You don't like HD but you constantly talk like you know something about this company when its incredibly clear that you do not. Have you ever even ridden an HD? have you been to any HOG rallies? Are you even paying attention to the marketing material as of late?? Are you even familiar with the current line up of bikes?
Yes, I spent an unfortunate 80 kms on a Sportster.
No, I have not been to a HOG rally. I will never go to a HOG rally.
Yes, I am aware that Harley loyalists are very upset about the modern v-twins and water cooling.
Yes, I see the current range as continuing to be heavy, expensive, with out-dated components.
Face the facts, HD is successful, they have big marketshare in their segments, they have been around for 110 years, a Harley Davidson tattoo is the second most popular tattoo after "Mom", they have loyal customers that are engaged with the brand and they are intimately connected through the owners group HOG. I don't think you will find more loyal customers anywhere than an enthusiastic harley customer... You can be a hater if you want to be but you are heavily misinformed.
Segments? you mean, "segment". Crusiers, that's it. They have gone broke twice in the past 40 years. Both times in bad economies. They tried and failed with sports bikes.
When you over pay into a "culture" that ignores actual motorcycle design, you rely on culture, tattoos, marketing and bad-*** imagery -that's not motorcycling, that's fashion.
"Harley needs new customers"???? No kidding, so does every brand for every product in this world. Have you been paying attention to the marketing material lately? If you did you would notice the customers they are trying to conquer. Under 35's and women. Look at all the imagery these days and you'll see a whole lot of hipster looking dudes with unbottoned plaid shirts flowing in the wind and skinny jeans. All the dark custom P&A, black label clothing, its basically geared towards younger riders who think matte black is cool.
Like everything else Harley, ten to 15 years year out of date. They need new customers because the blue-collar US manufacturing worker is gone, replaced by Walmart greeters and McJobs, which cannot afford Harleys. The only base level of sales is in commuter bikes, and no one buys Harley to commute.
You'll see a lot more material and events trying to draw in women and first time riders.. They have pink label clothing and do garage parties to try and engage them.. If you watch the UFC/Ultimate Figher, you'll see how heavily they are promoting HD in that programming which garners a lot of young viewers. Even this month, Movember is a fairly young movement. HD picked up on it and they are partnered with them.
Like the Buell Blast?
No, I don't watch UFC/Ultimate fighter. I am no where near that target demographic.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion,
Oh, then you have not met Harley riders, because they like to point out my "disposable Jap Crap" when they are in groups of three or more (never alone). They are the most conservative people I constantly come across, all insist on talking, looking, thinking the exact same. Not a lot of ethnic diversity either.
No it isn't , you hate it when anyone takes a critical look at those motorcycle designs. This is acompany that makes more profit margin than any other bikes, uniquely in North America, because they invest very little in R&D. This was a high profit corporation, it's better compared to a designer jeans company or a cosmetics company.
You don't buy a Harley because you like bikes.
but my opinion is simple here: You don't know what you are talking about.
These bikes will sell.
Sure they will, as well as the Buells. The issue is that they have 500 and 750 class ranges, which means a logical comparison with Japanese bikes. They could sell well, if they actually made good bikes. The American car companies realized this the hard way. The market is more competitive than ever, and the way to compete is with a better product, and inferior products with better marketing doesn't work any more, most people are too well informed these days.
The idea that these bikes will penetrate the European market is simply hilarious. Good luck with that.
Last month HD reported profits up by 21%, but sales up 2%. This was a bit of a rebound from 2010-2012, mostly attributed to the fact they now make bikes with less hands-on labor, and they are sourcing cheaper parts than before. They have figured out how to make the bikes at lower cost, but they haven't realized significant sales number increases.
But, as with all fashion-based companies, customers don't always choose rationally.
