The American bike maker is hard at work making up for lost ground.
Harley-Davidson has filed trademark applications in the United States for the names “Low Bob” and “Deadwood.” These trademark filings appear to signal the brand’s new “Back to the Bricks” corporate strategy, introduced under CEO Artie Starrs, which emphasises a return to classic American motorcycle styling, stronger heritage branding, broader rider appeal, and lower-cost entry models.
Further, both trademarks were filed specifically for use in connection with “motorcycles and structural parts thereof”, indicating that the company likely intends to use these names for actual production motorcycles rather than for merchandise, apparel, or accessories. We reckon that “Low Bob” will likely become part of the brand’s Softail or cruiser line-up, while “Deadwood” may be connected to the Revolution Max platform or a revived retro-inspired Sportster concept.
The “Low Bob” name appears to combine two established H-D naming traditions. While the term “Low” comes from the company’s Low Rider family, “Bob” references the bobber styling and the Street Bob lineage. H-D already owns and actively uses trademarks such as “Low Rider” and “Street Bob,” making “Low Bob” appear consistent with the company’s existing product architecture. Analysts therefore believe the name likely represents a crossover identity that combines stripped-down bobber aesthetics with a low-slung performance cruiser design.
We expect the motorcycle to be based on H-D’s Softail chassis and powered by the Milwaukee-Eight V-twin engine family, with potential design characteristics including a solo seat, lowered suspension, blacked-out styling, either drag bars or mini ape handlebars, besides extensive customisation potential.
Moving now to the “Deadwood” trademark, the name likely references the town of Deadwood, South Dakota, which is quite close to Sturgis, the venue of H-D owners’ yearly “pilgrimage”. That said, the “Deadwood” name could be that of a new cruiser built on H-D’s Revolution Max platform, which currently includes the Pan America, Nightster, and Sportster S. Alternatively, H-D may rename the upcoming entry-level Sportster as “Deadwood”, being that the brand intends to revive it in a more traditional air-cooled form. Besides, the new name could help differentiate it from the classic Sportster identity, while preserving the historic Sportster branding for a future air-cooled model.
Now, considering H-D has freshly filed the trademark, which are currently pending examination, the earliest we can expect the new models to be showcased would be in the second half of 2027, probably as 2028-model offerings. Their India launch, then, would be soon after. While we can only guess about the Deadwood, from what we can predict about the Low Bob, we expect it to go up against the Indian Chief Bobber and Triumph Bonneville Bobber.
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