http://hellforleathermagazine.com/20...e-savings.html

HD has suspended production of the Sporty until the end of the year.

This is posted without comment positive or negative, just passing it along.

 

Thanks for the link.

Some of the comments made on that site were sorta interesting also.

 

expect bankruptcy. they're gambling on public outcry. they'll make stupid decisions until they're bankrupt and then file. the public will go nuts and media outlets will bemoan the loss of an american icon. american culture rewards stupidity.

 

I think Harley will wind up in Chapter 11 sometime next year. Not so much because
of bad product development and marketing decisions (although they’ve made some
howlers), but because they got into the same “non-performing mortgage” situation as a
lot of banks did; by making thousands of loans to unqualified buyers.

No one ever seems to understand that the scariest phrase in business is “We’ll make it
up on volume” when you’re loosing money on every transaction.

I do not think my Harley is a perfect bike or is markedly superior to many other brands;
but it is one of the few bikes short of a full-blown tourer that I am physically comfortable
on and is extremely popular here in the Southwest where the ability to cover long distances
and cope with high altitudes is critical.

I test rode a KR1200 BMW a couple months ago and from the technical and performance
point of view, it was a vastly superior bike. However, it had several significant problems…

1 $22,000 is a hell of a lot of money.
2 Sooner or later all that gadgetry is going to fail costing megabucks in maintenance
3 It’s seating position causes me to bend my knees too much to be comfortable
4 It’s so gadget laden that the turn signal switch is located UNDER the handlebar grip
because there is no room for it in a normal position

I admit that problem number 3 probably doesn’t matter to most people, but 1 and 2
certainly do. A local BMW rider here claimed to have been charged $600 just to remove
those elaborate (but admittedly very effective) fairings.

As for problem 4, what does it say about a company who is so committed to technical
gadgetry that they start to compromise basic operation of the vehicle?

One point in Harley’s favor is that even though 99% of Harley owners correctly believe
that maintenance is constantly overcharged by the “stealers” from whom they bought
their bikes, Harley maintenance is certainly far cheaper than BMW’s.

But at the same time, look at all the correctable and notorious stuff that Harley lets go
year after year such as ****-poor front engine mounts on the Dyna series, battery covers
that fall off Sportsters, gas gauges that don’t work, alarm problems, lack of proper dealer
final assembly, etc., etc.

So what does it say about a company who is so committed to never admitting problems
that they start to compromise basic product quality?

I like my Harley and have no plans to get rid of it, but there is no doubt that Harley has
lost much of its vision in a blizzard of “branding” and that upper management is like a
fish out of water. It took a managemnet revolt to get Harley out from under AMF and it
looks as though it's about time that current management be forcibly retired.

Mike;
Former 2009 XL1200C owner
Current 2009 FXDC owner

 

Nah, Osama would bail them out. That way he can buy more second term votes. Harley would of been gone in the 70-80's if it wasn't for the Embargo Reagan enacted on 900CC imports.

 

Buell is going too.
http://www.jsonline.com/business/64462187.html

 

Looks like HD going Belly up??? What to do with required Parts? Accessories? What position does this put ALL Harley Owners?? Suppose if this is how it is then the Dealers will have to drop the Prices??? Wouldn't that be Good! As the Bikes are Over Priced as Is..Here in Australia a Crossbones goes for around $32,000 $33,000AUS..Even Sportster goes for around $16.000 min!

 

What, me worry? My Sporty is practically zero maintenance and runs great on 87 octane. The dealer is great. I go in occasionally and buy a decal for myself or a trinket for the wife.

A buddy was encouraging me to trade up to a RK this morning (so he could get rid of his). No thanks. Nothing wrong with living the good life.

The boys and girls at the MOCO are grown ups. Let them take care of themselves.

 

LOL
I always find it amusing when people get on these forums and pretend to be smarter than the corporate marketing executives.

Right on, there ya go. Exactly. Well said. Congrats. You da man.

 

The decision to suspend production of the Sportster models for the 4th Quarter of this year was released late Spring, early Summer..

The current inventory of new Sportsters is just too high, and like it or not, the Sportster "Trade In/Trade Up" program has been a great success and many Sportster owners are going with Big Twin models.

Like anything else it's a matter of supply and demand, and there isn't any point in producing a large number of bikes if they just end up sitting unsold on a showroom floor.

The new bike sales have taken a major hit (all models) and it doesn't help when you consider all the low mileage bikes, many with thousands of dollars of accessories installed) being sold at rock bottom prices.