The story
Around 2008 and 2009, after Colosimo and Streng found themselves unemployed, they decided to start a motorcycle manufacturer. Working out of a friend's garage in Ashland, Ohio, they pooled their money, $15,000, and used various stock parts to make a 250 cc prototype in a Mansfield, Ohio factory. They ran into "roadblocks" from investors, government agencies, and local organizations in Cleveland who told them their enterprise would fail. Colosimo said they went after "millions in grants" from the US government, hoping for money aimed at assisting development of green vehicles, "Since we're using small displacement engines, we're getting close to 100mpg", but the familiar technology of the ubiquitous Honda engine design did not qualify for seed money, since it was not, "ultra-green technology that no one's heard of, some sort of wizardry." One of the design goals was technological simplicity, enabling the rider to maintain and customize his or her own bike, Colosimo saying, "they're nice and simple and you can take them apart, you can understand them."
Similarly, US parts manufacturers initially expressed interest in filling Cleveland CycleWerks' orders until they found out the parts were for a motorcycle, and then backed out, telling Colosimo, "Well, is this for motorcycles? We can't do parts for motorcycles, it's too risky" or citing insurance policy restrictions preventing them from making motorcycle parts. Suppliers also reacted to Colosimo's youthful appearance, telling him, "you look like you're 16" and "where's your dad?" After six months of frustration Streng and Colosimo went on what he called "a short world trip" to investigate manufacturing outside the US.
When Curtis Ray invested in the new company, he brought with him a familiarity with manufacturing in China, having relationships with factories there and knowing a "trusted facility" where production could begin. Colosimo spent six months in China developing the manufacturing process and quality control. Aware of the hostility to Chinese imports that undercut the prices of US goods, Colosimo said they could claim that their motorcycles are Made in USA, "but that'd be bullshit. Just because we bolt a few parts on doesn't make it true." He alludes to US electric motorcycle makers whose production is in Taiwan and China, yet they advertise their bikes as US made because final assembly, like attaching the tires and handlebars, is in the US. For 2010, "a building year", Cleveland CycleWerk's aimed at 1,000 to 3,000 in US sales as they tested small production runs, stocked parts supplies and arranged distributors and dealers. Their goal had been to offer six motorcycle models in 2011, rather than just two, with a target of selling 12,000 motorcycles in the US that year.
Colosimo said the bikes are aimed at new, first time motorcycle riders, as well as finding other markets. The approximately US$3,000 Cleveland CycleWerks bikes fill a gap in the marketplace between US$8,000 new motorcycles which are priced too high for many potential customers, and used motorcycles from the 1990s which lack a warranty and dealer support. Another market is female riders, Colosimo citing examples of husbands and boyfriends who purchased a Harley-Davidson Sportster for their wives and girlfriends to ride, only to find those bikes were too large and heavy for them. Cleveland CycleWerks said that more than 30% of the buyers of its Heist model are women, despite industry data showing women make up only 11% of motorcycle buyers overall. The low 24-inch (61 cm) seat height and light weight are given as reasons for its attractiveness to women. Another unanticipated segment Colosimo has found is the "step-down market", that is, riders of "bagger" cruisers costing $15,000 adorned with "$30,000 in chrome" who complain "I'm afraid I'm going to scratch it", and so buy a Heist as "something they can ride to the bar without worrying about someone dinging it or scratching it."
From Wikipedia’s article on Cleveland CycleWerks, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4