Harley-Davidson Building R&D Facility in Silicon Valley

Harley-Davidson is all in on California's Silicon Valley.

Legendary motorcycle icon Harley-Davidson is building a new research and development facility in Silicon Valley to lead its electrification efforts.

Through its 'More Roads for Harley-Davidson' growth plan, the company is building its first-ever electric motorcycle, LiveWire, with 25 new hires comprising of engineering, mechanical, and software engineers to work out of the center. Other areas of development will include batteries and e-machine design.

"Recently we shared with the world our accelerated plans to build the next generation of Harley-Davidson riders globally," said Harley-Davidson CEO Matt Levatich. "This new R&D facility in the heart of Silicon Valley will help us deliver on those plans and demonstrate our commitment to lead the electrification of the sport."

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It will also operate as a satellite office to its primary product development facility in Wisconsin.

Hopefully, this new facility will help reverse Harley-Davidson's recent fortunes, with the company becoming victim to a shift in demographics amidst a lack of exciting riding options for users outside of its core, older demographic.

The company has also been in President Donald Trump's crosshairs as a casualty of the ongoing trade war with rising U.S. tariffs forcing production overseas.

NEXT: 4 NEW HARLEY-DAVIDSON MODELS ANNOUNCED

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