Yes, exactly. They sold it in 2009 "to focus on the Harley brand". It was a wholly owned subsidiary making a different product. ie occasionally you need to walk and chew gum at the same time.
Why Royal Enfield is Destroying Harley Davidson
- Thread starter K.Aoi
- Start date
Most Harleys look like caricatures of their past offerings.
Buells were very nice bikes that just happened to use a Harley powertrain.
The Pan America is also a very attractive bike.
Neither really fits the niche into which Harley has fitted itself over the past several decades, so it would require time and marketing effort to bring these niche-breaking products to a level of volume sufficient to generate profit.
Harley gave up on Buell and appears set to do the same with the Pan America. Meanwhile, the old niche business is dying.
Buells were very nice bikes that just happened to use a Harley powertrain.
The Pan America is also a very attractive bike.
Neither really fits the niche into which Harley has fitted itself over the past several decades, so it would require time and marketing effort to bring these niche-breaking products to a level of volume sufficient to generate profit.
Harley gave up on Buell and appears set to do the same with the Pan America. Meanwhile, the old niche business is dying.
I’ll just leave this here…
I don't think you understood my post, but that's fine. Whatever.Gee my crescent wrench is just old and stale.Really I can't think of any old device that is old and stale. Hmm some people?
Amazing that they're empty. Back in the early 90's, l had a neighbor that collected HD dealership T-shirts. Whenever l traveled, he would ask me to pick up a shirt for him at the HD dealership in the town l was in.
They always seemed busy with customers. The clothing was selling like hotcakes.
Boomers drove the 80's, 90's and 2000's business for them primarily with a smattering of late GEN X. Motorcycle ridership as a whole for successive generations has dropped off a cliff. It is more than HD pricing themselves out of the market, the market has shifted elsewhere.
I work in the motorcycle industry. I would say it’s more of an overall decline than a pricing issue. H-D are expensive, but no more than an Indian, BMW, or Gold Wing. They are all 30K plus. The difference is that H-D and Indian don’t have any lower priced bikes.
BMW has some smaller bikes made in Thailand. As does Honda and Triumph.
Another disadvantage if you’re running a H-D dealer is you have no access to side by sides and four wheelers. Those are huge revenue generators in some areas of the US.
The former CEO of HD had a plan, more roads to H-D. Meaning diversification. That plan was killed when he was fired, the PanAmerica was too far along to be cancelled.
My first bike (and the only one I bought brand new) was a 1977 Yamaha 650 XS twin. I loved that bike and when I saw a Royal Enfield 650 last year it reminded me of it (I actually pulled over to look at it)..... I stopped riding bikes a long time ago but never was attracted to Harleys....If I was buying a tourer it would have been a BMW opposed twin. I laugh when I see people wearing Harley-Davidson clothing just as I laugh at people who buy NFL jerseys of their favorite player....
At 66, I've owned around 9 motorcycles, all Japanese, and each far better in every way than the HD junk. Growing up, we on the west coast (So Cal) culturally thought HD were old and for old people or gangs. HD had a bigger following in the south and midwest for younger who dreamed of owning that junk. Its about regional culture, and on the west coast, HD lost most of us a long time ago. They are junk!
They are expensive for sure, but not far off any other “premium” brand.
Calling them junk exposes your lack of knowledge. Maybe not your cup of tea, but Evo engine onward, they don’t break down or leak oil anymore.
I prefer Euro brands myself, but that doesn’t mean that Japanese or American motorcycles are junk. The social and cultural implications of H-D would be a whole other discussion.
HD engines are old tech, clunky, low power/performance, loud, vibrato, low MPG...I know motorcyles as I've had many...the HD's are junk.
I think if they bring on the X Jaguar CEO Adrian Mardell, he is available I guess. They would have a chance to get sales back up at Harley-Davidson.
How to say “ I don’t know anything about motorcycles” without saying it out loud ^^^^^^^^^
I've owned far more motorcycles than you...and you are loyal to brands instead of quality...you know NOTHING about quality motorcycles.
Yep. Coming from a family that has owned Motorcycle dealerships (Japanese, European), and having LOTS of friends across the industry to this day, the lack of knowledge is obvious.
IF we were only talking about the AMF years, a stronger argument could be made.
Sir, you do not know me, so how can you claim to have done anything “more than” me?
I am not loyal to brands vs quality. I work in the motorcycle industry, and have owned many brands through the years and worked on many more. Feel free to continue to show your ignorance, some may be entertained by it.
None of this has been true since the Evolution motor came out. Modern H-D’s have liquid cooling, cylinder deactivation, counterbalancers, as well as many other current features. I have never owned a H-D, but have worked with them in my job.
Your opinions are stuck in the past.
Motorcycling is worse than most. We are a small segment of the public, and we segment ourselves into increasingly smaller groups.
H-D, Sportbikes, European vs Japanese, touring vs cruisers, dual sport vs dedicated street bikes, vs dedicated dirt bikes.
It’s ridiculous. We need to stick together and support training, education, and laws targeting motorcyclists. Medical insurance provided by employers that doesn’t cover motorcycling, but does cover parasailing. Stuff like that.
Personally, I like anything with a gas engine and a performance slant. Whether it’s quarter mile, or mowing my lawn.
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- May 16, 2022
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LOL, you gotta LOV some Harley Hate...
Some people get it and some people won't and never will but saying Harley is "Junk" is fighting words for some.
Me owning MANY a Harley the last 30 years , I have many thoughts, words come to mind but JUNK is not one of them, IF Harley was junk I would be the one who would know as I would have been the one to fix them...
My 1990 Mercedes was JUNK, 12 tows in one year, That Benz WAS JUNK! .
Owning Harley the last three decades has been nothing but positive... The bikes brought me so much fun, miles ridden, adventure, JOY, I could write a book. Owning Harley has given me an interesting life that my Career to the town I now live to the woman I married to the last 30 years of vacations and road trips has directly or in-directly been a result of me deciding to buy and own the brand Harley.
As far as Junk, In 30 years of owning many Harley motorcycles ( I own 3 currently ) and except for a dead battery average every 4-5 years my 1997 Harley would not start once because of a bad starter gear ( replaced it myself ) and I damaged a carburetor with the wrong racing gas and required a carb fix some 25+ years ago. I still have that same now classic bike as well as newer bikes. My bikes start every time and require nothing but oil changes and tires...
Junk is a strong word, IF one simply reads the latest Consumer guides one could argue the latest Toyota new generation trucks are "JUNK" but a bad run of great Trucks don't make them "Junk"...
I guess one mans trash is another mans treasure, you keep your imports I'll keep my Harley...
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