Why Millions Buy Harley-Davidson Motorcycles | Page 9 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Why Millions Buy Harley-Davidson Motorcycles

GreyGhost said:
@kiley ?

As with most things, I am not sure there is an average rider. I know a few HD riders that pile on the miles and a few that have an order of magnitude more dollars than miles on their bikes (and dollars are still increasing quickly and miles increasing very slowly).
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Ya I guess that's me lol.
I would think I ride a little more than most.
As my buddy Sid Seixero once said "Life does not give a sh!t about what plans you have made"
With those thoughts in mind...I'm just trying to see as much as I can in the time that I have.
Take this coming August long weekend for example...
Charlotte said "Lets turn this into a 4 Day Bender!
In my best Forest Gump voice I said "OK"
So now we are soon to be off to find the best poutine in Ontario :)
I'll be sure to post in the Cruising / Toughing forums :)

When life throws you curves...lean into them and twist the throttle.
And always remember kiddies...
#fatguyonaharleylivesmatter

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BigEvilDoer said:
Nope. Not particularly a fan of Honda.
Just putting things into perspective - Honda lost the same number of sales in one year, as the total number of bikes HD has sold in their ENTIRE history.

I'm sure that if HD had approached an "every person's bike" concept they too, could be churning out a bazillion bikes each year, but instead are stuck in the mire of a possible impending financial doom.

*Edit - added last paragraph
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Umm, financial doom not found, disappointing for some I'm sure. They've never been interested in selling 3rd world bikes to poor people. Premium bikes only, for those who can afford them. No dorks and losers.
 
GreyGhost said:
I know a few HD riders that pile on the miles and a few that have an order of magnitude more dollars than miles on their bikes
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I bumped into a guy at a rally years ago who said he wasn’t riding his HD much because he didn’t want to put too many miles on it and effect it’s resale value.

I responded by saying not putting miles on your bike to keep its resale up is like not borking your girlfriend to keep her tight for the next guy.

I think he was offended.
 
Roadghost said:
Umm, financial doom not found, disappointing for some I'm sure. They've never been interested in selling 3rd world bikes to poor people. Premium bikes only, for those who can afford them. No dorks and losers.
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HD is interested in selling a premium image at a premium price, not always premium bikes.

Not sure bout 'no dorks and losers' either. While you meet the nicest people on Harleys, the dorks and losers count is only second to what you find on 10 year old 600CC sport bikes.

Don't take me as a hater - I don't own a Harley but often think I should. I own a small share of the company (HOG), I promised myself if it ever hit $65/share that would be the day.
 
Mad Mike said:
Don't take me as a hater - I don't own a Harley but often think I should. I own a small share of the company (HOG), I promised myself if it ever hit $65/share that would be the day.
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and when I was around 35, promised myself for my 50th
I'd treat myself to a spanking new Sea Ray bowrider

at 50, I was living and working in Ghana - no need for a bowrider

thanks for this @kiley I've stolen it

"Life does not give a sh!t about what plans you have made"
 
Roadghost said:
Umm, financial doom not found, disappointing for some I'm sure. They've never been interested in selling 3rd world bikes to poor people. Premium bikes only, for those who can afford them. No dorks and losers.
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so when you getting a real KTM?
 
Mad Mike said:
HD is interested in selling a premium image at a premium price, not always premium bikes
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If it was a premium product at that premium price I could respect that.

People compare Apple products to Harley, for example. Apple has never been about selling the most handsets vs any other manufacturer - they don't care. They care about maximizing their profit however, which is why they make profit on each handset than other manufacturers might make on 100 of them. Harley is the same - they value profit more than any drive to push more bikes out the door than, say, Honda.

But, there's a quality aspect there when making the Apple comparison, not just a name. Haters will hate on Apple, but you do get what you pay for compared to a lot of the other "Bic Lighters" of the cellphone or computer world that last a few years before breaking/wearing out and being tossed.

Both Harley and Apple offer long time support on their products, however, to be fair.

I'm just not sure that the argument that you're paying more for quality vs image with HD in the face of competitors putting out motorcycles of equal or superior quality at less cost can be made anymore.

So, yes, like you said... a premium image at a premium cost. Not necessarily actually a premium product however. That's going to be their biggest stumbling block in the years ahead as image matters a lot less to the generation with the disposable income to buy motorcycles and other toys.
 
Mad Mike said:
Isn't the 390 KTS's "Sportster"?
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That's not how it works on Planet Orange.

The reason why KTM has so many displacement offerings with gradations from 50cc, 65cc, 85cc, 125cc, 150cc, 250cc, 350cc, 390cc, 450cc, 500cc, 690cc, 890cc, 1290cc is to offer the best tool for any given riding/racing event or situation.

I don't know any KTM owner who looks down at a 300cc 2-smoke as a lesser weapon if the battlefield is tight single-track.

I'm planning a return to India and that 390 Adventure is a perfect tool for that ride.
 
PrivatePilot said:
So, yes, like you said... a premium image at a premium cost. Not necessarily actually a premium product however. That's going to be their biggest stumbling block in the years ahead as image matters a lot less to the generation with the disposable income to buy motorcycles and other toys.
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I think the management change improved internal awareness of their plight, and set a new course to correct it. Their latest 2 releases, PanAM and Sporty appear to be spot on with competitive features, performance, tech and price.

I also think the cancellation of Bronx is indicates HD's strategy is to release and price new bikes with features, performance and price at the top of the segment - Bronx would need to best Tuono V4, S1000R, MT10, Duc V4s etc to fit the strategy . They know survival means earning new riders as opposed to satisfying old ones, so if the bike doesn't really compete on all fronts, its off the drawing board.

I also like the recent Livewire spinout. Electric segment is in the embryonic stage, spinning it off unlocks value in the company, the new entity will be in a desirable investment climate, so raising money should be cheaper - Livewire may become the Tesla of the MC world.
 
Maniac said:
Tesla is trash though.
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I mean from a business perspective. Flooded with cheap capital, cool engineering positions, gov't incentives, a long honeymoon with early adopters, and in the end a viable company. Toyota started selling Prius 10 years before TESLA sold a car, in 2003 would you have bet Tesla or Toyota as the big swinging **** in the ecar marketplace?
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