Harley Davidson's whining

[grasshopperglock]

I thought Victory motorcycles were slick looking. They are no longer being made. I think Buell is tittie up. Harley's attempt at a sporty bike was the Vrod. It's gone too. Haven't heard anything about Indian. The saturation of the market is all classic style Harley.

 

[Moonpie]

From what I’ve read Indian is doing well.
They just have a small section of the market.
Indian is producing some nice looking smaller bikes as well as the big classic cruisers.

 

[LOCKHART]

LOL! Except in flat track racing! Watched a race last weekend, first FIVE were Indian Scouts! So much for Harleys racing efforts!

 

[LOCKHART]

And the ONLY reason they win in NHRA Pro Stock bikes is they are given almost TWICE the displacement as the Jap bikes, but NONE of the Harleys run ANY Harley parts! All hand made racing parts!

 

[Vaquero]

They used to compete across the board.
Yes, they painted themselves into a corner.

 

[LOCKHART]

They never looked at modern motorcycle design. When Honda brought out the 4 cylinder 750, the handwriting was on the wall. Young people took a look and liked what they saw. Harley just kept on building their obsolete antique shit! The V-Rod is the ONLY Harley I would ever buy because it was at least an attempt by them to bring a modern design v-twin to their lineup. Alas, too little, too late.

 

[innominate]

UJM vs HD ha!
You guys sound like 1911 vs Glocksters

How dare you sir. I ride a proper British motorcycle. Now someone pass me the Grey Poopin for my crumpet

 

[BRD@66]

From what I’ve read Indian is doing well.
They just have a small section of the market.
Indian is producing some nice looking smaller bikes as well as the big classic cruisers.

For now but Indian has died & been revived in the motorcycle sarcophagus many times.

 

[LOCKHART]

Polaris isn't going anywhere, and they have the big bucks to make Indian go! Think that's why they dumped Victory, so they could concentrate only on Indian. Their racing efforts are paying off already. They are kicking Harleys collective ass in flat track racing.

 

[pronstar]

In my former career, we were Indian and Polaris’ ad agency for a few years, we lost the accounts at the beginning of the year.

Polaris is making big money selling SxS’s, are sitting on cash, and recently purchased a pontoon boat MFR. I think their next foray will be small/mid-size outboard motors, so they can own all the verticals for their boats.

Indian doesn’t sell in massive numbers, but it doesn’t have to. They don’t have a massive amount of idle manufacturing capacity burning cash waiting to build bikes that no one is buying, like HD has.

Polaris also bought a chunk of land and the Glamis Beach Store, at the iconic sand dunes in Glamis, CA. So hundreds of thousands of desert rats can test drive their SxS’s right where they’re used - in the sand dunes.

http://www.polaris.com/en-ca/compan...c-glamis-beach-store-and-surrounding-property

They’ve had a large seasonal presence there for at least 5 years, now they own it.

Brilliant move by the company. They’re charging “regular” car prices for a vehicle that costs far less to produce.

Off-roading is the biggest thing I miss about CA. We sold all of our toys before we moved to TX. There’s just no place to off-road when the state is all privately owned...but I’ve found new hobbies that don’t cost cubic dollars LOL



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[sharkey]

Millennials love to ride. They prefer to ride sport bikes to grandpa's harley. They are all over the place around here. 18-24yo.

Sure that is what you see and most 18-24 can't afford an 15-30k recreational toy hence the metrics but as a whole, what percentage of millennials ride? I am guessing very few. How many of them shoot?

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[grasshopperglock]

Sure that is what you see and most 18-24 can't afford an 15-30k recreational toy hence the metrics but as a whole, what percentage of millennials ride? I am guessing very few. How many of them shoot?

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Most the United States Army. I live by Fort Hood. Not only do they shoot. They buy crotch rockets all the time. 18-24yo.

 

[innominate]

If I had started riding a street bike when I was that age I probably would not be here today.

 

[sharkey]

Most the United States Army. I live by Fort Hood. Not only do they shoot. They buy crotch rockets all the time. 18-24yo.

Well yeah but are the army guys at Fort Hood really representative of millennials?

 

[Vaquero]

Well yeah but are the army guys at Fort Hood really representative of millennials?

If the boys at Dyess AFB are an indicator. Yes.
Crotch rockets and Challengers everywhere.
"Zoomies"

 

[vmax]

Did Harley ever get those things to idle?
I noticed most all operators sitting at stop lights have to keep revving them up so they won’t die.

 

[Tremors]

Too Hell with HD. I tried buying on once. All they wanted to do was jack with me on prices. All my buddies ride HD because they were trained to pay the high prices. I have a Honda VTX1300, I love it. It never breaks down like their biked did all the time. When their bikes break under warranty HD never covers it and saying its their fault.

 

[Vaquero]

sometimes, it does matter.

 

[Moonpie]

When I went to purchase my first Harley I had my heart set on a RED 1200 Sportster.
Local HD dealer had a black one.
Another HD dealer about 50 miles north had a red one.
Trying to do the Buy Local thing I attempted to get the local dealer to get me the red thru a dealer exchange.
He wasn’t even going to try.
When I complained about this he told me, and I quote, “take your ass up there and buy it”.
I did.
Also told the arrogant prick he would never see me again. He hasn’t.

 

[avvidclif]

Did Harley ever get those things to idle?
I noticed most all operators sitting at stop lights have to keep revving them up so they won’t die.

In what year was that, 1909? I've never had a problem with idling. I think you're confusing problems with idling to just liking to hear them roar. Different strokes for different folks. I like mine and none have ever leaked oil. The older ones, yep, but it wasn't a leak. It was just marking it's territory. Does it vibrate, yep. But it's something I can live with. It's not like I'm riding a politically correct electric vehicle with the high frequency numbing of the hands. Maintenance is simple and not a big deal, I enjoy wrenching. Besides it can be done by anyone with a modicum of mechanical ability, simplicity has it's advantages. Don't do the maintenance and you will have problems, just like any bike.

I'm a rider and not a Poser like most riders.