Not my cup of tea. I’ll keep my genuine sporty

 

So all of your clientele are deceased, and you are dead set (pun) on producing and selling a niche product to a group of people who are not going to buy it no matter what you do. Buggy whip manufactures faced the same dilemma around the Brass Era. I'm sure some tried to market their newest woke, socially just, improved whips to new horseless carriage owners long enough to run their businesses into the ground as well. So, if it is as dire as you say it is (and I say it is not), what are the alternatives? Like I said, you can try to pander and just bleed until you pass out and die - but I guarantee you HD cannot become what they are not. Another alternative to a long continuous drain and squandering of capital is just acknowledge the slings and arrows of misfortune, cut your losses, and either sell, merge, change products to the fad dujour, or just shut down as quickly as possible, i.e. vamoose stage left. I don't think anyone wants that (except, ironically, the people they are trying to market to right now lol). I propose a different strategy: Do what you do best! Stop trying to be what you are not. Business cycles are cyclical, sinusoidal. Embrace your iconic self. Produce the classic Harley Davidson, not a woke compromised graffiti-covered version designed to appeal to dweebs in manbuns.

 

They are still making plenty of bikes for us Old Geezers. But we are dying off, they need bikes for the next generation.

 

What is really becoming a trite cliche is the Harlier Than Thou crowd getting alienated whenever the company dares to try building something different from the 40 existing models to try and bring in a few more customers who have nothing against H-D, but don't want a heavyweight cruiser. The company isn't ending all the other models to make this power cruiser nor the Pan America. They aren't going to stop making Road Kings or Road Glides if and when they introduce the Bronx. They are going to stop making Evo powered Sportsters, but that was already thrust upon them by the environmentalists.

 

How do you explain this then ?

 

Not a fan of the exhaust and the seat, but very happy that HD is finally catching up on the technology side. Love the instrument cluster with GPS/Nav (wish they had left the option to use Google Maps, but at least a step in the right direction). Cornering ABS, Cornering traction control, TPMS, all LED lighting, 121 HP stock (doesn't red line at 4k rpm) - hopefully they bring these to the rest of the lineup soon

 

Those pipes and tire widths are a fad. If they want fat tires then sell the rims and let the users buy racing tires. The comment was that they are "turning heads" and I don't mind that if they do it right and in the original character of a Sportster... They can call them something else and that's fine too... I just want them to be around so I can still get parts for whatever I elect to buy...

Not so Harlier Than Thou from where I sit... on my wallet.

 

I am not a fan of all these safety systems being installed on modern motorcycles. As Nick stated 'I refuse to believe in a risk free society where the thrill of living is traded for the safety of existence.'

 

I tend to disagree for one reason. It must be aimed at harleys current customers because of the single front disk. Its for riders who want to cruise and not push the bike hard at all. 120hp and 502lbs wet weight is an accident waiting to happen when that single disk starts to fade and heat up. The fact that harley put a dual disk on the Pan America and not the Sportster S shows a penny pinching I have seen way too many times with Harley.

 

The Bolt is also coming to end of life. It's sold in Japan and the United States. There were four different models of Bolt over the years and now they are down to one. That seems to be the same way that H-D is phasing out the Evo powered Sportsters.

I'm sure there will be a reasonable supply of air cooled, Evo powered Sportsters on the used market at reasonable prices for the next decade at least. Aftermarket parts won't be a problem ever. There is a good chance that a more recent model used Sportster will be my next bike. I'm not fond of the aesthetically challenged Sportster S nor do I really care for the more Sportster like bike of which we have seen drawings. I understand that just because I won't be buying one doesn't mean that other people won't. That's all part of H-D appealing to a broader audience.