Harley-Davidson failing miserably with millenials

[mightymousetech]

Maybe because younger kids are smarter these days? Here in our shop, there are 5 young guys that ride bikes. None of them would ever ride a HD.

 

[3800Series]

I think their appeal is fading overall. About 10 years ago I was living in Missouri. I end up becoming friends with my neighbor. Man worked at the Harley assembly plant in Kansas City. He never had anything bad to say about his job but after a few years wave after wave of lay offs their image changed. You could walk into any bar in town and hear someone talking how they worked there for 15+ years thought they had a secure job just got a random lay off out of no where. In most jobs you can see it coming due to less hours or just lower overall output but a lot of them was blaming Harley's advertising. At the time the company was losing money but the only thing that ever seemed to increase was the marketing. Signing multi million dollar deals with UFC and just other stuff the younger generation paid attention to in order to market to them. Doesn't seem to have paid off in the long run.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: Bambam

Two kinds of riders, those that ride a Harley, those that wish they rode a Harley !

Please, spare us the tired, and outdated ridiculous clichés...

 

[grampi]

It isn't just Harleys suffering from slow sales, I think it's pretty much all bikes right now. I've had my 2013 Triumph Rocket 3 for sale for over a month now, and all I've gotten is contacts by scammers. No serious lookers yet, and the bike has just over 10K miles and not a mark on it. Still looks like new. I'm asking a very reasonable price so I don't think the lack of interest is due to price...like many have said, I just don't think many people are looking to buy bikes these days....

 

[Alfred_B]

When you see or hear about the horrific injuries the motorcycle riders get, the desire to own one fades fairly quickly. It's possible that the millennials are a little smarter and avoid it for the risk. But my suspicion is that those motorbikes do not appeal to them so they don't buy them. In my friend's circle, no one has a HD. It's Ducatis, Suzukis and such.

 

[Dyusik]

Originally Posted By: Bambam

Two kinds of riders, those that ride a Harley, those that wish they rode a Harley !

Have a Harley, wishing for another Yamaha. I am baffled the engineering of Harley Davidson, it is assembled in the most asinine backwards way possible. Can't wait to get rid of it.

 

[dlundblad]

I am a millennial and would prefer a Harley over other brands. Although, if I wanted a toy, it'd be something old with a V8. A trans am, a Jeep something etc.

 

[L_Sludger]

Originally Posted By: Alfred_B

When you see or hear about the horrific injuries the motorcycle riders get, the desire to own one fades fairly quickly. It's possible that the millennials are a little smarter and avoid it for the risk. But my suspicion is that those motorbikes do not appeal to them so they don't buy them. In my friend's circle, no one has a HD. It's Ducatis, Suzukis and such.

My thoughts here are disjointed and not worth much, which has already been established. But perhaps, maybe those younger people who ride motorcycles frequently, or as a lifestyle choice, consciously choose the zippier, cheaper sport bikes over the glamour show Harley Davidsons out of a purely utilitarian and not vanity-related need.

 

[Lyman]

Post a picture of a few old Harleys and the haters come out in 2.1 seconds. The black bike in the picture had 75,000 miles on it when it was three years old. Neither one has ever left me at the side of the road. They are by far the easiest bikes I have ever worked on. For someone to say they are difficult to work on gives me an idea of your abilities. I have owned all different brands of bikes over the years and love all bikes in general. I am not a hater of anything on two wheels.

 

[SF0059]

I am, unfortunately, classified as a "millennial" since I was born in 1982 and the cutoff is 80-81. What happened to Generation Y? Anyway, I think I am the perfect example of Harley's lost millennial market. Here are the issues: #1 - My wife will leave me if I buy a motorcycle. Her favorite TV show is Sons of Anarchy and stares at bikes on the highway, but God forbid HER husband bite it on a motorcycle. There is a definite double standard there, but my mom was the same way with my dad. Our society has less of a taste for potential injury than it used to. #2 - Harley's are super expensive. I can think of at least 5 bikes that I could buy and get more for less. I know Harley guys are will balk and say "it isn't a HARLEY". That doesn't matter to a lot of young people with limited resources. I have kids, a car payment and a wife who likes to shop. There is no chance I could justify a Harley. #3 - Reliability: Almost ever bike manufacturer is more reliable that a Harley. The brand is not mechanically innovative and relies on arcane technology for their bikes. For a long time they could do that because people would buy them no matter what. But today people want to go further than 30-50k miles before a complete v-twin teardown. #4 - Image: Why did people stop buying minivans? They didn't want to be their parents. Unfortunately, now half of Harley owners are 50+ year old dudes. These are the guys who will wear $5k in leathers riding on the weekend and a Hawaiian shirt with khakis the rest of the week. They enjoy chasing their Peter Fonda dreams, but it seems square and disingenuous to young people. For me, I would buy a Triumph in a heartbeat if my wife would let me. Or any other brand. If I had money burning a hole in my pocket I would buy a BMW for its sheer engineering perfection, but not a Harley. I think most people my same age feel the same way.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: dlundblad

Although, if I wanted a toy, it'd be something old with a V8. A trans am, a Jeep something etc.

