Harley-Davidson CEO Resigns

[RapidSpyder]

Black Hills Harley-Davidson is going strong, but a lot probably has to with location being 25 miles down the road from Sturgis. Agree with the “too expensive” posts. A couple guys there have been on me to trade in. Felt like telling them I could have two Spyders for the price of a similarly equipped trike. Also my son got his Victory for less then half of the similar Harley. Finally the punch card is a joke. $35 T-shirt’s and after 20 punches on the card you get 10% off? Should be free IMHO...

[Bangorbob]

Someone mentioned it earlier about most all mfgrs are not doing that well. I remember when each brand (Honda, Yamaha, etc) had their own accessories readily available. I do understand it cost $'s to keep stuff on hand. I currently have a Yamaha V star 1300 (wanting to sell) that they quit making. Yamaha cruisers/tourers are 250, 950, and huge. They have done away with bikes that ain't so heavy but still move down the road comfortably. BTW, always wanted an HD but too cheap to spend 20K on a used one.

[mcalva]

The HD message is a life of freedom, outdoors, etc. But that has an excessively high price. Neither the young nor the active workers nor the retirees can afford it and if the elderly make the economic effort we need not have to carry 450 kg of weight. The message of freedom is wonderful but every day tells us that paying for insurance, schools, mortgages and a long etc. keeps you from that "supposed freedom".
At a minimum it is an inconsistent message that is repeated in almost all brands.
The conclusion could be that if people don't have money, the first thing they cut are dreams.

[Highwayman2013]

Seems the adventure bike segment is doing okay. I like my Suzuki V Strom and even Harley is coming out with the Pan America Adventure bike.

[ARtraveler]

All of my life, I have liked the "big iron" types of bikes. Owned Venture, and Voyager full dress tourers. I tried the Wing back in 84 but it felt to cumbersome for me to handle. The Venture won out that time.

Also had big cruisers...Kawi 2000, Nomad 1500, and a couple Vulcan 900's. I still have a Vulcan 900.

The problem now at 74 years, is it is hard for me to balance a bike that weighs 1,000#. The Vulcan at 765# is even feeling a bit heavy for me. Thinking of selling off the Vulcan in a couple months or so.

I am very glad for the Spyders. I can still ride and tour, and don't have to worry of dropping it because something is off balance. The "trike" configuration does not work for me either. I like the comment that likens them to driving a "tank." I think they nailed it.

[JayBros]

There is a SL thread in which the OP asked for comments on riding a Harley trike and a Spyder that I'd often wondered what it would be like because I'm often asked that question. Since I never even considered test riding a Harley trike I generally answer the questioner by using the response one thread participant gave, "Like driving a dump truck."

[ARtraveler]

There is a SL thread in which the OP asked for comments on riding a Harley trike and a Spyder that I'd often wondered what it would be like because I'm often asked that question. Since I never even considered test riding a Harley trike I generally answer the questioner by using the response one thread participant gave, "Like driving a dump truck."

I believe Rider magazine tried to do such a test with Spyder vs. Harley TriGlide. Can AM refused to supply the bike. This goes back to 2010 or so. Based on what I have heard...like a dump truck or tank is probably a good comparo.

[Joe T.]

It's a leadership issue. H-D has no real vision of the future - never has.

Go through the H-D Museum. It is amazing how many great ideas/concepts they had. But, they never followed through. My particular favorite was the 'Nova.' And don't forget the V-Rod. Great bike. H-D dealers didn't try to sell it.

Look at their Trike and the full bagger Nova. The bagger Nova sure would have given GW a run for its money. Remember, these are from the 19u80-1990s.

Harley has always been about 'Sell The Sizzle, Not The STEAK!' Styling not technology. they never figured out that the two were not mutually exclusive. Too bad.

They had their chance to attract the younger crowd:

Buell 1125R

The Buell 1125R is a sport bike that was made by Buell Motorcycle Company in the United States. It was introduced in July 2007 for the 2008 model year. Production of road-going 1125Rs, and all Buell models, ceased in October 2009. In November 2009, Buell founder Erik Buell launched Erik Buell Racing, which initially produced race-only versions of the 1125R.[5]

The 1125R is powered by a 1,125 cc (68.7 cu in) Helicon V-twin engine made by BRP-Powertrain (Rotax) of Austria. The liquid-cooled engine has a V angle of 72° and produces a claimed 146 hp (109 kW), with a rpm limit of 10,500.[6] Motorcycle Consumer News tested 127.1 hp (94.8 kW) and 71.1 lbf⋅ft (96.4 N⋅m) at the rear wheel,[1] while Cycle World reported 134.0 hp (99.9 kW) @ 9,800 rpm and 75.9 lbf⋅ft (102.9 N⋅m)} @ 8,300 rpm.[2] The two magazines reported top speeds of 158 and 161 mph (254 and 259 km/h) respectively, and 0 to 1⁄4 mile (0.00 to 0.40 km) times of 10.51 and 10.39 seconds at 134.32 and 134.09 mph (216.17 and 215.80 km/h).[1][2]

The Helicon engine's 72° layout differs from Buell's previous V-twins, which were based on 45° air-cooled Harley-Davidson Sportster motors, modified for greater efficiency and output.

