Harley should start rethinking their strategy.....hopefully it's not too late though!

 

What does that have to do with riding bikes or being a biker?

 

Read my original post. I said that posers would be one of the kind of people who might be attracted to a bike like the 48.

Just my opinion.

Bikes, fast cars etc. are poser magnets.

Owning a bike don't make you a "biker" any more than buying a Ferrari makes you a "racer".

 

+1 on this. My son is a college student and has wanted a scoot for a couple years now. He's loved my Harleys but obviously not going to be able to afford one. My view is that MOCO needs to start competing with the other companies that are able to get down to a price range affordable to the younger generation. By this I mean they should have a model or two priced for these up and coming riders. Initiating their interest and loyalty into the Harley family will only help the entire Harley community years down the road.

 

Harley needs to make their 103 or 110 engine standard to better match the competition. The one American bike company I see quietly coming up to match Harley in sales will be Victory.

The "48" will not get the job done. Way too much money. I agree that if they could come out with a stretched 1200 Sporty bagger, they would have something.

 

Cant ya hear all the hootin and hollaring at the stockholders meeting when they heard the, "you gotta pay full price" speal. High fives goin around and dreams of people standing in line checkbooks in hand just a waitin to pay full price for every model they have. Well the real world is a bit different then where they're livin. New bikes are overpriced for these economic times. A quick check on ebay, which is a good barometer of what people are paying for used bikes, will find alot of bikes being relisted with no offers bid on them. And when you check the completed sales, its pitifull what the ones that do sell are going for. So paying full price for a bike in the 20k something range with no resale apeal once it's over 3 years old, isn't very motivating to alot of people.,

 

So someone who buys his/her first bike is now a "poser"? How long did you ride as a "poser" before you became a biker?

 

Not since Harley Davidson regained full ownership of Harley Davidson from AMF, have I known them to drop prices or build a "cheaper bike" so what do you recon has kept up their interest and loyalty this far down the road?
Harley Davidson is just like Farrari, Mecedes and Lamborghini cars, they are known to be the best and when you go to buy the best, you need to be prepared to set down the satchel.
The new 48 does not appeal to me but it will appeal to someone. The Road Glide and Crossbones did not appeal to me or any of my older riding friends but, apparently, they appealed to someone because there sure have been a lot of them sold. Adding new models is how HD sparks new interests.
When I was growing up, I couldn't afford a Harley either so I rode Suzukis, Hondas, and Yamahas. It didn't stop me from wanting a Harley so when I could afford a Harley, I bought my first.
The Big 3 used to build the most sought after cars and trucks on the road until they started building hybrid Japanese/American vehicles to get their prices down to that of the imports. We all know full well what that venture has done to the Big 3.
In order for Harley Davidson to lower their prices, they are going to have to lower their standards and have hybrid Japanese/American or Mexican/American bike built or lower the wages of their American employees. I, for one, hope they do niether.

 

I bought my '0-10 last October and it was difficult to get much of a deal. (Fourth bike there, so I know THAT story well.) My local dealer told me that H-D had cut production and that the touring-series would be hard to come by, so I'd better buy one at retail, because there wouldn't much available this model year.

Went in the store last week and they had changed the layout of the store; they have wall-to-wall bikes, including two or three of almost every touring series. I've never seen that many bikes in the store, and they had more in the back.

'Customers must pay retail' might be part of the reason they have so much inventory, though since I had to pay retail, it's in my best interest if they keep that attitude. Now, if I was back in the market, different story!

 

+1 on that; the current 96" should have been at least the 103".