Limey and some Italian bikes also shifted on the right.
How does H-D stay relevant in a changing market?
- Thread starter Pio1980
- Start date
Limey and some Italian bikes also shifted on the right.
My favorite quotes by Stalin are “quantity has a quality all its own” and “it takes a very brave man to be a coward in the Red Army”.
grillebilly
Empty Head
Guy at work today told me about that bike. Looks like a good start.
At least its a 60 degree motor. Hopefully not an antiquated cylinders-bolted-to-crankcase design.
604man
Super Member
the vibration can be minimized by using mercury balanced flywheels,
the Duesenberg straight 8 had a mercury balanced crankshaft.
http://www.balancemasters.com/flywheels/
By bolting the cylinders to the crankcase , you can do a top end rebuild
without removing the crankcase from the frame.
Many large V-12 diesels have removable sleeves / cylinders for ease of
repair.
My preference is to begin with configurations having inherent primary balance. Like my lawn tractor.
Modern engine technology replaced that dated concept long ago.
Having also ridden my whole life and being a 2 wheel fan in general. I am getting a good chuckle from people's OPINIONS about how terrible HD's are 
. Between my father and family members I have ridden or owned Triumphs, Nortons, Yamahas, Hondas, BSA's, BMW's and HD's. I still own 2 Honda's, 2 Yamaha's and a HD. No matter how you search it on the interwebs there are more "old" Harleys on the road than any other manufacturer 
. A lot of the "faults" with the engine design are urban legend. Some may think they are over priced yada yada and whatever. Pick up some trim pieces from a Honda whatever and compare them to the same piece on an HD, I guarantee you it will be like picking up a class D amp compared to a tube amp from the 60's heft wise. I also have shamed plenty of "sport" bikes while on my Road King in a straight line, the North Cascades, Mountains in San Diego county and the Appalachians. If you can't ride a fast bike why have it? Is my RK fast, hell no, it's not supposed to be, if I want to go fast I get on my CBR1000. I picked up my HD in Oct of 2003, its has over 90K on it and other than gear drive cams, CV carb tweeks, ignition module and true dual pipes just because @13k miles it's only had basic routine maintenance. I have a buddy that maintains a PD's HD fleet. He just gave mine a complete going over (pulled the heads and case covers) and it still needs nothing but routine maintenance items.
Like I said I love all things with 2 wheels and a motor, the HD bashing is no different than any auto or audio bickering, they are all actually pretty good and OPINIONS are just coming out.
As for them staying relevant, it's just a current market thing, they don't need to change just adjust production, some people will always want one. If they want the same market share then they will need to do something. Someone mentioned the weekend warriors (Professionals Playing tough Biker Dude) with their HD branded everything on their bodies. I am seeing less of it locally so I am sure that's having a big impact.
. Between my father and family members I have ridden or owned Triumphs, Nortons, Yamahas, Hondas, BSA's, BMW's and HD's. I still own 2 Honda's, 2 Yamaha's and a HD. No matter how you search it on the interwebs there are more "old" Harleys on the road than any other manufacturer . A lot of the "faults" with the engine design are urban legend. Some may think they are over priced yada yada and whatever. Pick up some trim pieces from a Honda whatever and compare them to the same piece on an HD, I guarantee you it will be like picking up a class D amp compared to a tube amp from the 60's heft wise. I also have shamed plenty of "sport" bikes while on my Road King in a straight line, the North Cascades, Mountains in San Diego county and the Appalachians. If you can't ride a fast bike why have it? Is my RK fast, hell no, it's not supposed to be, if I want to go fast I get on my CBR1000. I picked up my HD in Oct of 2003, its has over 90K on it and other than gear drive cams, CV carb tweeks, ignition module and true dual pipes just because @13k miles it's only had basic routine maintenance. I have a buddy that maintains a PD's HD fleet. He just gave mine a complete going over (pulled the heads and case covers) and it still needs nothing but routine maintenance items.Like I said I love all things with 2 wheels and a motor, the HD bashing is no different than any auto or audio bickering, they are all actually pretty good and OPINIONS are just coming out.
