Comments on: Harley Davidson and Changing Demographics

By: Bob Cowgill

Bob Cowgill — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:48:22 +0000

I’ve always referred to Harley as the “Blunt instrument on the cutting edge of technology”.
While this may still be the case when compared to nearly anything else on the non-retro market, the new ones ARE significantly better.
Having owned 5 of them (last one was a 2008 “Crossbones”) among my over 100 total bikes (spread over 45 years of riding), and now contemplating another one, I’d like to add something to the discussion.
1. Weight: The Harley I’m considering weighs nearly double what my ‘08 Triumph T100 does. In fact, the Harley is much heavier than most of the “metric cruisers”, and there is a reason for that. A nearly 900 pound bike can be a handful at times!
Nearly any given part on the metric bike that is made from a stamped or molded piece of sheet metal or plastic is a copy of one on a Harley that is machined from a solid piece of metal: Solid metal weighs more (and usually lasts longer!) than stampings/moldings.
2. Durability: Even here in hot Florida, not the optimum environment for an air-cooled V-twin with cylinders inline, I personally know quite a few folks with Harleys sporting odometer readings approaching, or exceeding 100K miles that have never had any major engine or transmission work performed.
One of my co-workers has a early 1980’s FLT with 78K miles, and a neighbor had over 125 K miles on his Heritage Softtail before doing a top end overhaul.
3. Long term availability of replacement parts. Try going to your local (non-Harley) dealer and picking up a part for a 10 year old whatever and see how that goes for you!
I unloaded my former Triumph soon after finding that I had to mail-order even OIL FILTERS from out of state, and some other things I needed were no longer available.
With Harley, (and formerly with BMW) you can get from either the OEM source or the aftermarket ANYTHING you need for a VERY old bike.
The cruiser riding position and style will never appeal to everyone. I actually prefer the “standard” position, but bike choices are pretty limited for that market lately.
I do NOT buy a “lifestyle” when I buy a bike. I have never been, am not now, nor do I aspire to becoming a “biker”.
I am a “motorcycle enthusiast”, and will remain so until my aging “Boomer” bones will tolerate it no longer!
Bob

By: Wallstrip Conversation » Information Arbitrage on HD - Leveraging Mystique into a Global Powerhouse?

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 12:26:21 +0000

[...] While this level of devotion and support from a specific demographic is great, with it comes a portfolio of risks. A post in the motorcycle enthusiast site Kneeslider raises several very important and relevant questions. I apologize for showing most of the post here but it is chock-full of good observations and interesting issues: Harley Davidson, like any other company, has a customer base with certain similarities, in their similar taste in bikes if nothing else. But the story now being promoted is the male baby boomers are aging enough, the first wave moving into their sixties, that buying a new Harley may not on their list of things to do. News stories suggest hip and knee replacements are pervasive and make you think once you hit sixty, the whole world falls apart. (I think a few of those writers haven’t been paying attention to the advances in health recently) [...]

By: aaron

aaron — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 06:56:25 +0000

after taking a few harleys out for a spin, I have to say I was impressed. seamless fuel injection, dead smooth engine, and the springer front end was quite good, with not much change to the geometry during braking (this could have been due to largely absent brakes, though). in my mind, the twincam B is a modern motor, just a little soft for my tastes.

of course, if you can tolerate ugly bikes, a bmw R1200ST will stomp the harley just about everywhere… now that’s a modern twin for the old folk. too bad most won’t get past the headlight’s appearance…

By: hoyt

hoyt — Sat, 18 Mar 2006 18:58:54 +0000

In regard to H-Ds future success and anticipating the changing market:

1. Build a true sport-tourer built around the Revolution engine. One that fits exactly in the market with the Triumph Sprint, Honda VFR, Yam FJ, etc. This could be marketed as a collaborated effort with Buell for its “class-leading” handling.

The sport tourer or performance standard could be the models that outsell everything else in 10 years since there are loads of sportbike sales now. In comparison, HDs big jump in the 90s was largely because many of the baby boomers rode the early Sportsters or bench seat bikes 20 – 30 years earlier. Will all of today’s sportbike riders move to the feet forward mode or will they take to something closer to what they remember? e.g. sport tourers & performance standards.

2. engineer the air-cooled engine so it lasts longer than the nay-sayers. There is a great comparision in the current Motorcyclist issue between the top of the line Monster S4Rs (with the 999 liquid cooled engine) and the Monster air-cooled DS1000 engine. To me, the air cooled engine is far better for the street. Look at the torque curves of the 2 — there is more power EARLIER in the rev range on the S2R model….street performance.

3. what about a Buell with a big twin engine option in the longer wheelbase-ed version?

By: K-dog

K-dog — Sat, 18 Mar 2006 03:39:59 +0000

oh, I forgot to mention that I’m white, but the people I ride with are pretty mixed, and black’s and hispanic’s are both well represented.

I don’t mean to be rude, but really you seem quite riled up and bitter.