Trouble in paradise?

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Originally Posted By: grampi
All motorcycle manufacturers are hurting right now. Motorcycles in general are pretty much viewed as a luxury item (not a necessity) and sales will continue to be slow until our economy turns around. On the flip side, some good deals can be had right now for those who have the money....


With the price of gas creeping up again, the smaller bikes are selling like hotcakes around here. Anything from 50cc up to 600cc especially. Local Kawasaki dealers are having Ninja 250 and 500 bikes fly out the door.


That may be the segment that keeps these companies alive until the economy turns around....

 

[Zedhed]

Originally Posted By: GMBoy


Actually it was an IRONHEAD. Not that far from a Shovel, however.


Sorry, I forgot we were talking Sportster engines, I was thinking about FL series

 

[sunruh]

Originally Posted By: Zedhed
Could it be time for some new, updated products?

Comments?


the time for updated products passed 30 years ago.

air cooling is where its at man!!!

 

[Robenstein]

Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Originally Posted By: grampi
All motorcycle manufacturers are hurting right now. Motorcycles in general are pretty much viewed as a luxury item (not a necessity) and sales will continue to be slow until our economy turns around. On the flip side, some good deals can be had right now for those who have the money....


With the price of gas creeping up again, the smaller bikes are selling like hotcakes around here. Anything from 50cc up to 600cc especially. Local Kawasaki dealers are having Ninja 250 and 500 bikes fly out the door.


That may be the segment that keeps these companies alive until the economy turns around....


I know when gas was over 3 dollars per gallon I had to look all over for a Virago 250 new. There was not ONE left in stock in the state. Luckily a dealer in Des Moines tracked one down in Nebraska for me and arranged to have it shipped to his place free of charge.

 

[Scooter_man]

With gas creeping up around here, the dealers are seeing scooters (49cc up to 400cc) fly out the doors - almost like 2008. It'll be interesting to see what happens.

I don't wish financial hardship on any motorcycle company. Let's hope there are enough buyers and supporters to keep HD afloat. Seeing them go under would be a true american tragedy.

Rob

 

[FLHRGator]

From Forbes.com...

http://blogs.forbes.com/greatspeculations/2010/04/20/harley-davidson-take-profits-in-loud-pipes/

"By all accounts, Harley-Davidson reported one of its best financial performances in quite some time on Tuesday morning, and in response shares rose more than 8% in heavy trading. Although sales slid by more than 19% from a year ago, they still came in slightly ahead of expectations at $1.04B. The company reported net income of $33.3 million or 14 cents in the quarter, but excluding one-time charges the results were considerably better. Harley earned about 29 cents per share ex-items, which was about 32% better than consensus analysts’ estimates. Perhaps most important was the fact that Harley Davidson Financial Services returned to profitability quicker than most had anticipated. HDFS reportedly made about $26.7 million in operating profit during the quarter accounting for roughly 11 cents per share, certainly not a small haul for the unit responsible for large losses in the previous three quarters."

Click link for more...

 

[Zedhed]

Some of the market optimism for HD has centered around the the take-over "rumors" that are circulating.

However, HD could start to market themselves as an alternative commuter vehicle. Begin to run ads that show guys/gals commuting on their bikes to work. Style, coolness, and green-ness.

Hey ......that's really not a bad idea !!

Instead of "born to be wild" It would be, "born to be green"

 

[bigbird_1]

Originally Posted By: Zedhed

However, HD could start to market themselves as an alternative commuter vehicle. Begin to run ads that show guys/gals commuting on their bikes to work. Style, coolness, and green-ness.
Instead of "born to be wild" It would be, "born to be green"


Unless HD added air injection and catalytic converters to every pushrod air cooled V-Twin they make, the only environmental color I can see them being called would be hydrocarbon black.

 

[FLHRGator]

Originally Posted By: bigbird_1
Originally Posted By: Zedhed

However, HD could start to market themselves as an alternative commuter vehicle. Begin to run ads that show guys/gals commuting on their bikes to work. Style, coolness, and green-ness.
Instead of "born to be wild" It would be, "born to be green"


Unless HD added air injection and catalytic converters to every pushrod air cooled V-Twin they make, the only environmental color I can see them being called would be hydrocarbon black.


All 2010's have catalytic converters.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: sunruh
Originally Posted By: Zedhed
Could it be time for some new, updated products?

Comments?


the time for updated products passed 30 years ago.

air cooling is where its at man!!!


Air cooling is so 1970s.

 

[BigCahuna]

discontinued metric bike models made since the year 2000, priceless

 

[Bill in Utah]

Thank you guys. Locked.