The Harley Davidson thread

I’m speaking in generalized terms.

https://rideapart.com/articles/millennials-motorcycle-sales-downturn

 

Shit changes...I wouldn't put a whole lot of stock in any article claiming they are killing anything. I call it panic marketing...ohhh noooo...this thing I like will cease to exists because millennials aren't buying them....everyone scream loudly....

I can only really take note of one thing that they seem to be killing...blind brand loyalty. It seems they are happy to jump ship if someone comes along producing something they like better regardless of brand.

 

You kinda miss the idea of 'expanding their market', huh.

 

Maybe millenials just don't enjoy riding big heaping piles of underperforming shit?

 

If they can't drive a standard, what are the odds they will want to ride a motorcycle. Which leads to the next question; hondamatic anyone?

 

H-D won't have to ship as much oil-dri with the electric bikes.

 

^ There will be an app for that

 

I can’t see Buell turning ANY profit the last go around with racing on the world stage.

 

They are already here: Yamaha FJR-1300AE (no longer sold in the US), Honda NC700X DTC, CT700X DCT, VFR 1200X DCT, and pretty much all of the electric bikes. I would expect the electric bikes to be big with the millenials, particularly as the bikes improve. They get green status that is cooler than a Prius / Leaf and way cheaper than a Tesla , BMW i3 or i8. If Harley builds and markets their electric bike right, that could open the door for the new buyers they need in a big way.

 

I think the Honda Africa Twin is also available with a DCT

 

Marketing dept hard at work

 

Not a big deal but for clarification, it was Eric Buell Racing, not Buell. And no they didn’t turn a profit. The sad thing is the 1190Rx was a very good bike.

 

Wow it looks like they are finally going to put real brakes on these things.

 

Digging the streetfighter!

I'll reserve my thoughts on the ADV until I learn more about its specs.

 

What’s underforming about them? They do exactly what they are suppose to. They are not sport bikes or sport cruisers. I will say they have a huge amount of low end torque which makes them fun to ride.

 

"this is about inventing new ways to thrive in a new world."

Marketing speak translation....

We are finally gonna do shit we should have done 3 decades ago when everyone else was building a better bike than our 2018 models.

 

It'll be interesting to see how this pans out for HD. The reason their market share is falling is because nobody wants to pay $25k to play dress up. The people they're trying to market to now are buying/building cool little $5k bikes. They're not going to give that up for an $18k Streetfighter. I think HD is 10 years too late with this stuff.