H-D kills off more models ? | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

H-D kills off more models ?

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I have a relative that lives near Long Island N.Y. with a decker. He typifies the R.U.B. pirate. We were talking one day about meeting up for Biketoberfest (a few years ago) in Daytona. I suggested he ride down, its 2 days on the Interstates, 3 if you take a more scenic route. He looked at me like I was speaking Swahili. If he went, he'd trailer the bike because it was too far to ride. I realize that he isn't everyman, but it seemed to me at the time to typify the Motor Corps' target audience.
 
sburns said:
...........Also put a fair bit of mileage on it for a used bike with little real problems...............
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I was at a gas station in NY when 2 HD people wandered over to look at my ST, which surprised me a bit as I expected to be ignored. They looked at the speedo and were amazed to see 120,000. I explained it was in km, about 70,000 miles. Still impressed, the guy asked if I was on the original engine......... I told him that other than routine oil changes, brake pads etc.... it never required any repairs and that mine was a low milage bike, many guys I knew had 100,000 - 150,000 miles on their ST with no issues.

I think if you're an HD owner most of the people you ride with have HD's and maybe everyone thinks it's normal to experience frequent repairs and spend quite a bit on keeping the bike running. Some exceptions I'm sure, but HD's do seem to require a lot of work to keep them on the road.
 
ReSTored said:
I was at a gas station in NY when 2 HD people wandered over to look at my ST, which surprised me a bit as I expected to be ignored. They looked at the speedo and were amazed to see 120,000. I explained it was in km, about 70,000 miles. Still impressed, the guy asked if I was on the original engine......... I told him that other than routine oil changes, brake pads etc.... it never required any repairs and that mine was a low milage bike, many guys I knew had 100,000 - 150,000 miles on their ST with no issues.

I think if you're an HD owner most of the people you ride with have HD's and maybe everyone thinks it's normal to experience frequent repairs and spend quite a bit on keeping the bike running. Some exceptions I'm sure, but HD's do seem to require a lot of work to keep them on the road.
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Yup very true and I am still new to all this. But something I have learned about the HD crowd in general, they are a very diverse bunch when it comes to mechanical competency, there are some that "over" repair or maintain their bike, like you have experienced, and others who get it and just leave it alone, or fix maintian what is necessary. Similar to you I have just over 110,000 k on my bike and yes I would expect a typical HD person to say the same thing about the rebuild, why there is nothing wrong??
 
A Honda owner will brag that he bought last year's model at $1500 off msrp and had to fly out east too get it.
A Harley owner will brag that it cost him $1500 over msrp and had to wait 10 months to take delivery.
 
Wingboy said:
A Honda owner will brag that he bought last year's model at $1500 off msrp and had to fly out east too get it.
A Harley owner will brag that it cost him $1500 over msrp and had to wait 10 months to take delivery.
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Then there are these guy's, all the power to them..
At the end of last season I met a few HD owners who bought new bikes, and who also spent $5000 - $10000 more to upgrade the full exhausts, chips, cams etc. before it was even broken in or been rode. Then complained they didn't like how the bike was running. ?‍♂️
 
sburns said:
Then there are these guy's, all the power to them..
At the end of last season I met a few HD owners who bought new bikes, and who also spent $5000 - $10000 more to upgrade the full exhausts, chips, cams etc. before it was even broken in or been rode. Then complained they didn't like how the bike was running. ?‍♂️
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10 grand in performance mods on dated tech and they still don't like it?

the word suckers come to mind.

even though i feel bad saying it.
 
ReSTored said:
I was at a gas station in NY when 2 HD people wandered over to look at my ST, which surprised me a bit as I expected to be ignored. They looked at the speedo and were amazed to see 120,000. I explained it was in km, about 70,000 miles. Still impressed, the guy asked if I was on the original engine......... I told him that other than routine oil changes, brake pads etc.... it never required any repairs and that mine was a low milage bike, many guys I knew had 100,000 - 150,000 miles on their ST with no issues.

I think if you're an HD owner most of the people you ride with have HD's and maybe everyone thinks it's normal to experience frequent repairs and spend quite a bit on keeping the bike running. Some exceptions I'm sure, but HD's do seem to require a lot of work to keep them on the road.
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I was on my Kawi Concours, stopped in northern PA for lunch and chatted with a Southern Ontario couple on a HD.

They had been on the road for three days. When I mentioned I left TO that morning the lady was awestruck. To her it was like I was on the Dakar Rally. Needless to say they probably had seen more stuff not through the windscreen.

I would hate to see HD fold because it is an icon. I had a Sportster and would like to rent an Electroglide to deserve the Tee shirt. I don't ever see one in the garage.