As for them staying relevant, it's just a current market thing, they don't need to change just adjust production, some people will always want one. If they want the same market share then they will need to do something. Someone mentioned the weekend warriors (Professionals Playing tough Biker Dude) with their HD branded everything on their bodies. I am seeing less of it locally so I am sure that's having a big impact.
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Hi everyone 1st post on this part of AK.
I ride a 2005 Springer Soft Tail Classic that I bought new.
I purchased the springer because the design is classic to me.
No it's not the fastest, best handling ,technically advanced motor cycle on the market.
But I knew that when I bought it and thats was not the appeal.
Styles come and go but classic designs always have their fans.
501 Levies jeans,Ray Ban Wayfarer sunglasses,Macintosh tube gear, Rolex watches are instantly recognizable classic products.
Same with Gibson Les Paul and Fender Telecaster and Stratacastor guitars
As hard as the design teams and marketing departments try to "improve" on the classics with new models and features.
It's the reissues & custom shop versions of the original designs that are the #1 sellers and customers covet
People want & buy them because they are time proven & loved designs.
Companies that make iconic products always do best when they remember their heritage and make what made then icons.
And they generally get into trouble when they stray too far or forget what it is that people love.
Ford started selling tons of Mustangs again when they went back to making Mustangs that looked liked well classic Mustangs.
Same with the Chevy Camaro And Dodge Challenger.
The V-Rod was supposed to be the future of HD but it was discontinued in 2017.
People in their teens and 20's were never HD's market and never will be.
As long as Harley keeps making what Harley fans want the company will survive and thrive.
They may never again sell in the numbers that they did in 2007 but that doesn't mean the company is finished.
Harley's are not for everyone. Although the marketing department did a great job of convincing a lot of people that they were not buying a bike but a lifestyle in the early 2000's.
But for true HD fans like me they are the only bike I will ride.
Much like the Porsche 911 either you get it what it is that owners love or you don't.
Life is short ride what makes you happy!
Cheers
PQ
I ride a 2005 Springer Soft Tail Classic that I bought new.
I purchased the springer because the design is classic to me.
No it's not the fastest, best handling ,technically advanced motor cycle on the market.
But I knew that when I bought it and thats was not the appeal.
Styles come and go but classic designs always have their fans.
501 Levies jeans,Ray Ban Wayfarer sunglasses,Macintosh tube gear, Rolex watches are instantly recognizable classic products.
Same with Gibson Les Paul and Fender Telecaster and Stratacastor guitars
As hard as the design teams and marketing departments try to "improve" on the classics with new models and features.
It's the reissues & custom shop versions of the original designs that are the #1 sellers and customers covet
People want & buy them because they are time proven & loved designs.
Companies that make iconic products always do best when they remember their heritage and make what made then icons.
And they generally get into trouble when they stray too far or forget what it is that people love.
Ford started selling tons of Mustangs again when they went back to making Mustangs that looked liked well classic Mustangs.
Same with the Chevy Camaro And Dodge Challenger.
The V-Rod was supposed to be the future of HD but it was discontinued in 2017.
People in their teens and 20's were never HD's market and never will be.
As long as Harley keeps making what Harley fans want the company will survive and thrive.
They may never again sell in the numbers that they did in 2007 but that doesn't mean the company is finished.
Harley's are not for everyone. Although the marketing department did a great job of convincing a lot of people that they were not buying a bike but a lifestyle in the early 2000's.
But for true HD fans like me they are the only bike I will ride.
Much like the Porsche 911 either you get it what it is that owners love or you don't.
Life is short ride what makes you happy!
Cheers
PQ
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The problem with the V-rod after all the blow back Harley received the bike stayed pretty much static. There was no Road King version or real touring bike.
