And I fit the profile of the typical rider...

 

Actually your anecdotes (which is all they are) don't prove anything beyond what you heard at that time. Sure, there are groups of riders who prefer ADV bikes, and there are chicks who laugh at HD riders...so what? This in and of itself doesn't mean that anything is different than what it was 1, 2 or 5 years ago. And coming from a rider in PA, I'm not that surprised because the opposite is true in many other parts of the country as well. There are some entire states where Harley is well above the average, and there are parts where HD ownership is below the average. Spend a weekend in our area and you would be blown away by how many Harleys are here compared to every other brand combined. Its not even a contest.

 

We live in a day and age where grown men have huge beards and wear skinny jeans. They have never hunted fished or even fired a gun. They call themselves real men.
You remind me of these men. You should sell your Harley, you'll get almost what you paid for since they hold their value so well, and go buy a BMW. Sounds like you fit the mold anyway.
Us old big belly white gun owners wont miss ya, I promise.

 

So you have to be an unhealthy fat gun owner who likes to kill animals to be a real man and own/ride/appreciate a Harley ?

Perhaps those who seem to hate skinny jeans so much are simply jealous because they can't fit into them....

Back to the original post ... the problem is simply the "real men" as you like to call them are a vanishing breed and Harley is not appealing to the younger replacement generation
The sales figures tell the story - disappointing results in an apparently strong year for motorcycle sales

 

To the poor boy with the fiancé that was put off because of what someone said that may have not been a worker at the dealership, go to another dealership. My wife told me, yes told me, to go buy a Harley now and not wait till I'm 60 if that's what I wanted. She loves the bike and so do I. In the journey of life there has to be compromise in married life, in my opinion. Your fiancé should be able to see though the bs and not be worried that buying a Harley is sinful. What is sinful is her telling you what you can and can't have. Yes there are things I want that the wife says no to and she tells me why and if I disagree we discuss this, and vise versa.

 

Thanks for the tip. BMW makes a great bike. When I bought the Harley, it was between a Harley and a BWM. This spring I should check out the new beemers.

And again, the macho **** is for the birds. I don't know what skinny jeans are - you must follow fashion much more than I do. I don't care what others wear. If the jeans fit, wear them.

And speaking of trading a bike, read what they say about harley's 'used bike problem': http://www.wsj.com/articles/harley-n...lts-1453545005

The real problem I have with Harley is that this American company should lead and innovate much more than they do. Why aren't they the world leader in motorcycle innovation? Why haven't they diversified more? Why not have dirt bikes, adventure bikes and cafe bikes? How can a company like KTM go from being bankrupt and out of business for 10 years to having bikes that swept Dakar this year?

And another problem with this 'American' company. Did you know that only 58% of a Harley is now made in US? And you want me to be a fanboy? BTW, Indian is 98% made in USA. I not promoting Indian - I don't like them and wouldn't own one but they're an american company making bikes in america.

I can't wait for your next ad hominem attack.

 

Exactly my point. Hyundai's gamble paid off. I never said it was free for them, but that's the nature of business. If Harley wants to reach new customers they'll need to push to connect with them. Many who don't own them still think they are unreliable. Of all the things Harley could do to alter perception, this is one if the easier ones as they've already solved the issues from the AMF days, but the perception lingers. Yup, doing business will cost them money, but if they are losing sales then their unit "profits" are a false economy. I've been riding 30 years and I've never had a warranty claim on a bike, I know plenty do, but it seems like a good gamble.

The other road is competing "performance" with other brands. Most of those efforts (Buell, VRods, Steets) have not been the hit they hoped for, nor have they brought crossover customers really. Not enough to be heavily noticed. I rode metrics for a long time and personally Harley has the "performance" I prefer. Better service and better warranty is cheap money compared to bringing a radical new model to market with a soft track record IMO.

 

I think the warranty is a good alternative. Add that to the new bikes for free and sales might increase.

 

I have received 3 or 4 emails from Harley on the 1 dollar 5 year warranty. I guess that is their attempt. Problem is I just bought a 16 SG in October

 

Haven't heard of this yet. Is it an ESP?