The 1125R includes a number of unconventional design attributes. The patented frame design houses the bike's fuel. The single, eight-piston front brake, called ZTL2, has a 375 mm (14.8 in) inverted rotor that is directly attached to the front wheel rim. This enabled Buell to design a front end that was lighter and more responsive than traditional designs. The bike also uses an exhaust under the engine for greater volume. The frame, front end and exhaust all contribute to Buell's main design aim of mass centralization. Instead of a drive chain the 1125R uses a drive belt, which does not require lubrication or adjustment.

I was about to buy one of these when H-D announced Buel as no longer in business.

Joe T.

[2dogs]

When HD introduced the Tri-Glide in 2010, I went to the HD dealer and looked at one. It was going to be either the HD or the new RT. RT won.

They tried to add an administrative fee onto the HD. $5,000...because they were in such demand. I walked...fast. I also did not like the ergos.

Same exact thing happened to me and my wife when we went into the local HD dealer. HD has priced themselves out of the market. BRP saw it coming, hence the ryker. Good friend of mine went with HD and his Tri Glide sat in his garage for over a year while he and another fellow, also with an ailing Tri Glide, battled HD through the lemon law process. Not good advertisement to have a $40K machine sit in your garage for over a year.

[glennm]

Out here I believe the only vehicles to increase sales last year were scooters and if I recall correctly off road bikes.
We are losing the Holden name (an Aussie icon) next year as it has been reported GM said it will cost $1.5B to wrap it up and many billions to reboot the brand. A lot of bad decisions over the years and this is where we end up even after multi billion dollar gov bailouts. Basically all that will be left for the dealers to sell are the Camaro & Silverado. I feel for the workers impacted by any shut down.
I do have great memories riding my brother's Electra Glide many years ago. It was a real delight, never liked his Sportsters though. 3 wheels for me now so Spydey is the best option.
We are seeing more and more smaller machines being brought into the country including many models that have been available overseas for years so even in our small market manufacturers and importers have had to adapt to changing buyer preferences or go the way of the Dodo.

[2dogs]

I believe Rider magazine tried to do such a test with Spyder vs. Harley TriGlide. Can AM refused to supply the bike. This goes back to 2010 or so. Based on what I have heard...like a dump truck or tank is probably a good comparo.

Yep, look at what Squared Away is doing for BRP now.

[pegasus1300]

I had my Harleys when I was in collage, mostly scrounged out of old barns and turkey sheds all over rural Utah. Fixed them to run rode them awhile sold em down in L.A. for books and tuition money. Went to the Yamaha Venture in 1983 and never looked back. I had 7 of them over the years until I wrecked the last one and had to go to 3 wheels. Sorry to see any manufacturer go down. Had a BSA, out of business, Triumph, out of business back in business out of business back in business, Norton, out of business back in business but who knows if it will last, Bridgestone out of business, Marushu, out of business, Zundapp, out of business. Hodaka, out of business Indian, in and out of business too many times to count. All of them made good popular machines at one time or another, but changing times and tastes, and poor management did them and many more in. I owned all of the above and am sorry to see them go. I would hate to see Harley go by the wayside. Beside being an American Icon, they make a good and a beautiful machine.

[wifesspyder]

Dont forget Victory. I never could get by the style, but owners loved them. Then one day.....poof. Now they have the Indian. A cool looking bike for sure but the dealers are spread far and wide. I almost bought one, but worried about dealer availability.

[Gunner3773]

I don't think Harley anticipated how many sales they would lose to Indian. The joke in my area is, if you want to shop for a used Harley, head over to the Indian dealer. My brother-in-law, a total Harley fanatic, who spent gobs of money on Harley, traded for an Indian last year. He said he could not believe how much more comfortable the Indian was over his Harley.

I was looking at a Harley Softail Slim last year with the Milwaukee Eight engine. I wound up buying an Indian and glad I did. Lots of trouble reported with the "Eight" engine and frankly, the Indian dealer experience was really pleasant and friendly.

My wife and I toured the Indian plant in Spirit Lake Iowa a couple of years ago. They were building bikes as fast as they could and the tour guide said that they had to add extra shifts to try to keep up with demand. Needless to say, I had the only Spyder in the Indian factory parking lot.