The old saw "it's a (insert preference here) thing you wouldn't understand. It really should be I don't give a rats ass if you like what I bought I didn't buy it for you. I've told someone before when they made a negative comment about a purchase "It's a good thing you didn't buy it."
The best way to go about it is to accept what others like. There's also tones to the way a question is asked. You can tell the difference between someone who's trying to understand and someone's who's really asking why didn't you buy what I bought.
The old saw "it's a (insert preference here) thing you wouldn't understand. It really should be I don't give a rats ass if you like what I bought I didn't buy it for you. I've told someone before when they made a negative comment about a purchase "It's a good thing you didn't buy it."
The best way to go about it is to accept what others like. There's also tones to the way a question is asked. You can tell the difference between someone who's trying to understand and someone's who's really asking why didn't you buy what I bought.
Pio1980
AK Member
The Indian Scout mechanically is something like a V-Rod, downscaled as a smaller cruiser.
They have now gone beyond that with several versions sharing a similar power plant in several presentations.
The V-Rod may not have turned out to be H-Ds future, but it certainly has become Polaris/ Indian's.
They have now gone beyond that with several versions sharing a similar power plant in several presentations.
The V-Rod may not have turned out to be H-Ds future, but it certainly has become Polaris/ Indian's.
sKiZo
Hates received: 92644 43.20°N 85.50°W
Loved my FLH way back in the day, but moved on to rice burners. Had an opportunity a few years back to swap machines with a friend as we were leaving work, his tricked out FLH for my dresser Royal Star. Good reminder as to why I made the switch - best I can say is it felt like I was riding the Harley, but part of the Yamaha. Also couldn't help but notice the ride got a lot longer than expected, and seems I had some trouble getting the Royal back. ;-}
PS - fun story on that FLH of mine. Living on the left coast and my neighbor had a '68 that had been collecting dust for a while. Had a heart attack, got a pacemaker, and almost killed himself starting the bike the first time after surgery. Come to find out, the ignition interfered with the pacemaker. Yikes! Anyway - I'd drive the thing every now and then to keep it happy, and ended up eventually getting a real deal on it.
Easy to understand. They appeal to vintage collectors. Same reason why folks collect antiques of all kinds - be it tractors, furniture, clocks, tools, art, etc.No matter how you search it on the interwebs there are more "old" Harleys on the road than any other manufacturer
I like combining comfortable and (potentially) fast not only for enjoyment but safety as well. Wifey and I will be taking the ST to the mountains this weekend for a couple of days. Quite frankly, I don't like getting stuck behind others who cannot maintain the speed limit on hills. That poses no challenge nor any drama to safely pass slower traffic. On one trip where others were following us, they noticed that a truck almost clipped my rear end by wandering into my lane. I noticed the impending situation and quickly applied added pressure on the grip to avert disaster.
Awesome have fun and be safe, lots of asshats in cages!! I looked at those for use as a commuter. I ended up with a low milage Hurricane 1000, seating position was just about the same. I am trying to make it to Deals Gap next week on the HD
Thanks! I ride as though I am invisible. Years ago, I added Motolights to the forks (think enlarged triangle view locomotive ditch lights) for added illumination. Both they and my headlamps are now LEDs for better visibility by others.
I use mine all the time for daily chores that don't require large amounts of storage. The two built in bags have pretty good capacity for groceries and sundry items. And I keep bungee cords to place larger things on the passenger seat and attach them to the rear handles and sissy bar.
Ever been before? Cool stretch of road. Last time I traversed it was when I lived in the Atlanta area. You tend to notice skid marks that begin on tight corners and go straight over one side or another. Enjoy but don't get crazy!
Yeah, been a few times, best time was on my GB500. We will camp at a National Forest campground somewhere, haven't decided yet and spend a few days riding, probably hit Maggie Valley also.
I love the bags on my RK. They will hold 4 cases of bottles if you load them individually
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