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Motorcycle of the year
- Thread starter 179212
- Start date
snotty54
Member
American!
I'm proud, as an American, that a US company is as successful as HD. They're customers are like way loyal, and it's almost like a cult they're so successful. I don't think I'd every buy a Harley, and I've never owned one. Too big, too heavy, to, well, bulborous (sp?) and too noisy (I've lost a bit of hearing so I use earplugs to hold on to what's left). I know there is polarization with the different styles/types of bikes. I rev my RT and it sounds like a lawnmower, but when I'm in the zone between 3000-6000 rpm, it is a very nice sound. Most times my interaction is either in a gas station, or motel parking lot (I only vacation on the bike, on the backroads of America, where I live is not conducive to a sport touring bike) and I usually try to break the ice and find common ground. We're all bikers.
I'm proud, as an American, that a US company is as successful as HD. They're customers are like way loyal, and it's almost like a cult they're so successful. I don't think I'd every buy a Harley, and I've never owned one. Too big, too heavy, to, well, bulborous (sp?) and too noisy (I've lost a bit of hearing so I use earplugs to hold on to what's left). I know there is polarization with the different styles/types of bikes. I rev my RT and it sounds like a lawnmower, but when I'm in the zone between 3000-6000 rpm, it is a very nice sound. Most times my interaction is either in a gas station, or motel parking lot (I only vacation on the bike, on the backroads of America, where I live is not conducive to a sport touring bike) and I usually try to break the ice and find common ground. We're all bikers.
jandhumphreyme
Member
I think its great, they've worked hard and they deserve the recognition. I wish them continued sucess.
Sent from my SM-T700 using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-T700 using Tapatalk
shortythorne
shortythorne
I am NOT a "biker", I am a motorcyclist.
shortythorne
shortythorne
What has that got to do with HD?
Thank you....I agree!
36654
New member
Tariffs and subsidies, if you haven't heard
Anyname
Active member
Be kind to Harley, their sales are doing poorly. National Powersports, a huge used bike dealer, generally has about 300 Harleys for sale, more than any two other brands. It may be that they have started to reach the saturation point. Since Harley doesn't have planned obsolescence as part of their marketing plan, that will be a problem.
US 30 the Lincoln highway big fight between Henry Ford and Carl G. Fisher government vs private goes through Iowa little north of Des Moines
Any number of roads lead to "Banned Camp"........Some make a stop at "Infraction City". Some even take the advice of other passengers on the trip trip and get off the bus and take a break.
OM
greenwald
New member
Well put.
Confine the discussion to H-D and leave the poli-rhetoric outside.
Not sure I'd of picked the 'Milwaukee 8 Line' as the MOTY - other brands offer some new models of interest.
Since they rarely retire a model-line, and baby boomers are aging out, the market is glutted and they are obviously struggling.
They will always be around, but they're hitting more balls than home runs lately.
36654
New member
Well put.
Confine the discussion to H-D and leave the poli-rhetoric outside.
Not sure I'd of picked the 'Milwaukee 8 Line' as the MOTY - other brands offer some new models of interest.
Since they rarely retire a model-line, and baby boomers are aging out, the market is glutted and they are obviously struggling.
They will always be around, but they're hitting more balls than home runs lately.
It's product and message. The product is monotone.........same old, same old.....just bigger and louder. Message is ........ middle-age folks that want to make noise and avoid protective gear to protect some ideal of freedom. It's the same problem the AMA message is facing.
I've rode bikes since the 1970's and have worked in technical fields for the totality of my professional career. Harley offers a brand new product that's analogous to a Havana Taxi...a 1953 DeSoto with a new motor and wiring harness. It's nostalgia. At some point, you have to move past your Grandfather's vision of vehicle design.
beemerphile
New member
BMW hired a design guy named Chris Bangle in 1992. He was the guy who brought David Robb on board. Bangle that once said in an interview "Sometimes you have to take people where they don't want to go." His ugly 2001 740i became known as the "Bangle Butt". H-D moving past Grandpa's vision of a motorcycle would be just that - taking the customer base where they do not want to go. It may indeed be the right thing to do, but it would take nerves of steel to be the one who did it and total commitment from the top of the company to see it through the disillusionment phase.
I worked once with a guy who became president of the company. At one time he was a lowly marketing manager on the company's most profitable brand. His boss told him that the brand was a bonfire and his job was to bring a stick. In other words, don't try to re-make this thing in your own image. Bringing a stick is the safe approach. Absent a brave leader, corporations generally stick with the safe approach.
36654
New member
Yep, I was there when Allis-Chalmers Corp claimed they knew the future market in agricultural equipment. In two years, that part of the company had gone the direction of International Harvester.........a trademark owned by other companies.
Relative to Bangle, the "Butt" carried thru to the 5 and Z-series, but was little more than exterior sheet-metal shape. In that same time period, BMW's range of offerings expanded from sedans to Z-series coupes, X-series SUV's and the "sport" wagons. Today, those X-series SUV's are probably the most profitable BMW product. Do I like them? No!
Can you point to similar efforts by H-D? I don't see it.
beemerphile
New member
Don't think I claimed it. More like, they lack the guts to do anything other than incremental updates.
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