Harley #freedommachine thingy | GTAMotorcycle.com

Harley #freedommachine thingy

regder

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"Custom" i wonder if its a CVO or an "s" model

Either way its going to be overpriced
 
If they're going to try to compete with the Metrics on a price standpoint they're gonna have to do better than the Sportster. $11K for the 881, plus taxes and the obligatory $2-$3K of overpriced accessories and Tshirts still isn't going to cut it for those looking for a "Freedom Machine" for way less money and also don't really care about brands.
 
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They're not just selling an expensive bike. They're selling dreams. There is a reason why most kids that dig motorbikes grow up dreaming of having a Harley someday. I know I did. Hell for 24 years, I've had an HD dealer a block away from my house, every day drooling over the big bad bikes in the window on the way to and from school. Before kids grow up and hear people talking ****, before they find out how quickly an SS can go from zero to deadly, every time mom says "no son of mine is going to ride a motorcycle", that boy is dreaming of a big, beautiful, loud Harley. Yeah we've heard all the jokes, a tshirt company that sells bikes etc. Sure they're a marketing powerhouse, they've always been good at it, and as far s I understand, that's a good thing. We riders of all kinds owe a lot to HD's history, and I think they deserve quite a bit of respect.

Knowing what I know, having heard what I've been told, and having experienced that metric bikes can accomplish the same task... I will still own a Harley some day, whether it's used or fresh out of the crate. I still hold that child hood dream, an American dream I guess, and I always will.
 
"The Great American Freedom Machine" was among the best advertising slogans of all time. Probably right up there next to "See the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet". It started in 1972 with the 1200 Sportster (You Don't Mess With the Biggest Guy on the Block: Harley Davidson, The Great American Freedom Machine) and snowballed from there. It was a clever take on the EasyRider movie, tapping into the psychology of would-be buyers. You can say what you want about HD, but they've had the best marketing machine for decades.

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In a world where people will pay double to get a Camry with an L on the grill, is that so bad?
 
I don't understand what I'm supposed to be looking at here
 
You can say what you want about HD, but they've had the best marketing machine for decades.

I'll agree there, but I've always questioned why some people willingly pay to advertise for a corporation - their marketing machine has successfully indoctrinated their own customers as an extension of it.

Advertisers usually pay to have their product logo and such placed in public places. Some people, on the flipside, because they fall in love with a brand, pay hundreds or thousands of dollars buying branded clothing and accessories in order to be that walking talking billboard instead. Some of it is just patently stupid - IE "Chanel" cellphone cases that people pay huge amounts of money for, etc.

Without doubt it's win-win for the corporations in question - they often charge silly amounts of money for things with the logo emblazoned on them, and then people strut around with that logo advertising for the corporation.

Status symbols, I guess...IE the Camry vs Lexus thing, but people will pay an extra $10,000 for that L on the grille.

As I've said before, the possibility exists I could own a Harley down the road sometime, but I'll be the last person to buy all the branded clothing, have HD accents all around my garage and house, have a huge HD logo on the back of my car etc etc.
 
I am guilty of having all the hd stuff growing up. Parents said no bike but bought me the tshirts.
Now I have 1 or 2 Honda shirts.
I agree pretty much with what @JTR said, and like PP naybe one day I will gave an HD in the garage. But I will have to win the lotto first. And it still won't be a new one.

sent from my Purple LGG4 on the GTAM app
 
Best wife ever:

[video=youtube_share;mlGYjWr4ntQ]http://youtu.be/mlGYjWr4ntQ[/video]
 
Curious, do metric cruisers shake/vibrate or nah?
 
Well, if I have anything on the seat when I start my phantom, it doesn't take long for whatever it is to fall off.
 
I guess one day i might buy a cruiser afterall!
 
Honda does some nice ones, the big kawis and yamies aren't bad either. Still though, if it wasn't my first season on two wheels(insurance), I probably would have gone HD.
 

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