You can sum up this video like this: "I'll never forgive Harley for selling bikes too expensive for me to afford."
There. That's it. I mean, ask yourself what kind of obsessive crybaby goes to the trouble of making a video to whine about a motorcycle manufacturer they'll never be able to buy? Just one long negative diatribe of "They're going bankrupt. Look, all the numbers show it! It's all Harley's fault because they won't sell cheaper bikes! And besides, they're no good anyway. Everything else is better value..."
If everything else is better, why make a video complaining about Harleys? Yamaha is better right? Or is this just another bitter dude who never got to buy the bike he always dreamed about? They're not cheap bikes. They haven't been the working man's bike since the 1970s. No, you'll never get one for the price of a Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Honda. Life's not fair. Now get over it.
Damn, I want a Diavel 1260 or Panigale v4 SOOO bad, but I don't complain about the price... It's currently out of my range, but it's a target to reach for.... Ducati > Harley Davidson every day of the week, hands down.... now to open my popcorn... hehehehehe.
All I know is the new CEO is smart, by buying a HUGE load of HD shares at a cheap price (something like $2million worth), on top of the gazillion shares he has already accumulated.
He will want his return on that 10 fold, when he cashes out. I think he will focus more on 'image' like at Puma and the luxury goods company, and not necessarily product development. I fear, purchasing HD motorcycles will become even more expensive.
Big discounts, leery transit users, grounded airlines — dealers have several incentives that might draw new buyers, but can the auto industry capitalize on all of t…
All I know is the new CEO is smart, by buying a HUGE load of HD shares at a cheap price (something like $2million worth), on top of the gazillion shares he has already accumulated.
/QUOTE]
Its pretty common practise for a CEO and even vice presidents to be asked to buy a significant block of shares to be seen as invested in the business. It can be done with a low/zero interest loan from within the company, shares in lieu of salary , bonus structure. In the US its yet another way of tax defferal.
You dont get that job if your a dummy, and at that level thier is always a silver lined parachute.
Sold my 1999 in 2006 with 267,000 for $3100.
Trans was replaced once under warranty.
Would have kept it longer if I didn't get the 2005 that I was offered.
Sold my 1999 in 2006 with 267,000 for $3100.
Trans was replaced once under warranty.
Would have kept it longer if I didn't get the 2005 that I was offered.
I have always seen HOG as a survivor... kinda like dandelions and thistles in my garden.
HOG recovered from an 80% drop in sales after the Great depression, in the 70's they survived AMF, in the 80's they survived the Japanese invasion. They also weathered inept Italians - twice - Aermacchi and MV-Agusta.
It may take a few years for a resurgence, I think they will do it.
The upside to a slowly evolving core product line is that strategy could work for HD. Everybody basically knows what a roadglide looks like, sounds like and feels like. The incremental changes are just minor cosmetic bumps. Those walking into a Harley dealer and buying a bike normally know what they want and are not that concerned about what it costs nor are they cross-shopping vs other cruisers.
I'm not sure how it works for dealers though. They have been forced to build huge expensive facilities. As much as the current message says they can concentrate on used, that is a rough road. They are setup for high margin expensive bikes and that is very rarely what the used market is. Also HD may say they should concentrate on used, but when you walk into a HD showroom and 80% of it is not HD, I am sure corporate will quickly kibosh that idea. Or are they telling them to concentrate on used but only HD? Also seems to be a loser situation as that will be a damned expensive used bike market and I don't think there will be enough buyers to support it. Again, the upside to a slowly changing product line is with a kijiji ad for a roadglide you know basically what you are getting and what fair market value is. There is little room for a dealer premium unless they bundle a warranty (and is that warranty worth the dealer premium?).
The upside to a slowly evolving core product line is that strategy could work for HD. Everybody basically knows what a roadglide looks like, sounds like and feels like. The incremental changes are just minor cosmetic bumps. Those walking into a Harley dealer and buying a bike normally know what they want and are not that concerned about what it costs nor are they cross-shopping vs other cruisers.
I'm not sure how it works for dealers though. They have been forced to build huge expensive facilities. As much as the current message says they can concentrate on used, that is a rough road. They are setup for high margin expensive bikes and that is very rarely what the used market is. Also HD may say they should concentrate on used, but when you walk into a HD showroom and 80% of it is not HD, I am sure corporate will quickly kibosh that idea. Or are they telling them to concentrate on used but only HD? Also seems to be a loser situation as that will be a damned expensive used bike market and I don't think there will be enough buyers to support it. Again, the upside to a slowly changing product line is with a kijiji ad for a roadglide you know basically what you are getting and what fair market value is. There is little room for a dealer premium unless they bundle a warranty (and is that warranty worth the dealer premium?).
I would guess HD dealers will focus on service, upgrades, garb and some will go harder in the short term rental business. I don't imagine new vehicles pay the freight in any automotive dealership -- they are the feedstock for parts and service revenues. I'm also guessing there are a lot of new bikes in the pipeline right now, these will slowly burn off as production ramps.
The upside to a slowly evolving core product line is that strategy could work for HD. Everybody basically knows what a roadglide looks like, sounds like and feels like. The incremental changes are just minor cosmetic bumps. Those walking into a Harley dealer and buying a bike normally know what they want and are not that concerned about what it costs nor are they cross-shopping vs other cruisers.
I'm not sure how it works for dealers though. They have been forced to build huge expensive facilities. As much as the current message says they can concentrate on used, that is a rough road. They are setup for high margin expensive bikes and that is very rarely what the used market is. Also HD may say they should concentrate on used, but when you walk into a HD showroom and 80% of it is not HD, I am sure corporate will quickly kibosh that idea. Or are they telling them to concentrate on used but only HD? Also seems to be a loser situation as that will be a damned expensive used bike market and I don't think there will be enough buyers to support it. Again, the upside to a slowly changing product line is with a kijiji ad for a roadglide you know basically what you are getting and what fair market value is. There is little room for a dealer premium unless they bundle a warranty (and is that warranty worth the dealer premium?).
HD really screwed over many good small dealers when they made them all upgrade facilities. Many good dealers were lost as they could not make the jump to a big building along a highway....
Today they get many of the used bikes via trade-ins from people upgrading to a new bike (at the usual trade in low price). Without the new bikes sales I think they will have a hard time acquiring enough used inventory with enough margin to sell it for enough profit.
They also still need to break the dealer attitude for many of the big ones left (not all but too many). The entire HD or it is not a real bike thing. It helped kill Buell, it is hurting their down market bikes today and even the v-rod, not real bikes blah blah blah. Imagine those dealers now selling used Hondas... The attitude I received at multiple dealers wanting to check out a Buell back in the day was alarming.
I hope most dealerships are owned by conglomerates (Like Policaro) and have multiple revenue centers, or are a passion project and they own several other businesses. What a tough business model for a family that just run a motorcycle shop.
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