Motorcycle manufacturers cease shipments to Russia amid invasion, sanctions

Even so, it's going to get more difficult to buy one as U.S., European, and Japanese manufacturers suspend business with Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine and resulting international sanctions.

U.S. manufacturers

Harley-Davidson quickly halted exports to Russia early last week, suspending all business in the country until further notice. Russian leader Vladimir Putin has previously used Harley-Davidson motorcycles in photo ops, as in the photo at top, riding a Harley trike and flying the flags of Russia and Ukraine at a rally in Crimea in 2010. It is unlikely the brand will stay in his good graces after the Motor Company’s recent move.

Polaris, parent company of Indian Motorcycles, soon joined H-D by stopping the sale of all motorcycle and powersports products. This includes Polaris’ range of UTVs and snowmobiles.

European manufacturers

Volkswagen Group, which includes Ducati, also suspended all business in Russia late last week. Any affected employees will receive “short-term working benefits, paid by Volkswagen.”

Against the background of the Russian attack on #Ukraine, #VWGroup has decided to stop the production of vehicles in #Russia (Kaluga, Nizhny Novgorod) until further notice. Vehicle exports to Russia will also be stopped with immediate effect. (1/2)

— Volkswagen Group (@VWGroup) March 3, 2022

BMW cut ties with Russia by ceasing shipments and shutting down local production of knocked-down vehicles with Russian partner Avtotor. “We condemn the aggression against Ukraine and follow developments with great concern and dismay,” BMW said. Ukraine supplies a substantial quantity of neon for automotive chips, as well as wiring harness components used in BMW vehicles. BMW Motorrad products were among the most popular motorcycles in Russia before the stop-sale policy began.

MV Agusta’s Russian-born CEO, Timur Sardarov, published an open letter condemning Russia’s actions. “For me as a Russian it is the biggest tragedy of my 40 years of existence,” he wrote. “I have never thought that I would feel so betrayed by the action of my own country… My thoughts and prayers are going to all the Ukrainian people and the poor Russian soldiers, young boys that have been thrown into this brother-killing conflict.” In another post, he called the attack “the biggest tragedy of my generation.”

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A post shared by Timur Sardarov (@sardarovtimur)

Japanese manufacturers

In Japan, Honda announced that they would stop shipping cars and motorcycles to Russian dealers and customers. NHK reports that Suzuki will withhold cars and motorcycles from Russia for as long as they deem necessary, and Yamaha Motor also suspended all business with the region, from motorcycles to snowmobiles and outboard engines.

Russian domestic motorcycles

Since our report on Ural last week, the Russian brand has not posted anything else to Instagram, leaving their anti-war message to speak for itself. Ural told Common Tread that the company would worry about long-term plans later. For now, Ural walks a difficult balance of keeping their operations stable while openly criticizing the invasion. The Russian government has taken increasingly severe measures against anti-war voices over the last week, and anything posted to social media seems to be fair game.

It seems that the majority of western motorcycle manufacturers are no longer doing business with Russia, and more manufacturers may join them as the crisis continues. Shipments are unlikely to resume before major changes take place, including the end of the Ukrainian invasion, the lifting of heavy sanctions, the reconnection of Russia to global banking systems, and a new geopolitical situation that does not bring risk to any entity willing to do business with Russia.