The marketing machine has it's sights on a new target...
MOM's.

 

Not too sure I believe that article. Dealership here has been busy and its a relatively small one. Last Saturday, the guy who sold me my bike sold 3 that day. I walked in the following Tuesday and the inventory on the showroom floor was pretty thin. Not to mention, a couple more had sold signs on them. Just sayin....

 

Been a Harley Owner for quite sometime and seen many different styles emerge, especially when the Superglides started out, then the Wide Glide flollowed by the FXR s.

Then the " Chopper" craze hit and that lasted for almost 10 years. The Softtail Custom actually was a hit long before that.

Now a lot of those riders have matured, got old or just faded away on Ultras, and the newer crowd does not have the same influence the older crowd had 10-20 years ago with Easy Rider, Then Came Bronson and so on. How many of us watched Capt America and just "Drooled" over that bike and lifestyle.

I do believe Harley is in a stagnant phase, too many models are not appealing to many and I think they are spending way too much on the " Dark Side Crowd" The guys I know who live that lifestyle have NO money , no good jobs and NO credit, so what is the point.

I think Harley needs some help from Hollywood with another show using a FXSTC or such to have a fellow ( maybe fresh from Iraq) just cruise America , looking for something, just him and his Harley, oh and toss in a few good looking girls along the way etc. I think would help Harley sell more bikes again.

We even had a Theme Song " Born to be Wild" Remember? I can't even think of a band today or a song with any punch!

Just my 02c

 

Yes, Harley is over the hill...but so is the majority of the US population...the guy who wrote that article is a moron..

 

My mom worked for the local Harley dealer back when you actually had to convince someone to buy a new Harley. They didn't just sell themselves. Harley owners had a saying back then, "buy a Harley, buy the best. Ride a mile, walk the rest." But I keep sending my money away for more stock. No, the motor co. is not dead, washed up, or on the verge of self-destruction.

 

Sure Harley's over the hill, and the next one, and the next one, and the next one, and the next one . . .

 

Did you know there were more babies born in 2007 than ever in the history of America?

I'm not sure how that's relevant, but it is interesting, if there's some new baby boom, while maybe not in the same ratio to overall population as the last one.

I think anyone who rides the other bikes, especially sport bikes, are potential Harley owners at one point or another. I think that the average 20-30 something sport bike rider that wants to continue enjoying the sport and do any real touring is gonna look at the bikes out there, what they represent, and a big enough percentage of them are gonna buy a Harley.

Who knows what the future holds w/ HD, if they can sustain the number of models they have, or the level of production, year in / year out, til the end of time, etc. I mean business models change, numbers go up and down. I wouldn't trust any article about any company going in and out of fashion, citing sales numbers in a weird economy.

Honestly, we've shifted the numbers around to make the economy keep chugging along, but if you ask me, SOMEONE out there has been hurting since 1999-2000, when the dot coms started busting, the telecoms started going down (my industry), then 911 (my company laid of thousands of people and shut down their entire US operations at that time), then the airlines, yadda yadda, the mess we're in now was just delayed from damn near 10 years ago, and any other wrenching that's been done has a domino effect, you plug one hole in the dam and more pressure is put upon another part that starts leaking, and it's at a global proportion now, so why anyone is wasting their time writing articles about down sales at HD is beyond me.

Well, actually I know why they wrote the article, their sales/readership is probably down, and they're just trying to keep their jobs like everyone else, so they have to write about something 'interesting' or 'controversial' I suppose.

I do think the demographic will change some though, younger riders w/ more diverse backgrounds.

 

Mine's over the hill, headin down into the valley and up the next hill!

 

About half the time ... the other half it's going up the hill.

 

By talking to my sons and there friends that are in there mid twenty's, up coming Harley riders aren't interested so much in the baggers or big ole cruisers. There more into the VRod and the Rockers. There not influnced by the things we were. Harley may have to look at what the new rider will want more than those of us from the old school. Hell, none of my kids want SUVs or Caddies either.