Harley-Davidson President resigns | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Harley-Davidson President resigns

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sburns said:
Meh tell millennial's you can start the bike with an app on your phone.....
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You joke about it off handedly, but reality is...that's the exact sort of thing (app interfaces) is what the next generation want and will be demanding.

Those who understand that and embrace the technology (like some already have) will be the ones who gain marker share, while the "Old stock" companies who refuse to acknowledge their customer base is dying but still want to worry about "heritage" more than anything else...well, they will fade away.
 
Sometimes a company is too far gone to save, due to a stubborn corporate mindset and culture that has no vision to change. Either fire everybody or go bankrupt and restart, like GM did by doing both, firing everybody and restarting.
 
PrivatePilot said:
...while the "Old stock" companies who refuse to acknowledge their customer base is dying but still want to worry about "heritage" more than anything else...
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I've always wondered how many years you could produce pretty much exactly the same product (visually at least) before people either get bored to death of them or literally die of old age watching the same product being produced for 50+ years in a row.
 
ScorpionT16 said:
I am one of those "millennials" and couldn't care less about brand, more about their honesty, demographic, and values. Personally I would never ride a Harley or own one, or know anyone in my age group who would. The whole brand comes off as confused and lost, charging absurd amounts of money for their bikes and preaching the whole America is great so we are great propaganda. They aren't a motorcycle company, they are a fashion brand. Went with my GF to a Harley dealer in Vancouver, 80% was apparel, from mugs to clocks. I just bought a Yamaha, I can't even find a T7 cap, they make bikes first and are about the bikes.
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LOL. I heard all of this over and over in 1979 when AMF Harley Davidson went bankrupt. The bikes were expensive, unreliable, and catered to an elite clientele. Well the reality is they have always catered to the top end of the market and quality and styling brought them back from the dead. They are not a cheap bike and they never will be.

You may be a millennial, but a lot of the millennials I know would love a Harley but can't afford one. Used garage-built Harleys are big with the hipster crowd and when they find their financial legs they're going to buy new, big, fancy bikes just like so-called boomers and genX did. The chop-cult is very popular right now, with kids building old bikes. There's bike rallies specifically for young people, Born Free, Freedom Machine, Fuel, et al. and they're very popular. They present their own style of garage bikes, their own brand of music and their own lifestyle. It's not HD specific, Triumph, Norton and a lot of the old classics go down well, but HD is a big part of it.

Just like in 1979 there is a crowd who are cheering HD's current misfortune. They cling to every bit of bad news that comes out about them. I never really understood that depth of jealousy and vindictiveness, but I do get a kick out of seeing the denial when Harley Davidson inevitably bounces back.

I believe HD will still be around after everyone here is dead. LOL.
 
There are many reasons for the demise and the only hope is for HD to go under and make a successful comeback like Indian.............
 
we may very well be headed into a very sudden world wide recession...it would be ironic if Harley went very suddenly into financial turmoil like they did during the financial crises and were suddenly bought up by a Chinese company...
 
johnsazzr said:
it would be ironic if Harley went very suddenly into financial turmoil like they did during the financial crises and were suddenly bought up by a Chinese company...
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Heads would be exploding left and right from the cognitive dissonance.
 
Lightcycle said:
Canada Goose and Apple disagree with you.
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So would BMW, Lexus, an Ducati, and most all-inclusive vacation resorts. Where I work there are thousands of millennials in the building - they have tons of money to spend because they all live with their parents. 2 vacations a year, nice cars, $1000 phones with $100 plans, and some rare-air clothing brands.

Not many on motorcycles - too dangerous - particularly when mom and dad still make the house rules.
 
Declining sales and no new riders might have an upside. As the boom demographic ages out, there’s gonna be zillions of low mileage garage wenches up for sale in about 4 years.

With no young riders looking for their first HD, there will be some killer deals on used bikes.

Wouldn’t want to be a Jap cruiser when that happens. Bet the haters will go pirate if a used Roadking costs the same as a V******.
 
www.motorcycle.com

What You Need to Know About Euro 5 Emission Standards for Motorcycles

With EICMA taking place next week, we're now well into new model season and youll probably hear a few mentions of Euro 5 emission standards.
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Then there were four
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First Look At The 2020 Harley-Davidson Sportster Lineup

For 2020 Harley has four models in its Sportster lineup. Is this a sign it’s preparing for new emissions regulations that will affect the air-cooled engines?
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The 2020 Harley-Davidson Iron 883 on white background.

and EVs round out the challenging market

2020 H-D LiveWire

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Electric Cruiser Motorcycles For 2020

Despite the massive increase in the variety of electric-powered motorcycles, there are surprisingly few cruiser-style examples. Our list of what’s up for 2020.
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Wow does that 2020 Harley Livewire ever look :/ identical to the one they showed us 17 years ago.
 
BigEvilDoer said:
I've always wondered how many years you could produce pretty much exactly the same product (visually at least) before people either get bored to death of them or literally die of old age watching the same product being produced for 50+ years in a row.
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VW Beetle 80+ years. Royal Enfield Bullet 75+ years . HD Electra glide 72 years. BIC pen, 70 years+, Timex Marlin 60 years. Microsoft Windows 35 yrs. Honda Civic 48 years, Cub 72 years, Goldwing 45 years.

The are lots of products that stand the test of time. Most have up and down cycles, yet maintain a lot of customer loyalty.
 
You were doing pretty good right up to where you said Microsoft Windows standing the test of time :ROFLMAO:
that $#%^ was obsolete the day they released it.
 
Mad Mike said:
VW Beetle 80+ years. Royal Enfield Bullet 75+ years . HD Electra glide 72 years. BIC pen, 70 years+, Timex Marlin 60 years. Microsoft Windows 35 yrs. Honda Civic 48 years, Cub 72 years, Goldwing 45 years.

The are lots of products that stand the test of time. Most have up and down cycles, yet maintain a lot of customer loyalty.
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Alright, I guess I should have suggested some parameters...
VW Beetle - designed to be an every person's car that was cheap and available to everyone.
Royal Enfield - OK, got me there. Not great bikes, but they're in a market that can't afford new tech
HD Electra Glide - It's a HD product. As noted, HD doesn't do much advancement in their product compared to any other vehicle manufacturer
BIC pens - How on earth can you make a pen function differently and update the look, for a product that costs $0.35?
Timex Marlin - Good call.
Microsoft Windows - Original version can't be compared to current one. Lada vs. Ferrari. Also has had how many updates in those 35 years?
Honda Civic - Tons of updates and body revisions etc.
Cub - Again, good call.
Goldwing - Compare 45 year old Goldwing to current. Again, they're radically different.

As for HD, they're relying on the "Heritage" moniker. They've updated some engines, but not much else. For a luxury product, I'd expect updates and embracing the future. As so many people have pointed out, their customer base is literally dying. Millenial Snowflakes don't want them or can't afford them. HD needs to pivot, or they may run into the same thing what happened to American Ironhorse - they focused on the custom chopper bike builds, when that fad died, so did the company.
 
Trials said:
You were doing pretty good right up to where you said Microsoft Windows standing the test of time :ROFLMAO:
that $#%^ was obsolete the day they released it.
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There's a reason they use XP on the space station
 
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