I wonder where the HD riders are going?

[Scotts8826]

Sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles are down. It is being blamed on the Boomers for getting old. I wonder where the old HD riders are going? HHMMMMM...

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ha...-idUSKBN1A3126

[Bob Denman]

servicespic.jpg

YOu get old when you stop 02.jpg

[jwulf74]

... especially when the HD dealers load the riders up on free beer and send them on their way... I'm frankly surprised that I haven't heard about more wrecks and deaths...

[Slowpoke387]

One word. Competition. People are probably realizing there are much better bangs for the buck out there these days. Ive never been one who liked the HD Koolaid when there are equal if not better built machines out there for less money. Maybe more people are finally waking up from the Koolaid hangover.

[asp125]

My bet is some of them are buying Spyders!

[I-Day]

Bought my first Harley at 19 and bought my first Spyder F3T at 64! And LOVING it!

[SteveP]

Drove a couple different Harley's 16 years ago , unless they have changed immensely I could not imagine paying that kind of money for one ... but I do have a few friends who have them now after owning Japanese sport bikes so ..... they were asking a lot of questions about my Spyder though

[ARtraveler]

A similar article today on Yahoo also discussed the lay off of 200 plant workers due to sliding sales of the product.

Mentioned was the fact that Polaris (Indian) sales have dramatically increased this year by about 23%. Methinks, that is where a lot of the business is going.

[Fat Baxter]

Harley has one thing going for them: it seems there's a Harley dealer in every town with over 50 population. Which might be a Godsend, as from what I hear, that's about as long as they hold together.... /snark

When I rode BMWs, there were some states that had no BMW dealers. One of the reasons I moved to the Spyder was that the only BMW dealer in Alabama went under, leaving me with having to trailer the bike out-of-state if anything serious went wrong. Screw that! (One bike dealer in Birmingham later added BMW to their stable, but by then it was too late.)

I was talking to my local Harley dealer not too long ago, and they said they were trying to increase their annual sales to 750 units. And they thought that was quite do-able.

[stevencovert]

For the millennials I see Harley has the basic 500cc(?) model for city driving that is keeping them afloat. I read a lot of motorcycle makers are trying to get a small basic model geared towards the young 'uns.

[PrairieSpyder]

We'll have to watch how the industry performs as a whole. The Harley slide could be just the tip of the iceberg . . or it could be a brand-specific phenomenon. I hope it's not a general thing and that Spyders won't be affected.

[cptjam]

Sales are down for all brands. Some are offering 0% financing, and rebates. Partly that they work very well, so less need to replace/upgrade, and partly that there is little new/improved to get folks off the fence. So, ride it, and see what the next year's model is like!

[Navydad]

35 years and it has worked for them. Guess what? The "faithful" are aging and not buying HD's anymore and the next generation craves the latest technology. The new Milwaukee 8 is a good engine. 40 years ago it would have been a great engine. I always liked the V-Rod engine, but the only package it came in was that ugly a$$ pseudo drag bike. Wrap that motor with a nice sport touring bike and I would probably have had one. HD is not alone in this flat market. Our local Honda dealer hasn't sold a Wing in over two years and doesn't even have one in stock anymore. The same goes for most motorcycle dealers here in southern Ohio. They are not selling motorcycles, period. Side by sides and four wheelers are keeping the shop doors open at the three shops I frequent. My buddy is an independent mechanic who has had his own shop for 30 years. He is a good mechanic and gets work from as far away as Cincinnati and Mansfield. Not only is he usually covered up all summer, but he hires help to take care of tire changing etc. so he can concentrate on the big stuff. This is the third year that his business has dropped off at the 4th of July. Folks here are not buying and their not RIDING as much either. The boom is over boys, be interesting to see if it returns.

[Dmetcalf]

I have owned a total of 5 Harley's and I have to say to be completely honest, I enjoyed them. I now realize that this Can Am product is by far a superior product in many ways ..! If they (Spyders) were as refined as they are today earlier I believe I would have "jumped ship" a long time ago. For some it could be an "ego" or "culture " thing but if those types could ever look past that, they would see a newer, dare I say different type of ride that satisfies and gets you to your destination safer and with the same feeling of freedom .,! And sadly, I'm sure for others they're stuck (by their own choice) in the stereotype to continue to ride their Harley's and be happy.,! Bottom line -to each their own ..! I've made my choice and couldn't be happier..! My .02 !

[quasi]

the dealer in my area quit selling spyders a couple years ago. they told me and I quote "we'll sell you a spyder but we won't service it". that's when they were getting away from the spyders. I saw some canam crates there a couple weeks ago when I was driving by but I expect they are side by sides. as for the Honda/Kawasaki store here in town. all you see sitting there are 4 wheelers and dirt bikes. I think they have a few street bikes in the showroom but not many. Harley store here, they seem to be doing alright, but not near as well as a few years ago. go to a bike nite at a Harley dealership and sit and observe. it's about portraying an image for most of them. I went to the Harley store yesterday to get a refill bottle of S100 cleaner. a salesman walked up to me and asked what I was riding today, I said, not a Harley!

[Firefly]

You have to understand that HD is a clothing company that happens to also sell motorcycles. They make far more off T-shirts than they do from bikes.
They're not attracting new riders either.

But yes, all MC sales are down.. people don't have the disposable income they used to. BRP isn't immune to it either.

That being said, Polaris has sold more Indian motorcycles in the past year than all of their Victory sales were for the entire lifespan of the product(17 years).

[tehrlich]

Almost pulled the trigger on an Indian. They are so nicely built and beautiful.

Then, I rode home on my Spyder and forgot what I looked at!



(I do wish the Spyder wasn't so plastic.)

[ElgynSpyder]

My husband made the same comment last weekend. We were at a local dealership of Hondas, Kawasaki etc. He noticed most of the pre-owned inventory was Harleys. We decided the traditional Harley rider was getting up in age and the millenniums don't work traditional jobs to make payments on a Harley.

[trikermutha]

There quality IMO took a dump and they can run hot. Plus the dealers are still stuck on over pricing them

as for being plastic everything is plastic even the HD models has plastic on them too.

[Motorcycledave]

I wonder what the Indian motorcycles sales look like I bet they are taking a chunk out of
Harley.

[Matahead]

What's with all the hate? This Harley owner doesn't care what you sit on, just ride!

[Bfromla]

One word. Competition. People are probably realizing there are much better bangs for the buck out there these days. Ive never been one who liked the HD Koolaid when there are equal if not better built machines out there for less money. Maybe more people are finally waking up from the Koolaid hangover.

[Bob Denman]

https://seekingalpha.com/article/408...ctory-thailand

This article mentions a factory being built in Thailand...

Harley may be going through what the dinosaurs did... Adapt: or die!
They have been catering to their core for so long, that they didn't noctice that those riders were getting older.

and it's not just Harley!

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

What's with all the hate? This Harley owner doesn't care what you sit on, just ride!

..... really , I can't remember the last HOG rider that waved back !!!!!!!! ...... Mike

[Arion]

My response is basically a practical one. Even when I was young (a long time ago) I couldn't pick up 800 pounds. Now, it's a chore to pick up my wife's Suzuki TU250X. How do I know? Hmmmm.

I'm very happy not to have to worry about picking up my Spyder - 'cause it won't fall over (unless I do something really, really bad!) And my wife rarely does anything really, really bad so I don't have to worry about picking up her Spyder either.

Then on top of it all, not long ago someone of note informed the motorcycle-buying public that Harley Davidson "was proudly bringing 1940s technology into the 21st century." Rather biased I suspect but not entirely off the mark.

And none of my comments qualify as "hate."