If you were making a Harley commercial...
#42
05-04-2011, 01:25 PM
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(Good commercial) 2 big muscle bound bikers pull up behine a pretty girl standing next to a smart car with a flat tire. One pulls the lug nuts & the other lifts the front of the car. Tire gets changed, bikers ride off into the sunset, leaving the girl speachless.
(Bad commercial) anything with a Honda, Spyder, or Kawaski.
(Bad commercial) anything with a Honda, Spyder, or Kawaski.
#44
05-04-2011, 01:56 PM
I know some don't think you should put the "lifestyle" but when you think about it when we are out riding it does change all of us a at least a little if not completely. I think that is just another thing that draws people to getting that first HD. We sort of are like a family, you don't see honda or yamaha riders always looking to get together or wearing their name brand. So I think it should be a mix of both.
#46
05-04-2011, 02:18 PM
Some really decent ideas.
I was thinking of how the bike is an escape from everything, you just get on it and ride and everything just seems to fade away, your whole mindset changes... If you could find a way to represent this and show the bike as an escape, a place you can just be you and one with your world... Maybe show a guy/girl with all sorts of noise in their life (background of arguing people, screaming kids, traffic,...just noise) and as the bike comes in the noise goes away and there's just the sound of the pipes and the wind rushing....
I don't know, I know when I get to ride, it's like a vacation from the crap in life. Helps me leave all the BS behind and just enjoy the moment.
I was thinking of how the bike is an escape from everything, you just get on it and ride and everything just seems to fade away, your whole mindset changes... If you could find a way to represent this and show the bike as an escape, a place you can just be you and one with your world... Maybe show a guy/girl with all sorts of noise in their life (background of arguing people, screaming kids, traffic,...just noise) and as the bike comes in the noise goes away and there's just the sound of the pipes and the wind rushing....
I don't know, I know when I get to ride, it's like a vacation from the crap in life. Helps me leave all the BS behind and just enjoy the moment.
Last edited by CJinNH; 05-04-2011 at 02:21 PM.
#47
05-04-2011, 02:28 PM
Seasoned HDF Member
Yeah. Then he wakes up!
#48
05-04-2011, 02:49 PM
Seasoned HDF Member
Good: Show someone having a hectic day at work. Blue collar, white collar....doesn't matter. They slip off behind a door to a quiet area and start to daydream. Cut to flashes of scenic open road Harley riding. At the bottom, in big letters....."When YOUR mind wanders, where does it go? - Harley Davidson."
Bad: Anything with a Sons of Anarchy actor as a spokesperson.
Bad: Anything with a Sons of Anarchy actor as a spokesperson.
#49
05-04-2011, 03:32 PM
I know some don't think you should put the "lifestyle" but when you think about it when we are out riding it does change all of us a at least a little if not completely. I think that is just another thing that draws people to getting that first HD. We sort of are like a family, you don't see honda or yamaha riders always looking to get together or wearing their name brand. So I think it should be a mix of both.
I have four bikes, one a Suzuki SV650 and there is a HUGE user community - they've been on the market since 1999 so there are tons around. You can tell an SV because unlike most inline 4 sportbikes, it has a V-twin.
I'm sure that most of the people here just consider it a Jap sportbike and don't realize that specific model was specifically purchased in part because of that V-twin engine, which has over 70hp from 645cc and more torque at all rpms than a GSX-R 600. It's a water-cooled, carbed or efi DOHC engine that regularly goes over 100,000 with nothing but routine maintenance. People stop me all the time to talk about them, if you go to a track day there will be a dozen there, and SVrider.com is the biggest of maybe a dozen websites. I just checked it today and since yesterday 1,000 threads have new messages: that's not 500 messages, that's 500 threads.
Folks here talk about other bikes being "soulless." So do Ducati, BMW, Triumph, Aprilia, Moto Guzi owners - and the most storied of all, MV Agusta.
Get real. Here's real, from HD's annual report as found on another forum.
Harley-Davidson sold 49% fewer motorcycles in 2010 than it did in 2006. By model family those sales decreases are as follows: 36% (Sportster), 46% (Custom), & 34%.
2010 is the first year since 2006 that Harley-Davidson’s sales figures dropped by a single digit factor (8.9%). Sales have decreased by 11.6% (2007), 14.6% (2008), 30% (2009) over the past four years.
Over a third (37.4%) of all new Harley-Davidson motorcycles sold, were sold outside of the United States.
If trends continue, Harley-Davidson could be selling more motorcycles abroad than domestically within two years. This is not because international sales are booming (international sales were only up 3% in 2010 compared to sales in 2006), but instead because domestic sales are crashing (sales in the United States were down 52% over the same time period).
2010 is the first year since 2006 that Harley-Davidson’s sales figures dropped by a single digit factor (8.9%). Sales have decreased by 11.6% (2007), 14.6% (2008), 30% (2009) over the past four years.
Over a third (37.4%) of all new Harley-Davidson motorcycles sold, were sold outside of the United States.
