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the erosion continues-now Harley Davidson shows telltale signs

My brothe rwho owns a Harley customizing shop in AZ would disagree strongly with some of the wild assumtions a few of you have made about riders.

Of the 20 or so guys I know that ride HD I would say almost all are under 50 and half are under 40. Both customer modified stock and a few full customs. One of the guys I used to work with who's not 50 yet has 6 including a 1956 Servicar all restored and a another post war with a side car that is being completely restored he drove from Oregon to Texas to get it.

Myself no interest. I had a KZ-400s way back when

My son rides a 2009 Honda CBR600rr
 
Perhaps you and your brother could enlighten us as to why Harley sales are down and they canned two bike brands please?

:dunno:
 
HandyHamlet said:
Perhaps you and your brother could enlighten us as to why Harley sales are down and they canned two bike brands please?

:dunno:
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Well lets see 10% unemployment 401K's cut in half, no more borrowing 125% of the future value of your house Credit cards with interest at 29.9% A president that has given away a trillion dollars of money he don't have.

Should I go on.


But nothing in my OP had to do with the decline in sales of any business. I guess I should have made myself more clear my comments were directed towards the charactorization of HD owners as OLD ****S.
 
That's all well and good but the Japs haven't closed up shop.

Yet.

And with all due respect HD owners themselves perpetuate all sorts of fantastical characterizations. OLD ****S is just one of many. All part of the "Mystic".

:thmbsp:
 
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A girl at work was showing off her birthday present the other day, a very expensive Harley jacket. The tag read "Harley Davidson The Great American Motorcycle" below that was "Made in China".
 
They are a viable company, but I just don't dig the whole culture and method of accessorizing. Straight pipes on a V-twin sound like **** to me, and the next time I get pulled over for a loud exhaust on my car while someone with a Harley rides by and deafens me.. ill scream.

Yeah, there are SOME riders in the younger bracket but I can tell you the only HD I would own is a Buell. So much for that.

Evan
 
Mark W. said:
Well lets see 10% unemployment 401K's cut in half, no more borrowing 125% of the future value of your house Credit cards with interest at 29.9% A president that has given away a trillion dollars of money he don't have.

Should I go on.


But nothing in my OP had to do with the decline in sales of any business. I guess I should have made myself more clear my comments were directed towards the charactorization of HD owners as OLD ****S.
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:yes::ntwrthy:
 
there are lots of folks here that collect vintage gear, mainly because it was built to last.
I come from that era. Same could be said for HD, they all get recycled, hence their resale has stayed high for many years (until lately, maybe)
For many years the best touring bike was an FLH. The fastest bike mass produced was a Sportster.
Nowadays kids wanting a hot rod buy jap bikes. As well they should. Harley at one time had an advertisement with a Bic lighter and a Zippo. Yeah, the Zippo needed maintenance, stunk, and was finicky....but the Bic goes in the trash when it runs out of fuel.
As far as the Harley idolatry goes...yeah, it sickens me too...worse than Porsche owners. But the bikes have their merits, and if some folks want to wrap their lips around a straight pipe to pay homage, let 'em...don't hurt anyone.
I forgot the most important thing of all....if I wasn't a 20 year old hell-raiser on a hopped-up Sporty I would of never met my wife...she doesn't like rice bikes. :smoke:
 
prisoners said:
I've only been riding for a few years, but after renting an HD for a weekend and putting a few hndred miles on it any thoughts of buying one went away real quick. I'm very happy with my reliable and comfortable Honda (VTX 1300) that was 1/2 the price of an equal size HD.
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I rented a Goldwing for a weekend and a H-D Road King for a weekend. Put just short of 1,000 miles on each.

I liked them both for different reasons. The Goldwing was a plush, long distance cruiser for sure, but I must say the Road King surprised me. Sure, not as refined and pimped out as the Goldwing, but I actually thought it handled better and felt lighter on its feet.

Had lots of fun on both bikes to be sure. Which would I buy? Hard to say...for a bunch of long distance touring it would be the GW, for more around town and (relatively) short day cruises it just might be a Harley. It sure brought a smile to my face every time I cranked out some pipe music on the H-D.

Lots of other bikes around, but seems like not many of the bigger Jap cruisers are for rent. Mainly the Goldwings and Harleys are about all I can find around here for rentals.

My bike you might ask? Well, it's a 900cc crotch rocket, Suzuki RF900.
 
I bought a bagger for touring purposes with my wife back when I was still road racing high performance bikes...back then, the Yamaha dresser had the most power and performance, hands down, in horsepower, torque, and gearing. Since then, BMW. has gone to the fore, maybe others as as well.

In another development, MV Agusta is moving ahead with new models, in spite of H-D pulling the plug on them..hope they make it, what superb machines they are...

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20091030/F1/910309994?
 
Sorry guys, but the figures play out, that H-D has an older ridership than other brands.
Don't like it?
Fine.
Still doesn't change anything.


Steve
 
I have never rode a Harley but I would love to some day at least once.

But lately I have been running around on this: :D
 

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whoaru99 said:
I liked them both for different reasons. The Goldwing was a plush, long distance cruiser for sure, but I must say the Road King surprised me. Sure, not as refined and pimped out as the Goldwing, but I actually thought it handled better and felt lighter on its feet...
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I've owned something like 40 bikes in my life. From Honda 90's to Ossa's to GS Suzuki's, Triumph Bonnieville (750), BSA, Goldwing, BMW and Husky and a whole lot of others. I borrow or rent a Road King (2006 or later with FI) at least 4 or 5 times a year. My wife and I can rack up insanely long days in the sadle on those bikes. The ergonomics are just unbelievable.

At first, they seem clumsy and crude. But as the miles roll by, they seem to be more like flying a glove or something - they just fit and are not fatigueing. I'm 60+ and I'll not be flying any more crotch rockets. If I had to buy a bike today to tour across country, it would not be a hard decision. It would be a Road King, maybe pulling a small trailer with our camping gear. There is a reason there are so many folks with million mile pins in the Harley world :)
 
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jocko_nc said:
I never understood the Harley mania. Neat product and all, but the obsession was not rational.
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similost said:
HD builds a better marketing machine than they build a riding machine...
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grillebilly said:
I also see that all the Harley worship is a load of crap...I will skip my reasons but most of you have figured it out.
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prisoners said:
I've only been riding for a few years, but after renting an HD for a weekend and putting a few hndred miles on it any thoughts of buying one went away real quick. I'm very happy with my reliable and comfortable Honda (VTX 1300) that was 1/2 the price of an equal size HD.
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jdrum1 said:
I think they cheapened their image (but not their bikes) with oversaturation of licensed products. Everything from Chinese made wall clocks to cheesy looking special edition Ford pickups with their logo embroidered on the leather seats.

The mystique of Harley is gone.
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Some real wisdom here. :yes:
 
I'm glad they are keeping the York plant. PA needs the jobs.
I took a tour there about 25 years ago. Rode up on a rigid from the DC area. Got to test drive their new bikes on their test track. Toured the plant and museum. Lot of history on display. Had a ball.
 
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