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Hardley hits hard times

3K views 35 replies 24 participants last post by  messenger13 
#1 ·
http://www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_10584359?source=commented-business

Toldja!

Just hope more folks are driven to their show rooms for commuters than went there for the heavy iron. There are millions of cruisers still in the barn. Even at $4 gas I haven't seen them from Monday to Friday.

Someone at CCR said that there are risk takers, then there are risk takers, and many that risk buying and riding a H-D on the weekend, are not up to the perceived risk of commuting on the same machine they take out the bar without gear! Go figger!

What do your think the reason is we don't see many cruisers during the week?
 
#4 · (Edited)
You seem so happy at this.....


Most of the bikes in the lot at work are cruisers. There are 2 sportbikes and my RT, and 4-6 cruisers. I was commuting on my H-D until I gave it up for better handling and better weather protection and hard bags.


Now, when the weather is bad only one bike is in the lot. My RT. But, that is a different topic.

H-D does need to adjust their advertising or have 2 different advertising campaigns. One is image, the other is transportation. Maybe even do some touring ads. They should play on the simple, bulletproof engineering and wide dealer base.
 
#6 ·
wsteinborn said:
Ah. They are idiots because they aren't fully geared up while looking at bikes in the showroom. :confused:
I was thinking the same thing. What you wear in the showroom doesn't necessarily mean that's what you'll wear on the road. Personally, when I'm serious about a bike I will put all the gear on when doing a test-sit because I want to know exactly how it all fits together.

I've never seen a HD rider in flip-flops. Those seem to be reserved for the young "invulnerable" sport bike riders.
 
#9 ·
I can't believe how stupid this quote is...

Owning a chromed or custom Harley-Davidson is "not about transportation; it's about an experience," says the company's chief executive, James Ziemer.
Then they get some dimwit analyst -- you know the analysts that tell you how great the stock market it, but don't have a dime to their name...

"For 15 years, Harley-Davidson couldn't make enough motorcycles for middle- class guys," said leisure-industry analyst Robert Simonson of William Blair & Co. "They couldn't make enough of what was making them a lot of money, so they didn't design product or market to other groups. Now they need to."
Let's see... 7 years ago, Harley-Davidson TRIPLED their production by adding 2 more manufacturing plants. And you wonder why their resale value has gone to shit and now HDs depreciate just as fast as the clone cruisers.
 
#10 ·
My shop foreman rides his Harley in flip flops. Of course, they are Harley flip flops. It's a Sportster. He also almost let one of the lifts down on his toes yesterday. I've never seen him move so fast. He's only got one useful arm now. He got drunk and fell and broke his other arm. But he rides with a nice Harley hat turned backward and some nice Harley eyewear. I saw a lot of Harleys on the road up in Colorado last month when my FD went out and I hauled my LT home in a box van............... :histerica
 

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#11 ·
Fall has come to the Chicago area and the morning temps are in the mid 40's. The only guys left commuting on their bikes are my on my LT, a goldwing, a Yamaha Venture, and a very hardcore rider on his YZF600. The HD riders all pretty much stopped commuting when the morning temps got below 60.

We did have quite a few guys who commuted in on their HD's, but they are a big minority compared to the other HD riders.

I do see a lot more bikes on my daily commute down I90 and most are HD's, even in this colder weather.

I also work w/ a guy who has a Goldwing w/ every bell and whistle you can think of on it. Its 3 yrs old and has less than 10k miles on it. So I guess it doesnt matter what you ride, some people just think of thier bike as a toy, to go on breakfast/ice cream/bar runs with.

I guess its their business, how they ride. What makes me laugh more at the HD crown is all of the pirate costumes they wear and the fact that they dont have the common decency to be embarrsed for their clown like appearance.

But who am I to judge?

Tom
 
#12 ·
Qoute "What do your think the reason is we don't see many cruisers during the week?"

________________________________________________________________

Well, in addition to the lack of weather protection, image vs transportation thinking, and other reasons previously posted, I object to the lack of useful capacity to carry items I need in my every day work. :(

I need to carry a lap-top computer & accessories for same, and several standard sized business files and product catalogs. I also like to carry my need my digital camera and telescoping tripod. In wet weather I need the rain suit, and at least some jacket or sweater that is a bit more casual-business like than most of the high quality motorcycle jackets I wear for riding. Throw is some personal & bike related items, spare glasses, lip balm, etc, etc, and the carrying capacity of most cruisers is not up to the task.

I mean, how roomy & secure are those studded and fringed style leather buckle bags anyway? And what about keeping everything dry and protected during a rain shower? Or secure when unattended.

And (my favorite rant, are you listening BMW?) what dim-bulbs allowed the styling departments free rein in designing the swoopy-curvy shape of most side cases? OK, maybe you can fit a full faced helmet in some of them, but what about a full sized briefcase for a full sized lap-top. NO WAY! I've got 4 Beemers currently, and the one with the most utilitarian side cases is the oldest, an '83 R100RT! The LT is only second best. Cruisers? Most seem to me not even close. They're designed to be commuters only for those who don't need to carry business tools. Or who are willing to carry them on their back in a pack like some beast of burden. :histerica
 
#15 ·
hschisler said:
I've never seen a HD rider in flip-flops. Those seem to be reserved for the young "invulnerable" sport bike riders.
Sheesh, Cmon up here Howard, the flip-flop and shorts crowd is all over the place on harleys. I saw a guy on an Ultra Glide wearing nothing but shorts and sandals....I wish I had my camera. No shirt, just skin and hair....lots of nasty hair.