If trends continue, Harley-Davidson could be selling more motorcycles abroad than domestically within two years. This is not because international sales are booming (international sales were only up 3% in 2010 compared to sales in 2006), but instead because domestic sales are crashing (sales in the United States were down 52% over the same time period).
But if HD wants to compete as a motorcycle company, and grow, they are going to have to start building bikes that appeal to younger riders. The average age of HD owners is much higher than almost any other brand. If the Army makes UAV controllers to work like PlayStation console controllers, well, HD can change too.
It makes me CRAZY that BMW can develop new models and new markets, Triumph can develop new models and new markets, and HD continues to shrink. I don't blame the workers and certainly don't blame the owners. Place that responsibility squarely on management, or lack thereof.
Last edited by Garandman; 05-04-2011 at 03:36 PM.
#50
05-04-2011, 03:40 PM
Have you ever owned any of those bikes? That is a whole lot of "whistling past the graveyard."
I have four bikes, one a Suzuki SV650 and there is a HUGE user community - they've been on the market since 1999 so there are tons around. You can tell an SV because unlike most inline 4 sportbikes, it has a V-twin. I'm sure that most of the people here just consider it a Jap sportbike and don't realize that specific model was specifically purchased in part because of that V-twin engine, which has over 70hp from 645cc and more torque at all rpms than a GSX-R 600. It's a water-cooled, carbed or efi DOHC engine that regularly goes over 100,000 with nothing but routine maintenance.
People stop me all the time to talk about them, if you go to a track day there will be a dozen there, and SVrider.com is the biggest of maybe a dozen websites. I just checked it today and since yesterday 1,000 threads have new messages: that's not 500 messages, that's 500 threads.
Folks here talk about other bikes being "soulless." So do Ducati, BMW, Triumph, Aprilia, Moto Guzi owners - and the most storied of all, MV Agusta.
Get real. Here's real, from HD's annual report as found on another forum.
Selling to "lifestyle" bikers isn't working. If HD wants to be an exclusive, expensive fashion accessory (ie "butt jewelry"), they should shrink down and make it an exclusive brand. That makes their aging customer base less of a problem (and at 58 I'm not helping that!). It also makes the Buell and MV Agusta acquisitions and divestitures look even dumber.
But if HD wants to compete as a motorcycle company, and grow, they are going to have to start building bikes that appeal to younger riders. The average age of HD owners is much higher than almost any other brand. If the Army makes UAV controllers to work like PlayStation console controllers, well, HD can change too.
It makes me CRAZY that BMW can develop new models and new markets, Triumph can develop new models and new markets, and HD continues to shrink. I don't blame the workers and certainly don't blame the owners. Place that responsibility squarely on management, or lack thereof.
I have four bikes, one a Suzuki SV650 and there is a HUGE user community - they've been on the market since 1999 so there are tons around. You can tell an SV because unlike most inline 4 sportbikes, it has a V-twin.
I'm sure that most of the people here just consider it a Jap sportbike and don't realize that specific model was specifically purchased in part because of that V-twin engine, which has over 70hp from 645cc and more torque at all rpms than a GSX-R 600. It's a water-cooled, carbed or efi DOHC engine that regularly goes over 100,000 with nothing but routine maintenance. People stop me all the time to talk about them, if you go to a track day there will be a dozen there, and SVrider.com is the biggest of maybe a dozen websites. I just checked it today and since yesterday 1,000 threads have new messages: that's not 500 messages, that's 500 threads.
Folks here talk about other bikes being "soulless." So do Ducati, BMW, Triumph, Aprilia, Moto Guzi owners - and the most storied of all, MV Agusta.
Get real. Here's real, from HD's annual report as found on another forum.
Selling to "lifestyle" bikers isn't working. If HD wants to be an exclusive, expensive fashion accessory (ie "butt jewelry"), they should shrink down and make it an exclusive brand. That makes their aging customer base less of a problem (and at 58 I'm not helping that!). It also makes the Buell and MV Agusta acquisitions and divestitures look even dumber.
But if HD wants to compete as a motorcycle company, and grow, they are going to have to start building bikes that appeal to younger riders. The average age of HD owners is much higher than almost any other brand. If the Army makes UAV controllers to work like PlayStation console controllers, well, HD can change too.
It makes me CRAZY that BMW can develop new models and new markets, Triumph can develop new models and new markets, and HD continues to shrink. I don't blame the workers and certainly don't blame the owners. Place that responsibility squarely on management, or lack thereof.
And that's a whole lot of, "I may have a 1200R, but I don't ride cruisers, I'm not part of the Harley lifestyle, and I have no idea what these guys are even talking about."
You also seem to have no clue how Harley is doing in the market. "Selling to 'lifestyle' bikers isn't working"...for the top-selling motorcycle company in the country? really? Maybe they could do what Suzuki does - have less than half of Harley's market share.Honestly...if you think the Harley subculture is even remotely like the Suzuki owners, you have no idea.
Last edited by brenn; 05-04-2011 at 03:45 PM.