Good Article on Harley

[bwalsh22]

Found this just an interesting read and makes sense. I remember thinking the Sporty was the only thing I could possibly afford and that was not really what I wanted. Enter the Street Bob, my first ride and first Harley. Their marketing worked on me

Insight: Bare-bones bikes help Harley slay Geezer Glide image | Reuters

 

[dbmg]

Very interesting article. Its good to see that Harley is really trying aggressively sway the youth into the HD fold. For if the young would not come into the fold I would believe that the survival rate for Harley would be more difficult as older riders retiring from riding and the loss of income, would put more strain on the future of HD...

 

[Dr. Dolittle]

Good article. However, I had to laugh at the part about millions of dollars being invested in new lines of motorcycles. Swap some chrome out for black parts, market like crazy, and voila - you've got a new line of bikes!

I agree that they've got to get the younger riders interested in Harley's before they hit their 40's and 50's. I just hope all of this is not coming at the expense of continuing to evolve and improve the bikes us "geezers" choose to ride.

 

[70_West]

I got a kick out of the comment section... When a poster prefaces his comment with something like how badly built a Harley is compared to whatever, I know right then he's never owned many bikes and never sat down on a HD... My Harley is far superior in quality to any other bike I've ever owned.

 

[Jack Klarich]

Short term hit to lure new riders

 

[Lucy]

Very interesting article. I found the age of their customers to be most interesting. I'm not surprised it is bell shaped, but for the peak of the bell to be 55 years old was a little surprising. I would have expected about 10 years younger than that. In any event, glad they are looking at ways to get new customers at a younger age - brand loyalty for years is a GOOD thing.

 

[horizonchaser]

After reading the article I understand that they have to do what they have to do to remain a solvent company. Face it, most of us are up there in age. When I was a kid, the first bike Harley that I owned was a AMF Sportster. I loved that bike. I was proud that I owned a Harley. I also lived with my parents and paid no board so basically I had no bills. As the article pointed out, $20,000. to plunk down on a bike is too much "coin" for a young person. For about $7000. these kids can be on the road experiencing riding without breaking the bank.
The last thing that I want to read is that the Moco went out of business because they weren't selling enough bikes to remain profitable. Yet another American icon gone by the wayside!