Harley-Davidson Inc. on Tuesday announced its third-quarter net income decreased 27 percent.

The Milwaukee-based company, which maintains a factory in Springettsbury Township, attributed the loss to fewer motorcycle shipments while the manufacturer implemented a new software system at the York County plant, according to CEO Keith Wandell.

Harley earned $134 million, or 59 cents per share, during the third quarter, compared to $183.6 million, or 78 cents per share, earned during the same quarter last year.

Revenue decreased 11 percent to $1.25 billion because of an anticipated drawback in production, the company announced.

Harley expected fewer shipments while it installed the enterprise resource planning system, which enables a more efficient manufacturing approach, integrating factory operations that include customer relations, finance and manufacturing, a spokeswoman said.

"We believe our U.S. dealers' third-quarter new motorcycle sales were adversely affected by a limited availability of new motorcycles in July, August and early September," Wandell said.

Harley implemented the new production system at its York factory during the quarter and also delayed its launch of new models from July to August, which also stunted shipments, he said.

But once the inventory was available, retail sales of 2013 motorcycles picked up at the end of the quarter, Wandell said.

Bike sales in the United States -- Harley's biggest market -- dropped 5.2 percent to 40,402 during the third quarter, but bike sales outside of the country increased 7.6 percent to 20,651, the company reported.

Harley expects to ship fewer motorcycles during the fourth quarter as well, with shipments estimated at 44,500 to 49,500 bikes -- a 2 to 12 percent decline from last year.

But overall, the manufacturer said it will ship more bikes this year than last year. The company said it will ship 245,000 to 250,000 motorcycles worldwide this year -- a 5 to 7 percent increase from last year's numbers.

-- Candy Woodall can also be reached at cwoodall@yorkdispatch.com.