' compliance is not only inevitable but desirable '
the performance aftermarket in manufacturing terms , I had to ask Paul what he thinks about the role of the aftermarket in general , and how S & S specifically fits into the Harley-Davidson rider universe . " It is tempting as an OEM manufacturer to think that you should , and could , be doing everything yourself . That the existence of aftermarket vendors is business lost , maybe even a sign of weakness - hence that feeling of competition and frustration that factory newbies often feel . " But as the OEM you absolutely cannot do everything yourself . While not all aftermarket vendors are equal , they do all bring something to the table for the market ' s riders and the dealer network they do business at - the authorized network and the custom shops . " With the top of that food chain , where S & S and maybe a dozen or more of the most respected
premier aftermarket vendors sit , you are eventually able to come to see the real value that they bring to the factory ' s customers . As has often been said , the aftermarket represents huge off balance sheet investment into the OEM brand , and provided everyone recognizes each other ' s intellectual property and is on the same page in terms of promoting the motorcycles as objects of desire , then it should be a win-win . " I can ' t really speak for how others might see it , but for me , now that I can see and understand both sides of that equation , I think it definitely is mutually beneficial - not one-sided . I think S & S always has and still does bring genuine benefit to Harley owners by enhancing their riding experience in ways that the factory just can ' t ." I asked Paul if he , therefore , would subscribe to the view that vendors like S & S , but S & S especially , did as much to shape and define the opportunities that Harley itself had at certain key moments in the last 50 or 60 years did - not least as ' Keepers of the Flame ' in the AMF days and at the times when Harley was flirting with near death experience in the 1980s and at the time of the financial crisis . " Yes . I do . I get that . Especially in the 1980s . Long before my time , of course , but you only have to spend time in the Harley Museum to realize just what an existential crisis the Motor Company faced back then . " The secret for Harley - and other great brands - is that it isn ' t only about the cam or the engine or the chassis or the paint . It is about the culture , and S & S is not only a part of that culture , but it additionally has a culture and heritage of its own . Let ' s face it , the S & S logo is one of the very few others that ' Bar ' n ' Shielders ' would wear with pride - as a patch or even as a tattoo .
" Harley riders see the S & S brand as saying something about them , and when customers and enthusiasts are ' in that place ' then you know you have a powerful asset - an equity that is hard earned , but all too easily lost . You have to recognize that , be cognizant of it and understand how to protect and further evolve it . " The admiration has to be earned and you can never take it for granted - you get put on that pedestal by the customer , you don ' t get to put yourself on it ." As OEMs such as Harley-Davidson have moved towards harmonizing production so that single model production meets emissions , noise and other regulatory standards worldwide , so too the aftermarket is needing to do the same . It isn ' t easy , it is a major investment , it is timeconsuming and can create multiple product design issues . A decade or more ago there were those in the motorcycle aftermarket who were calling on the MIC to lobby Washington for a ' Dirty Law ' to exempt motorcycles from compliance . However , what a difference a decade can make . There is now a widespread understanding that it can mean free added horsepower and torque , better and more durable product quality and allow the aftermarket to talk the same language as future generations of consumers . There is now a growing acceptance that compliance is not only inevitable but desirable - good for business . S & S Cycle were visionaries . In global compliance terms , they were early adopters , moving in that direction even before Harley ' s own engineering had got there . I asked Paul if , under his watch , that investment would continue and if he recognizes the distance the company traveled towards future-facing solutions in the years before he arrived at Viola . " Oh , yes and yes . While there are some products that can be engineered solely for domestic US consumption - styles of product for which there simply wouldn ' t be demand or model compatibility and equivalence elsewhere . Overall , there is no
All the best brand values have an " origin story ".
MK45 ( 4.5 " OD ) 50-state legal Cutlass slip-on muffler .
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