Well, being as tho I am a member of all the demographics that the HD culture despises (milllenials and non whites), i'll give my opinion (which is probably more accurate):

1. The dealership experience has turned into a KKK style rally. If you aint a white male in a lifted pickup or on an HD, you're ignored or treated shitty (dont ask how i know).

2. Salesmen are not very friendly OR inviting if you're not part of culture mentioned above. And dont dare ask them to compare the HD to a competitor. You'll get ran out the building as if you insulted their mom.

3. The cost of entry. Why would I spend close to $25k on a bike that i STILL have to drop another $5k on? I mean damn, for $25k, can i at least get some speakers I can hear above 50 mph? Also, ever seen what you can get for $25k at the Indian or Victory dealer? I believe a $25k victory is the equivalent of a $40k HD (or damn close). What about that new slingshot? WAY better and cooler than and HD will EVER be.

4. Parts - even die hard HD owners complain about the prices. Enough said.

5. The bikes - they suck. plain and simple. They were probably cool for the generation in the 70s and 80s that had to project that sort of fake tough guy persona, but nowadays, they just flat out suck. I mean c'mon HD, how is it that your "upgraded" bike is basically a copy of your competitors?

6. The culture - did I mention the culture? The image? Nobody wants to be seen as or associated with middle aged trump supporting white men nowadays. That just aint cool. Unfortunately, HD has catered to this demographic to the point of no return. HD is screwed. Might as well sell out to the chinese or to polaris or something.

Due to reasons mentioned above, I will soon be selling my HD and moving along. With all the newer, cooler, cheaper machines and better technology around, im sure we'll be just fine without HD. Will they be missed? Sure. But the generation who made them famous and who will miss HD the most wont be around much longer and will soon be missed too. And the culture...it feels SO GOOD to be around bikers who dont act like rednecks and who dont wanna talk politics or what happened in chicago last century.

 

^Darn shame, what a loss^

 

Yep....and as I go, so does HD. Notice a trend???

 

Thank you for an excellent post, and for reinforcing exactly what I've been saying for over a year: Harley's declining sales are only partly due to higher prices for fewer features, but it's the culture as much as anything. That's why younger potential customers won't buy, because they don't want anything to do with the culture. I've asked younger service techs about this, and they take a moment and look to the left and the right to make sure nobody in the dealership can overhear them, and then they look me in the eye and nod.

It's the shitty culture.

No, honestly, we already knew about you and the rest of the POD dwellers. All Harley has to do to really understand why so many potential customers are just shaking their heads and walking away is to spend more than 15 minutes reading posts in the POD.

 

I like the bikes, don't care for the culture. So I don't engage in it - no rule saying you have to.

When I ride my Road King I wear exactly the same gear as I do when riding my Triumph. No do-rag, no goatee, no tats. No one has hassled me for it yet, and I don't encounter disdain from dealership personnel. I am guilty of being a white man though; maybe that has something to do with it.

As for the price of parts and accessories, if anyone thinks they are any cheaper for, say, an Indian they are in for a rude surprise.....

 

 

Methinks the only thing I would miss should poor 'ole H-D thrusting its bloated belly toward the shining sun would be the opportunity to ride my bicycle out to my local Taj Mahal, observe the indigenous do-ragged/tattooed/cigarette smoking (they do have to smoke outside - that's gotta **** 'em off) pirate life forms with an eye of sad disbelief and then promptly go over to the free foodage/drinkage counter and consume mass quantities. Ya just can't have an experience like that any place else. :-)

 

I appreciate the different perspective you bring. It's usually good to have an opinion that breaks from the norm.

 

I agree except for number one. While whites are maybe the largest group of riders historically, here in the Northwest we meet blacks and Latinos on the road all the time. Sometimes in kind, sometimes mixed. It does not seem to matter when riding with friends. Also, women riders have increased dramatically, especially Road Kings and Street Glide specials these last 10 years. The group that is missing in my limited experience are the Asian riders, unless that was one fully attgatt passing me in the commute lane going twice the speed limit. Hard to tell when he or she was just a blur.

 

Pretty sure both my dealerships have black guys as salesmen. I didn't see them with the white pointy hats. Seems like someone is having a life change and should ride off on their Eluder wearing his Bernie shirt...