Lots of automotive and motorcycle manufacturers have expressed interest in the electric bicycle market. We’ve talked about a lot of these in great length, with honorable mentions including Porsche, Ducati, and Audi. Iconic American motorcycle label Harley-Davidson also had an offshoot specializing in electric bikes called Serial 1, and I put that in past-tense because that company has just been sold.
That’s right, in a surprising turn of events, Harley-Davidson has sold Serial 1 to LEV Manufacturing, a company based out of Florida with a knack for producing lightweight electric vehicles. Just last year, Serial 1 rolled out a number of impressive models including the Switch/MTB and Bash/MTN rugged e-bikes, as well as the Google Cloud-powered generation two e-bikes.
Serial 1 first opened its doors back in the height of the pandemic in 2020, and occupied a small space at the back of Harley-Davidson’s Milwaukee HQ. Since then the brand has undergone a lot of changes and has outsourced some of its production to Taiwan. With the recent acquisition of LEV Manufacturing, it’s hoped that Serial 1’s production will move back to the good old US of A.
LEV Manufacturing explained that the acquisition of Serial 1 holds a lot of potential, particularly for the US market as local manufacturing will shorten the supply chain resulting in lower retail prices and faster delivery times. Furthermore, US-based service and support teams will also be set up, providing added employment and hopefully, a boost to the economy.
In a recent article by Electrek, a representative from LEV Manufacturing stated, “This is the perfect marriage of a great premium American brand with exceptional quality-driven American manufacturing. We are very excited to add more jobs to the USA and continue to create world-class products with the acquisition of Serial 1. The cost-cutting measures and the lowered MSRP will further enhance the accessibility of premium e-bikes for consumers.”
Additional details, particularly regarding the details of the acquisition, remain undisclosed as of this writing. Furthermore, the upcoming models and plans for the future of Serial 1 have also yet to be revealed.
