company of about 6,400 people.
About 1,800 employees received training on how to become “LGBTQ+ allies,” she said, while some sessions singled out white men for specific diversity training.
The company also introduced employee resource groups (ERGs), which separate staff along racial, gender and sexual identity lines.
In addition, Starbuck said the motorcycle company is gradually reducing its number of white employees, suppliers and distributors.
Under Zeitz’s direction, the company also signed a Human Rights Campaign letter that Starbuck said was “aimed at scaring states from passing laws banning sex changes in children and men from following girls into bathrooms.”
The movement is led by conservative influencer Robby Starbuck.
“Harley-Davidson seems to have forgotten who its core customers are,” said Starbuck, a filmmaker who is also a 2022 Republican House candidate from Tennessee.
“I don’t think the company’s values reflect the values of almost any Harley-Davidson rider.”
Starbuck added: “Do Harley riders want the money they spend on Harley to later be used by corporations to push an ideology that is diametrically opposed to their own values?”
The 121-year-old company, which is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, did not respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
Zeitz previously said Harley-Davidson needed to change to attract younger customers.
But Zeitz, who was hired in 2020 after successfully turning around sports shoe company Puma, has said Harley-Davidson needs to change to attract younger customers.
“We care about the planet because we ride in nature,” he says. he said in a Q&A with Morgan Stanley in April 2023.
“And if you want to be successful, you have to think long term.”
With this in mind, Zeitz has charted a course for Harley-Davidson based on sustainability.
It launched its LiveWire electric motorcycle brand five years ago and Zeitz has set a goal of having all its vehicles powered by electricity by 2030.
Many Harley-Davidson customers now decorate their motorcycles with rainbow flags and make frequent appearances at Pride events, organized by groups such as Dykes on Bikes.
The iconic company was founded by childhood friends William Harley and Arthur Davidson, with their first motorcycle produced in a small wooden shed in Milwaukee in 1903.
Its influence on American society increased as it secured contracts with the United States Postal Service and police departments between 1910 and 1960, and its riders’ use of long boots and saddlebags made it fit in with the imagery of the American West.
