Furious bikers turn on Harley Davidson boss for ‘going woke’ after he publicly promoted DEI programs, LGBT policies and climate change issues

Angry motorcyclists have turned their backs on iconic motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson, accusing its CEO of ‘going woke’.

The growing movement, led by conservative influencer Robby Starbuck, cites CEO Jochen Zeitz’s support for tough policies on transgender child care, critical race theory, climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts as examples.

The 35-year-old Starbucks is now demanding that the company oust its CEO and is calling on motorcycle enthusiasts to support his cause at the world’s largest motorcycle event, the 84th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota.

‘Bikers @SturgisRally gonna spread this,’ Starbuck promised last weekjust a few days before the 10-day event kicked off.

“Harley hopes this all blows over. Are you ready to give up, or are you ready to make your voices heard?”

Starbuck’s rallying cry seemed to work. One of the protesters told him, “I rolled into South Dakota on my 2003 100th anniversary pre-woke edition Electra glide,

I heard [Harley-Davidson] “Sturgis HQ is going to be like the Bud Light tent last year,” the protest participant wrote, referring to the conservative boycott of the brewer after an ad featuring transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, according to USA Today.

Country singer Travis Tritt also called the allegations against Zeitz “disturbing.”

“I seriously doubt that pushing a DEI agenda will be very popular with the HOG members I know,” He wrote.

“I look forward to discussing these issues with many of my Harley-Davidson owning friends next week at @SturgisRally.”

Sean Strickland, former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion and a loyal Harley enthusiast, shared a video with X and said he no longer supported the company.

“I’ve owned Harleys most of my life, but I will never own a Harley again,” he said in the video, calling Zeitz a “fanatic.”

“If you love America, you won’t own a Harley,” he said.

In a later post, Strickland asked his 600,000-plus followers whether he should sell or destroy his bike.

‘Should I sell my Harley or blow it up with a machine gun?!?!’ he asked.

“I will never ride a Harley again unless they repent, and they won’t,” the former UFC champion added.

“If I sell my Harley, I’m just contributing to this woke, freedom-hating, anti-American agenda.”

More than 80 percent of respondents thought he should blow it up.

Amid the outrage, Starbuck said pressure is mounting on Harley-Davidson’s board to fire Zeitz.

“At this point it’s an act of self-preservation for Harley to return to woke status,” he said wrote on Tuesday.

“If they don’t, the brand will suffer in a way that they won’t be able to recover from for a long time. The word is spreading among bikers, MMA circles, and now guys are joking with other guys about owning Harleys.”

But because Zeitz kept his position, Starbuck vowed Sunday to investigate the other board members.

“They don’t seem to care that the CEO is destroying the Harley-Davidson brand, and now I wonder why,” He wrote.

In a nearly 10-minute video, Starbucks accused Zeitz of “fully committing” to DEI policies in Harley-Davidson’s offices and factories that make the company’s signature heavy-duty motorcycles, which are designed to cruise on the highway.

This included funding a recent Pride event in Pennsylvania, which featured face painting and balloon twisting events for youth, and a “rage room” where adults could “let off steam,” he says.

The bike shop also works with political groups that promote far-left ideas, including the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce, United Way and the Human Rights Campaign, he says.

According to Starbuck, Harley-Davidson has used money to promote gender reassignment surgery for children and to promote anti-racism actions against “whiteness” and “Christian privilege.”

He further claimed that DEI efforts have changed the lives of about 6,400 people within the company.

About 1,800 employees received training on how to become an “LGBTQ+ ally,” he said, while in some sessions white men were specifically singled out for diversity training.

The company also introduced Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), which classify employees based on race, gender and sexual identity.

In addition, Starbuck said the motorcycle company is gradually reducing the number of white employees, suppliers and dealers.

Under Zeitz’s leadership, the company also signed a letter from the Human Rights Campaign that Starbuck said was “intended to deter states from passing laws banning sex changes in children and prohibiting men from following girls into restrooms.”

“Harley-Davidson seems to have forgotten who their core customers are,” said Starbuck, a filmmaker who also ran for the Republican House of Representatives from Tennessee in 2022.

“I don’t think the company’s values ​​align with the values ​​of virtually all Harley-Davidson riders.”

Starbuck added: “Do Harley riders want the money they spend with Harley to later be used by companies to promote an ideology that is antithetical to their own values?”

The 121-year-old company, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, did not respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.

But Zeitz, who was hired in 2020 after successfully turning around athletic footwear company Puma, says Harley-Davidson needs to change to attract younger customers.

“We care about the planet because we cycle through nature,” he said. he said in an interview with Morgan Stanley in April 2023.

“And if you want to be successful, you have to think long term.”

With that in mind, Zeitz has charted a course for Harley-Davidson based on sustainability.

Five years ago, the company launched its electric motorcycle brand LiveWire, and Zeitz has set a goal of making all of its vehicles electric by 2030.

Many Harley-Davidson customers now decorate their bikes with rainbow flags, and they regularly appear at Pride events, ridden by groups such as Dykes on Bikes.

The iconic company was founded by childhood friends William Harley and Arthur Davidson. In 1903, their first motorcycle was produced in a small wooden barn in Milwaukee.

The style’s influence in American society increased with contracts signed with the U.S. Postal Service and police departments between 1910 and 1960. The style’s use of long boots and saddlebags made it a natural fit for the American West.