Has everyone heard that HD is selling the west half of its campus in York? This includes the Touring assembly building. They are planning on moving the Touring line into the Softtail facility.

 

Harley is dumb, they have different parts for everything, car and truck manufacturing uses the same wiring harness for each model that is close, but not harley they have so many different ones for each model, it is rediculas,

Like the successful Southwest airlines, they only have one part line for everything.
Harley engineers are not very smart, issue two, the new 09 and 10 models are burning the legs of riders, nice going Harley.

 

it doesn't mean somebody is buying it tho in this economy. where is the softtail facility?

 

The Softail facility is right next door to the Touring facility but it is a much newer building. Built in 2002-2003 and is state-of-the-art compared to the Touring facility. Worth taking a tour if you've never been.

 

Every model is unique,It would be impossiable to use a touring harness on a sporty.And at last check i dont see a focus using a harness from a f-350...They cant bu to dumb as there a 100+ year old company,and unlike the "smart"car companys they haveny need a bailout yet.Not bad for something that is considered a luxury or a hobby.

 

Yep Harley is dumb as a box of rocks...They have only been around for a 107 years...They should let a bunch of these forum bikers take charge and show them how to run a successful company.

 

I've been thinking that very same thing for over two years now.

 

Don't confuse the bottom line oriented mentality of a Corporation with the drive and emotional attachment to the product a family company will bring to the table.

The family that brought Harley Davidson through a depression and several recessions is not in charge anymore. This is a different type of recession, Wall Street wiped out most discretionary spending for recreation products.

Harley will be down over 100,000 units in sales for 09. Some quarters showed 92% loss in profits. A corporate CEO is not that emotionally connected to the product and will cut his losses and run if the opportunity presents itself.

You are confusing emotions with business, selling an Iconic recreation product to a middle class that for the most part has been wiped out. A so called jobless recovery is not conducive to selling big ticket items.

Harley is not totally out of the woods yet! If there ever was a time for innovation, new product line and new markets it is now. You add to the mix EPA is killling the product line. The catalytic converter's they are hanging on an air cooled engine with the AFR lean and EPA CAM's smothering to death. From 2010 on the complaints about the heat and the underpowered bikes will get into market share if Harley does not come up with some other way to meet the last round of stringent EPA emissions standards.

 

Hardly! Harley sells multiple bikes with several different "family" platforms. Sportsters, Dyna's, Softails, and Touring models. Within the individual families, they're all basically the same motorcycle. From Road King to Electra Glide Ultra Limited, it's the same chassis and drive train for all intents and purposes. They just dress them differently. It's not unlike Ford selling the Focus (economy car), F-150 (pickup truck), and Lincoln (luxury) vehicles. Stick within the various family platforms and you're looking at pretty much the same vehicle with only minor alterations.

I was thinking the same thing. The people that started the company haven't been there for the duration. The AMF years ran the brand in to the dirt to the point that it almost didn't survive.

Actually, they do have a way to reliably meet the EPA standards "and" improve performance to boot but it will depend on what "we" the consumer do with it. All they have to do is start water cooling the darn things but the so called "loyal" customers have made it clear they won't buy that bike. So what's Harley to do? They're between a rock and hard place on this one. The one bike Harley sells that runs like a top, meets EPA standards and "doesn't" cook the rider in the process is the V-Rod, and guess what, it's water cooled! It's just a matter of time and it remains to be seen if Harley's so called "loyal" customers will step up to the plate or let the marque die!

JMO!
Ride Safe,
Steve R.

 

Well Said!