American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 231 October 2018 | Page 8

Vaughn Beals - the Engineer who
Saved the American Motorcycle
Business from Oblivion
<<< Continued from back page
management practise.
In a 1989 Fortune Magazine interview
Beals stated that “we were being
wiped out by the Japanese because
they were better managers. It wasn’t
robotics, or culture, or morning
calisthenics and company songs. It
was professional managers who
understood their business and paid
attention to detail.”
One measure of the challenges faced
by Beals and his team, and the success
they achieved, was in terms of quality
control. Having implemented the kind
of Japanese style ‘Just in Time’
inventory control and production
quality inspection protocols that
manufacturing worldwide takes for
granted these days, Harley managed
to slash post production snagging (on
output that dipped to a low of around
37,000 units a year) to 1 percent from
50 percent by 1987.
Beals had no biking background
before joining AMF in 1975 as a senior
manager in its motorcycle operations
– critically though he had an
engineering background and
understood the importance of R&D. As
an MIT aeronautical engineering
graduate, his time in the aviation
industry had included ten years
directing technological research,
moving on in 1965 to become vice
president of research and engineering,
and later a divisional head at truck
engine manufacturer Cummins.
Beals served as CEO until March of
Harley to Create Advanced
R&D Facility at Silicon Valley
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smaller and even more accessible product
options to inspire new riders with new
ways to ride.”
Those additional models will likely include
models that are broadly in line with the
“Future Electrics” concepts that were also
unveiled in the “More Roads” strategy
document. The “broader range” of electric
model concepts seen in “More Roads”
included models that are “light, nimble
and ready to tackle the urban landscape”
and “more accessible product options to
inspire new riders with new ways to ride”.
The concepts visualized an Enduro style
street/off-road surface-capable cross-
vision and powerful leadership to this
great company, said Harley-Davidson
President and CEO Matt Levatich.
“Most significantly, he ensured that
this ‘Eagle Soars Alone.’ We’ve carried
his leadership lift under our wings ever
since, and we always will.”
Beals is survived by his wife of 67
years, Eleanore, and numerous
children and grandchildren.
mechanical and software engineering
with experience in developing and
delivering a wide variety of EV systems
from design through production.” The
facility will initially employ a staff of
approximately 25, most of which the
company intends to hire from within the
Silicon Valley area.
‘scooters and
PedElecs’
over and a European style city and
campus hopper that would be ideal for
‘Pay and Go’ rental fleets. It is thought that
new models may also include scooters
and PedElecs.
The company says it has already begun
recruiting “top talent in electrical,
A European style city and campus hopper, ideal for ‘Pay and Go’ rental fleets
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1989 and continued to serve as
chairman until May of 1996. He was
succeeded by Richard F. Teerlink as
CEO in 1989, and as chairman in
1996. To this day Harley operates the
Vaughn L. Beals Tour Center at its
assembly plant at York, Pennsylvania.
“During some of the most challenging
times in the long legacy of Harley-
Davidson, Vaughn Beals brought
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - OCTOBER 2018
“This is an exciting time in Harley-
Davidson’s incredible history, and it’s also
an exciting time to join our company and
help shape our future,” said Levatich.
In fact, Harley and other manufacturers
are treading a path down a trail first
blazed by Ducati at around the time that
Harley-Davidson tried to buy the Bologna,
Matt Levatich, Harley CEO: “This
new R&D facility in the heart of
Silicon Va