Harley's problem is a bit like the neighbourhood diner that has been around for ages but the neighbourhood is changing to a healthier lifestyle with ethnic influx. If they change the menu the traditional clientele moves away faster and the kitchen / staff isn't equipped to handle both cuisines.

If they change the menu they accelerate the loss of the traditional customers. If they don't change they die a slow death.

For some reason bikers like to hen peck. A Japanese car showroom can have a high performance sportscar next to a family sedan and people just go about their business of buying what they want.

Put a Harley in a showroom next to a sportsbike and it's "Who farted?"
 
I've been thinking about what someone said about HD mentality;

They will always have the middle aged rider bracket as clients
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Yeah okay, it makes sense. Young people can't or shouldn't really be able to afford an HD, not anywhere near new anyways. So now we're talking established people with maybe grown kids or at least well into their careers.

Here's the problem with their mentality, imo. I don't see the current and next gen moving into those groups wanting an HD. We/they want snazzy tech, TFT screens, Bluetooth everything, etc. Which to HD credit they have been updating, but they are still holding back in so many important areas. So i can see their dilemma, if you change the model lineup now you could potentially kiss your current buyers goodbye, perhaps 10-15 years of missed sales. If you don't chang, then there's a large chance (imo) you will not attract many if any of the new group of buyers into your lineup.

I think you need to bite the bullet and understand that change is never a bad thing. You need to catch the eye of the next gen or be prepared to close shop in 15 years anyways.

Curious to see what others think.
 
Evoex said:
I've been thinking about what someone said about HD mentality;



Yeah okay, it makes sense. Young people can't or shouldn't really be able to afford an HD, not anywhere near new anyways. So now we're talking established people with maybe grown kids or at least well into their careers.

Here's the problem with their mentality, imo. I don't see the current and next gen moving into those groups wanting an HD. We/they want snazzy tech, TFT screens, Bluetooth everything, etc. Which to HD credit they have been updating, but they are still holding back in so many important areas. So i can see their dilemma, if you change the model lineup now you could potentially kiss your current buyers goodbye, perhaps 10-15 years of missed sales. If you don't chang, then there's a large chance (imo) you will not attract many if any of the new group of buyers into your lineup.

I think you need to bite the bullet and understand that change is never a bad thing. You need to catch the eye of the next gen or be prepared to close shop in 15 years anyways.

Curious to see what others think.
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You also have the issue of more people cross-shopping. For instance, say you wanted a new a different bike but weren't stuck on a style but had a defined budget. What is in the HD showroom that would be similar in cost to the XR? XR is about 21 to 25K for 165 hp? The bottom few cruisers/tourers may be in the same ballpark with 92 hp but weigh 240 lbs more. I don't know about the tech equivalency. That is a pretty huge performance gap for even money though. Both are comfortable for long rides and fun to cruise around on. There will always be people that only look at HD and ignore everything else, but I think the percentage of people that fit that profile drop over time.
 
GreyGhost said:
You also have the issue of more people cross-shopping. For instance, say you wanted a new a different bike but weren't stuck on a style but had a defined budget. What is in the HD showroom that would be similar in cost to the XR? XR is about 21 to 25K for 165 hp? The bottom few cruisers/tourers may be in the same ballpark with 92 hp but weigh 240 lbs more. I don't know about the tech equivalency. That is a pretty huge performance gap for even money though. Both are comfortable for long rides and fun to cruise around on. There will always be people that only look at HD and ignore everything else, but I think the percentage of people that fit that profile drop over time.
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yep, loaded XR is roughly 25 grand before taxes. I don't think that gets you most top tier HD models even before the optional factory options.
 
I think the adv market killed harley

All the older people with money are buying those


Most of the young guys I see are either on beginner bikes (because they are just starting out and insurance prices them out)
or are on naked bikes because...fun with reasonable insurance?
 
bigpoppa said:
I think the adv market killed harley

All the older people with money are buying those
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Exact same thing when middle-aged folks started buying SUVs instead of minivans to haul their kids to soccer. Killed that market ded.

All the commercials and marketing material have those SUVs tackling the Rubicon Trail, but the only dirt those mall-crawlers will ever see is when the kids track mud in after their soccer practice.

I mean, who in their right mind who actually go adventuring with an Adventure Bike? Mucho Loco.
 
TK4 said:
What colour ?
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If you're Team Orange, no ordinary milk crate will do. It has to be one from Touratech or something. For $399 USD+tax.

Here's one I'm eyeing for my KTM:

giant-loop-krate.jpg
 
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