F
 
#16 ·
rattler50 said:
My shop foreman rides his Harley in flip flops. Of course, they are Harley flip flops...
Florian said:
Sheesh, Cmon up here Howard, the flip-flop and shorts crowd is all over the place on harleys. I saw a guy on an Ultra Glide wearing nothing but shorts and sandals...
I stand corrected. Sad to say on this topic I'm definitely wrong. I was trying to give a little cred to our HD-riding brethren.

Come on, guys - wear some protective gear!
 
#17 ·
I just went to KilBoy to get a picture of a crash several months ago... But got tired of looking.

It was two south Floridiots on their HD - - - Wait for it - - - Wait for it - - - Crashing.

Yes. you could see the flip-flops coming off...

Howard, you should visit my neighbor hood.
I get to see all of the HD idiots in all of their glory from all parts of the world.
Once in a while send a good HD rider to this area. Because they are few and far in between.
 
#18 ·
"Most of the bikes in the lot at work are cruisers. There are 2 sportbikes and my RT, and 4-6 cruisers. I was commuting on my H-D until I gave it up for better handling and better weather protection and hard bags.
Now, when the weather is bad only one bike is in the lot. My RT. But, that is a different topic."


On sales of over 500,000 cruisers per year for the last decade, versus 12,000 BMW's; for every RT there should have been 50 cruisers, per sales percentages!!

Or, to make it more striking; if you rounded up 26 of your closest BMW friends, there should be nearly 1000 cruisers in the lot to equal sales volume.

Like I say, you don't see many numbers in the summer of $4 gas, and nearly none when it gets cold, it must mean that even at 45 mpg that many of them get, they'd much rather ride the truck(SUV). I'll give you a few hard core guys, but the numbers are just overwhelming...one is soooo alone on the road between October and May.
 
#19 ·
MikeERideWNC said:
The picture tells it all... Harley riders are idiots.

All of them? :rolleyes:

Here's my LT, and my HD Deuce. I put 17,000 miles on the Deuce and 6,000 on the LT this year. I commute on either all year, except in snow and ice. I've ridden the Deuce at 21 degrees (f) and the LT at 13 degrees (f). So my question: Am I an idiot? Half an idiot? Or are you just an arrogant prick?
 

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#21 ·
Re: Occ

garry_kramer said:
I saw the new OCC World Headquarters on the show this week, the cost $16m to build. Boy, If my dad and I could fight and argue like them can we get a TV show and build moterbikes??????? What a Talent those 2 have.

Garry
They had better pray the TV show doesn't get cancelled. They sure as hell aren't making that kind of money on the bikes anymore. I don't think a lot of companies will be looking to spend lots of dollars on some "theme" bike with the current economic crisis looming over them, and sales to individuals?

IMHO, the bikes they produce are a POS. I just loved the episode (yeah, I used to watch, not any more) where the bike they just built failed to start, and they "fixed" the engine problem with a torch and B.F.H.
 
#22 ·
Re: Occ

Tat_n_Telle said:
They had better pray the TV show doesn't get cancelled. They sure as hell aren't making that kind of money on the bikes anymore. I don't think a lot of companies will be looking to spend lots of dollars on some "theme" bike with the current economic crisis looming over them, and sales to individuals?

IMHO, the bikes they produce are a POS. I just loved the episode (yeah, I used to watch, not any more) where the bike they just built failed to start, and they "fixed" the engine problem with a torch and B.F.H.
I used to watch, no more, the father - son fighting gets boring fast. I think they sell alot of promo stuff that has high mark-up on it. I am not sure that they will get enough to cover a $16m mortgage. Maybe the government should bail them out, they could make a $1m bike for George.....

Garry
 
#23 ·
Re: Occ

They don't make money on the bikes. They signed $50M in licensing deals in the past year. Craftsman Tools & Die Hard batteries, some restaurant group signed a deal to do themed restaurants, their OCC branded apparel line, and two video game deals American Chopper Throttle on PS2/3 and another for XBOX. And that doesn't count what the Discovery Channel pays them.
 
#25 ·
Well i took my wife over to the Victory Dealer to try the passenger seat on a Vision to see what she thought.It just so happens the biggest HD dealer is right beside the Victory dealer.
Now just so you know here in Canada aVictory Vision premium is $24K list,a BMW LT $27K and a HD Ultra $30 to $40K depending on what you want.
Now as my wife was looking at the Victory clothing line and me oggling the Vision ,we left and went to the HD dealer and the clothing was double that at the Victory dealer.
All I am saying is they need a full marketing overhaul in these difficult times if they hope tokeep thier market share.
By the way my wife has sat on all three bikes mentioned and the Vision was the most comfortable for her ,whether we like the styling or not I firmly believe Victory will match HD sales in a few years.
 
#26 · (Edited)
fpmlt said:
. I've ridden the Deuce at 21 degrees (f) and the LT at 13 degrees (f).
So my question: Am I an idiot? Half an idiot?
Or are you just an arrogant prick?
If you're "asking" for opinions?
Anybody that rides when it's that damn cold,
can't be all that smart. :)
But you "might" be right about the arrogance. :stir:
 
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