I do have to say, whenever I am out on my Indian, I get tons of comments when I pull up for gas or even am stopped at a stop light. When walking out of a store, I will usually find people looking at my bike in the parking lot of wherever I am parked.

[fatboy]

i have over 46000 trouble free miles on my 17 cvo limited it has carried me all across the states and parts of canada

[ARtraveler]

Another fan of the Indian. When I was in the market, there was no dealer in Alaska. Deal killer there.

[PMK]

KTM will buy them up, just as they bought Husqvarna and Gas Gas. KTM previously was kind of a second tier behind Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha. Times have changed and KTM has changed also, now being a premier series of very nice motorcycles.

[h0gr1der]

I agree it's a management and lack of fore-site problem. Around 2002 I had discretionary income to buy a Road King. I had flogged my 1977 Electra Glide for 135,000 troublesome miles (I say it broke in every state I rode it in). The Harley dealer tried to get MSRP plus 15%. I told them to get stuffed and walked away from the brand forever. If they don't find another Willie G the company is doomed.

[bodymanpainter]

Dont forget Victory. I never could get by the style, but owners loved them. Then one day.....poof. Now they have the Indian. A cool looking bike for sure but the dealers are spread far and wide. I almost bought one, but worried about dealer availability.

I have to agree with you 100% about Victory. When I had my 2015 Cross Country Tour I couldn't ask for a better bike and loved the
the styling and ride, but my old joints said it was time to either quit riding or go 3 wheels and was really disappointed when they were
dropped by Polaris.

Toby

[WisconsinDavid]

I owned HD's from the 90s until about a year ago. The quality of their bikes improved across the years in my experience. I didn't have trouble with my Sportster, Lowrider or Ultra Classic. After a motorcycle accident took away some of my leg strength, the weight of the Ultra became too iffy for me, so I moved on to a Spyder's 3 wheel ride, since I'm not a fan of HD's tricycles or their pricepoint for them. Harley, as other labels, is victim to pricing and a shrinking cycle market. I have a friend who is high up in Indian and while they are doing a great job re-establishing the brand, they too feel the pressure of a declining market. I hope that Ryker or some new product a company offers will find success igniting passion for 2 or 3 wheels in the generations behind me. I don't wish for any company to fail... for the sport but especially for all the families that are impacted when a company collapses on itself. Maybe a fresh perspective at the helm will lead to better days. Time will tell....

[Wahrsuul]

I "grew up" in Daytona during the AMF/Harley years so my opinion of them was formed then. I was riding a Yamaha RD, and most of the bikers treated me as a "special" relative. The popular t-shirt said "I'd rather eat a can of worms that ride rice" or some such. Even though they would admit that the bikes weren't the best, they had loyalty. To this day I'm not sure I understand it.

I still get it fro HD riders today - "if I have to explain it you wouldn't understand". You're right, I wouldn't. Doesn't make sense to me to pay that much for a bike that uses old technology, and has a history of failures. I've never owned a harley and never wanted to.

Harley has some weird ideas too - we have a dealership here; Harely Haven. They used to be in the downtown area and wewre considered o be one of the best dealerships around, always doing well and pretty good customer service. Then out of nowhere, Harley corporate tells them they have to move. The new corporate policy is that your dealership MUST be visible from the interstate, and MUST cost at least $1 million (Got that from the manager when they moved). Does that make any sense? How many dealerships couldn't manage that and went out of business instead?

[carbonation]

Commenting on the Buell post above...
I rode one of those. Hard to ride really. Power was a light switch, resulting in looking at the sky frequently. Front brake was a powerful as the engine, resulting in looking at the ground if you wanted to. BUT, it was a direction that was being shown to HD to say, "c'mon guys, young kids will eat this up and you can play in this market segment as well".

[billythekidd]

Something new from the Big boys.... https://youtu.be/oF8jtcV81qw

[frigmall]

I have put over 80K miles on Harleys over the years and never had a problem. My current 2013 Road King has 15K on it (purchased used) and runs like it was new. The wife put 6K on her 2016 F3 Limited before she got her 2019 and no issues whatsoever.
All vehicles are only as good as the maintenance and care given to them. That said in talking with the kids today they are not interested in motorcycles. Heck, they are not interested in cars or houses either. It's a new mind set out there. I am still trying to do my part to keep the economy going ;o) but I'm getting ready to retire and go on a "fixed income".

[MCCMPR]

Like Harley Davidson or not, if they do not do well, it hurts us all. I've had a couple of HDs along with a lot of other brands and hope they all do well for the sake of motorcycling.