That's me too. It's time for me to hang up my riding gear and get a Corvette. If it gets too hot I can turn on the air. If it gets too cold I can turn on the heat. If it rains I stay dry, and the best part, my wife will go with in the Vette, whereas she won't ride on the back of my bike...

 

[oilpsi2high]

The best part about a Harley is the sound, bar none. With a GOOD set of pipes (not just straight through exhaust, but a tuned exhaust with baffles) sounds incredible on those things.

 

[gman2304]

Originally Posted By: grampi

Originally Posted By: dlundblad

Although, if I wanted a toy, it'd be something old with a V8. A trans am, a Jeep something etc.

That's me too. It's time for me to hang up my riding gear and get a Corvette. If it gets too hot I can turn on the air. If it gets too cold I can turn on the heat. If it rains I stay dry, and the best part, my wife will go with in the Vette, whereas she won't ride on the back of my bike...

Now that's odd.....A middle aged guy driving a Corvette!

 

[Brons2]

My boss has some new ultra-touring Harley, don't know which model it is but it has all the bells and whistles. I shudder to think how much he paid for it. I personally would rather re-do some part of my house for $20K rather than get a motorcycle. Maybe I'll finally get that wet bar in the game room Lol...

 

[pandus13]

Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high

The best part about a Harley is the sound, bar none. With a GOOD set of pipes (not just straight through exhaust, but a tuned exhaust with baffles) sounds incredible on those things.

With all due respect NOPE! I live 1/2 mile from a HD dealership, and I have nearby: - a UPS staging facility (read truck in and out all day) - a busy road with also some semi traffic - and a railroad (which beside commuter Metra handle some commercial loads) Guess who is the most noisy thing ion the area? -semi-trucks? NO -semi-tracks beeping while backing? NO -trains while pulling at least 20 wagons? NO -commuter trains? NO -local road maintainers? NO -HD's to and from the dealership? YUP so please respect my ears and I will respect your choice of transport and also give you wide berth and treat you like a car. Ride safely!

 

[Mr Nice]

Young working adults don't have the money for a motorcycle if they have debt and for a few thousand dollars they prefer to buy a car. The very last thing on a young person's radar should be a motorcycle. Harley Davidson is in big trouble the next 10 years with global sales dwindling and younger people having little interest in riding a HD. Why do Harley riders constantly rev the throttle causing so much noise?

 

[cashmoney]

Harley-Davidson is a perfect bike for riding in a parade where you want to be noticed with the big fat bike and the big noise that it makes. HD is a great bike for folks wanting to impress and be noticed by others especially wearing expensive tacky HD brand clothing, shoes, etc. So yea when the middle aged guy goes by dressed in his Harley clothes on his fat, noisy HD, lots of folks are impressed but not in the way he thinks... and be sure to get an HD tattoo to really put a bow on the entire package.

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: cashmoney

Harley-Davidson is a great bike for riding in a parade where you want to be noticed with the big fat bike and the big noise that it makes. HD is a great bike for folks wanting to impress and be noticed by others especially wearing expensive tacky HD brand clothing, shoes, etc. Other than that HD bikes are pretty mediocre. So yea when the middle aged guy goes by dressed in his Harley clothes on his fat, noisy HD, everyone is usually impressed but not in the way he thinks...be sure to get an HD tattoo to really put a bow on the entire package.

Or, you know, people ride Harleys because it's what they like to ride?

 

[Finn]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW

Or, you know, people ride Harleys because it's what they like to ride?

Was about to say the same but comments are already so negative. Of the 16 bikes I have owned through the years I'm now on my 4th Harley. I ride a Harley because that is what I like to ride. I'm sorry to disappoint the opposition but it is not loud nor do I wear any Harley branded clothing or have Harley tattoos. Also I usually ride alone and not in any group. I shave and shower on a daily basis as well.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

Motorcycle ownership in the under-35 demographic is falling, regardless of which type or brand. The Motor Company faces the same challenges all motorcycle manufacturers face; it's how they react and adjust that will matter. H-D has proven to be agile and effective in the past. I see no reason to expect they will fail at that in the future.