True. Not sure how Harley salespeople are paid but it must not be enough. I've noticed there seems to be a revolving door at my local dealership. There are a few older guys that have been there forever and they know who I am. They also know I'm not in the market for a new bike so they don't come rushing over and try to make a sale every time I walk through he front door. The new ones treat me like a live prospect and even when I tell them I'm not there to buy a bike they won't leave me alone. I hate that ****. I just bought a new bike in September. Bought it from one of the old sales guys that's a friend of mine. We ride together and he knew all about my old bike and he knows better than to try and sell me a new one when I haven't even had a chance to enjoy a full season on the one I've got.

 

Ok. Very good ..

 

And Rice turn signals WTF!!!

 

It could be worse, at least they didnt use a square headlight or an inverted front end with 0 adjustability and a single brake disk... o wait they did.

 

Harley needs to financially back a modern re-make of "Easy Rider". In spite of what many people think, that movie affected sales more than the introduction of the Super Glide did. Just don't put Tom Cruise as Wyatt!

 

I too am what they call a millennial being 31 years old. I am in no way middle class yet but working my way up the ladder. As I was raised by only my mother while she was working 2 and sometimes 3 jobs at a time, she taught me how to fend for myself and to work hard for everything I have. I, like a lot of older member have stated, had to find ways to afford the things I wanted. Also had to learn how to maintain and repair my vehicles and to do things myself since I couldn't afford to pay someone else to do it for me. It is sad to me as well that most people my age would ask how to turn the wrench on if you handed them one.

As for only millennials wanting and needing a maintenance free bike or anything else for that matter, it goes both ways. Some do and other like myself and a few other younger riders don't.

But on the other hand, I met a guy at work who also rides. He is in his mid to late 50's and rides a Honda. When we were talking about our bikes one day he stated that the only reason he bought the Honda over a Harley is due to the very little maintenance he has to do on it. Hardly ever changes the oil, doesn't do any work on it himself etc. He freaked out when I told him I was about to swap out the tires on my bike myself. The look he gave me was like I told him I was his son or something. He was in shock that I was actually going to work on my bike myself.

With that being said it's not only younger adults that are totally helpless when it comes to maintaining and repairing their bikes. There are a ton of gray beards who are in the same boat as many in the younger generations.

My 5 year old daughter loves going on little rides around the neighborhood and has taken an interest to watching and helping me work on my bike. She keeps asking me about getting her a mini bike so she can go ride with me. I'm trying to teach her how to do things herself and to wrench on her bicycle so she learns the way I did.

Now back to the topic at hand. Around here there seems to be a ton of motorcycle riders and I would say probably about 50-60% of the bikes are Harleys. The rest are a mix of everything else. I bought a Harley because I always wanted one since I was a young kid. Thank you Terminator. I fell in love with bikes in general due to that movie but the look and sound of the Fatboy just struck a cord within me. I like mostly all kinds of bikes but I really like Harleys, sport bikes and dirtbikes.

Fast forward to 2012 and I bought my first bike new (2012 48) unlike many my age can. I was not in a financial position to be buying a bike but found a way to afford it by majorly adjusting my budget and working 2 jobs. Now I have my 2016 Roadster and am a bit better off financially.

As for the bikes I had to choose from at the Harley dealer, the Dyna was my first choice but I couldn't quite afford it so I went with the Sportster 48. When I got my Roadster, I already knew that I wanted another Sportster even though I could have walked out with something else.

None of the other bikes really did much for me. I love my Roadster and it will always have a place in my dining room next to the table, until I can build me a shed. The only other bikes from Harley I am kinda starting to like is the 2018 Fatbob, probably because it kinda looks like my Roadster on steroids, and I have always liked the Deluxe. Other than that nothing else really sticks out to me. If I were to buy another Harley I would go used and look really hard for an XR 1200 or a Lowrider S.

 

Lol, the change the shape of turn signals, now they are rice. Really? Yep, I won't buy that great riding softwil due to rice turn signals.

 

HD really needs to diversify even if never models don't sell well at first. If they pay attention and do it right new customers can be found. Even Moto Guzzi is looking at new concepts.

http://o.contactlab.it/ov/2004758/14...p3QfqT8r0dzSyR

Something like this would sell if done right.
kk

 

Harley riders have always been averse to change. Shovel to Evo, Evo to TC, TC to M8.

It's always the same thing. Give it a couple of years.

 

Wyatt - Chris Evans
Billy - Tom Cruise

Joking aside, you could easily update it, using all the recent race riots, protests and police shootings as a back drop.

Have Wyatt and Billy get killed by either trigger happy cops that just see "Scary Bikers" or in a mob attack because some Antifa/BLM rioters think they are Alt-Right/Neo *****.

You could throw in a lot of the BS and stereotypes from SOA.

I'd have Billy (Tom) riding a sick beat up "Club" Dyna popping wheelies, make him a burned out 90's skater/metal punk kid now an old man trying to come to terms with aging out. Wyatt (Chris) a guy that dropped out of Med School or something riding a brand new modded RoadGlide (gotta market that new buy buiz).

IDK, just a thought. Then you are marketing it toward your two audiences, young dare devils and middle class middle age guys, but your also cross feeding with the old Tom Cruise and young Chris Evans.

Knowing Hollywood, they'd make it Broke Back Mountain on motorcycles about how Wyatt (Michael B Jordan) want's to get to Florida because he knows a doctor that will give Billy (Kelly Marie Tran) a gender reassignment surgery and they get killed by a bunch of Trump supporters waving the rebel flag.