Harley-Davidson Inc said on Thursday the bike maker will suspend all vehicle assembly and shipments for a two-week period, excluding those from its electric vehicle division LiveWire, due to a parts issue related to a supplier.

The company said it took the decision after a third-party supplier informed Harley about a regulatory compliance matter relating to the supplier's component part.

Shares of Harley, which did not immediately respond when contact by Reuters for more details on the suspension, fell 9% to $32.51 in premarket trading.

Milwaukee-based Harley reported a drop in first-quarter profit in April, as margins at the company were squeezed by higher costs and chip shortages.

Supply chain snarls dented motorcycle sales in North America as production challenges resulted in lower dealer inventories, the company had previously said.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)