Investigating The Death Of The Harley-Davidson Street Lineup

Investigating The Death Of The Harley-Davidson Street Lineup

From The Lowdown Show - By ADVrider by ADVrider.com

April 24, 2026 · 1h 2m

About this episode

The episode discusses the failure of the Harley-Davidson Street lineup with insights from Michael Hopkins, a former designer at Harley-Davidson.

On Episode 107 of The Lowdown Radio Show we speak to Michael Hopkins, president of an industrial design firm with longstanding ties to Harley-Davidson in the brand’s formative years. Hopkins also worked at the Motor Company for nearly 16 years, and our conversation stretches from the design of the Coke bottle to Willie G. Davidson’s Hail Mary play that dragged Harley-Davidson out of the doldrums 50 years ago. Well, couldn’t they use another miracle right about now. Like a lightweight introductory machine to bring new blood into the brand. Like the Street was supposed to do, but failed. And wouldn’t you know it, Hopkins worked on the Street when he was at Harley-Davidson. Why was it a flop? What did he learn from the experience? We also talk planned obsolescence—the founder of his company is heavily associated with the term, speaking of which, did you know that rival manufacturers colluded to ensure that lightbulbs died an early death? This and more on The Lowdown Radio Show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: ADVrider.com

Guest: Michael Hopkins

Topics covered

  • Harley-Davidson
  • industrial design
  • motorcycle history
  • product failure
  • planned obsolescence
  • design innovation

Keywords

  • Harley-Davidson
  • Street lineup
  • Michael Hopkins
  • industrial design
  • planned obsolescence
  • motorcycle
  • product design
  • failure analysis

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Harley-Davidson, Coke, lightbulbs

More episodes of The Lowdown Show - By ADVrider

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Lowdown Show - By ADVrider podcast page.