In the early eighties, Harley-Davidson claimed the Japanese manufacturers were dumping motorcycles on the US market. After Harley-Davidson rejected aid from Japanese manufacturers, the US International Trade Commission imposed in 1983 a 45% tariff on imported bikes and bikes over 700 cc engine capacities specifically to protect Harley-Davidson.
Rather than trying to match the Japanese, the new management deliberately exploited the "retro" appeal of the machines, building motorcycles that deliberately adopted the look and feel of their earlier machines and the subsequent customizations of owners of that era. Many components such as brakes, forks, shocks, carburetors, electrics and wheels were outsourced from foreign manufacturers and quality increased, technical improvements were made, and buyers slowly returned. To remain profitable Harley continues to increase the amount of overseas made parts it uses, while being careful not to harm its valuable "American Made" image.
Harley-Davidson edition The "Sturgis" model, boasting a dual belt-drive, was introduced. By 1990, with the introduction of the "Fat Boy", Harley once again became the sales leader in the heavyweight (over 750 cc) market. At the time of the Fat Boy model introduction a story rapidly spread that its silver paint job and other features were inspired by the World War II American B-29 bomber; and that the Fat Boy name was a combination of the names of the atom bombs (Fat Man and Little Boy) that were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima respectively. However, the Urban Legend Reference Pages lists this story as an urban legend.
1994 saw the replacement of the FXR frame with the Dyna, though it was revived briefly in 1999 and 2000 for special limited editions.
In 1999, Ford Motor Company added a Harley-Davidson edition to the Ford F-Series F-150 line, complete with the Harley-Davidson logo. This truck was an extended-cab for model year 1999. In 2000, Ford changed the truck to a crew cab and in 2002 added a super-charged engine (5.4L) which continued until 2003. In 2004, the Ford/Harley was changed to a Super-Duty, which continues through 2006. Ford again produced a Harley-Davidson Edition F-150 for their 2006 model-year, as well.
Building started on $75 million 130,000 square-foot (12,000 m²) Harley-Davidson Museum in the Menomonee River Valley on June 1, 2006. It is expected to open in 2008 and will house the company's vast collection of historic motorcycles and corporate archives, along with a restaurant, café and meeting space.
Claims of stock price manipulation
During its period of peak demand, during the late 1990s and early 2000s, Harley-Davidson embarked on a program of expanding the number of dealerships throughout the country. At the same time, its current dealers typically had waiting lists that extended up to a year for some of the most popular models. Harley-Davidson, like the auto manufacturers, records a sale not when a consumer buys their product, but rather when it is delivered to a dealer. Therefore, it is possible for the manufacturer to inflate sales numbers by requiring dealers to accept more inventory than desired in a practice called channel stuffing. When demand softened following the unique 2003 model year, this news lead to a dramatic decline in the stock price. In April 2004 alone, the price of HOG shares dropped from over $60 to under $40. Immediately prior to this decline, retiring CEO Jeffrey Bleustein profited $42 million on the exercise of employee stock options. Harley-Davidson was named as a defendant in numerous class action suits filed by investors who claimed they were intentionally defrauded by Harley-Davidson's management and directors. By January 2007, the price of Harley-Davidson shares reached $70.
2007 workers' strike
On February 2, 2007, upon the expiration of their union contract, about 2,700 employees at Harley-Davidson Inc.'s largest manufacturing plant in York, PA went on strike after failing to agree on wages and health benefits. During the pendency of the strike, the company refused to pay for any portion of the striking employees' health care.
The day before the strike, after the union voted against the proposed contract and to authorize the strike, the company shut down all production at the plant. The York facility employs more than 3,200 workers, both union and non-union.
Harley-Davidson announced on February 16, 2007, that it had reached a labor agreement with union workers at its largest manufacturing plant, a breakthrough in the two-week-old strike. The strike disrupted Harley-Davidson’s national production and had ripple effects as far away as Wisconsin, where 440 employees were laid off, and many Harley suppliers also laid off workers because of the strike.
Agreement in India
In a landmark agreement reached during discussions between the U.S. Trade Representative, Susan Schwab, and the Minister for Commerce and Industry of India, Kamal Nath, on April 12, 2007 at New Delhi, Harley-Davidson motorcycles will be allowed access to the Indian market in exchange for the export of Indian mangoes. India had not specified emission standards for motorcycles over 500 cc displacement, effectively prohibiting the import of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, along with most models of other manufacturers, such as Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd. and Suzuki Motor Corporation. The company placed a hold on plans to export their motorcycles to India, due to import duties of 60% and taxes of 30%, which effectively doubled the cost of the motorcycles for the Indian consumer.
MV Agusta Group acquisition
On July 11, 2008 Harley-Davidson announced they had signed a definitive agreement to acquire the MV Agusta Group for $109M USD (€70M). MV Agusta Group contains two lines of motorcycles: the high-performance MV Agusta brand and the lightweight Cagiva brand. The acquisition is expected to close in the coming weeks
