Maybe I can shed some light on this-
A "biker" gets caught in the rain.
A motorcyclist leaves in the rain...

You sound to be the latter, not the former. 😃

 

SnowFlakes melt on a Harley

 

I think this is a large part of the puzzle. Not all of it, but certainly a large part.
When you buy a bike, you buy into a culture-regardless of make or model. You automatically join others on two wheels on the road. Some people see it and understand it, some dont.
But, when you buy an HD, you are buying into their image culture. Now, you can opt not to-and many do. But, this brand is associate with clubs. Plus, there are HOG chapters. Dealerships that are HD specific. Its an entire cultural thing that you join.
Problem is, and I experience this is several different avenues in life-the younger generations simply arent "joiners". They dont join things. They dont have that same sense of, for lack of a better term, fraternal engagement. Fraternities (and sororities) have been declining for two decades. We see it in colleges, we see it in secular and religious orgs, in philosophical orgs, and, I think this bleeds over into the HD cult. The younger culture these days are very "me" centric-and dont do a lot outside their own personal circles. As such, they have little desire to buy a motorcycle that is associated with groups.
As a freemason, we are seeing this a lot. Personally, it doesnt bother me. You can opt to go through life however you see fit. I find personal enrichment in my belonging to freemasonry, as well as the HD cult. I have developed friendships among both, and through the Widows Sons, I am fortunate where I can combine them. But, thats how I enjoy life. Riding, esoteric studies, and deeper meanings from life.
The newer generation, as a rule, are shallow by comparison.
Thats not a BAD thing-but it is a reality.

 

I see way more Harleys on the road now than 20 years ago. Just sayin'.

 

i love my harley but to me honestly the company took a wrong turn with trying to market to the young crowd. Young crowds are broke, harleys are expensive. Thats the bottom line. That and the name "harley" meant something different to the guys growing up in thier 70s. It meant a cool, tough bike being ridden by hells angels. Harley to the kids today means an overweight old man riding it. Sorry harley you failed bigtime.

 

So true.

Blockbuster turned down the chance to buy Netflix early in their development not seeing it as a good investment and a niche market.

 

Truly scary. It just shows how shortsighted and incompetent CEOs can be. It's crazy how massive Netflix is now.

 

I'm a Gen x-er. Part of the least supervised childhood in history. We grew up in a time where women started entering the workforce en masse, and day care wasnt widespread. We were called latchkey kids. My parents were divorced, and I do remember my mom not coming home from work until after 6 every night. And still making dinner for us kids. I guess we were a "transitional" generation.
However, according to wiki, we were disgruntled as young adults, but are the most adjusted, happiest, and well off generation yet.
We got the best of both worlds: family values, and the work ethics of the previous generations, as well as the technological and medical advancements of the later generations.
I remember in the 80s in high school working on muscle cars, and my first bike: a Suzuki GS 450. I learned all about carbeurators from that bike, lol.
We have moved from a period of practicality to one of convenience though. I wouldnt necessarily blame that on millenials though. We advance as a society. One thing I DO think that previous generations had, that current ones dont, is critical thinking skills. We didnt have the internet growing up. We didnt have instant knowledge at our fingertips. A LOT of stuff was trial and error. And passing down information from one to the next, via practical application. One didnt NEED to know everything about all bikes-you could apply basic mechanical principals to almost any internal combustion engine-as they all worked about the same.
I will use a recent incident to illustrate a point. I am a 911 dispatcher. Many calls I take-you dont have a script for. You, for lack of a better term, kind of wing it. You know your job, you know the fundamentals-you simply apply your skills as needed. We have 2 new hires-both kids under 30-who, if the situation isnt EXACTLY as they were taught-they dont know what to do. They are getting better-but, there is a lack of common sense and practical skill usage that they lack. I really think that we have lost that with all the tech around us. We are so used to having the answers fed to us-that without that, we freeze. Granted, this is an overgeneralization, and I know quite a few young people that arent like this.
But I am willing to bet that anyone born after 1990-lets say over 70% of them-would be completely and utterly lost if they went without tech for a month.
Fortunately, many of that younger generation are here. But, like all generations-the following ones inevitably will have a demographic that "fits" with previous ones. We have seen that time and again. We see that now. Several of them have expressed how they love turning wrenches. Thats great.
But, that demographic is shrinking. And Harley is trying to go after the, for lack of a better term, maintenance free generation. Because, thats what the current crop of adults are mostly after. A maintenance free, easily affordable vehicle. Something they dont NEED to worry about. Motorcycles, in general, I dont think fit that demographic. Regardless of the model. HD as numerous others pointed out, simply isnt a young persons bike. They dont care about the image. They dont want to be part of a group. They dont want the leather, the beards, etc. They are, what we used to call, the yuppie generation. Self absorbed. I dont think motorcycles in general appeal to them at all. In fact, I would venture a guess that, bikes in general appeal to a very narrow demographic these days-those who find relaxation in mechanical skills. Maybe not necessarily working on bikes-but physical skills, as opposed to intellectual ones. And, yes-there will be bleed over. But, most people I know who own bikes-and this is across all generations-do some kind of hands on, either job, or hobby. I am sure there is some correllation there.

 

My last 4 motorcycles were Harley Davidson's and I have friends and family that have had Harley's my entire life.


This discussion is about why Harley riding is on a decline. I think my riding motorcycle's since I was 10 years old and the fact that I have owned 11 motorcycle's and ridden with every group there is has given me some experience with what they all want in a motorcycle.


That is why I have said earlier that if Harley brings the right group in to run the development team that there can be a Harley for almost everyone and still keep the "old school" Harley Davidson motorcycles around.