Harley Davidson has seen a significant decrease in demand for sidecars since their Tri-Glide models got rolling, so they’ve decided to exit the sidecar business. This is a pretty big move since sidecars have been a part of Harley Davidson since, well, … almost forever. It’s another move in the company’s efforts to concentrate on their core business which is pretty much down to the basics now. How much more can be tossed overboard in their efforts to keep the company afloat without losing what Harley Davidson represents? I figure there’s potentially one more cut left if things get really tight, let’s hope things get rolling so this is the last one.
Harley Davidson press release:
As a result of the decline in retail demand for Harley-Davidson sidecars, which accelerated following the introduction of the Harley-Davidson Tri-Glide family of trikes, Harley-Davidson has made the decision to exit the sidecar business. The Company will end sidecar production upon completion of remaining 2011 model year orders. Effective immediately, no new sidecar orders will be taken.
Harley-Davidson is committed to continued support of its dealer network and customer support for sidecar owners and will support current customers by continuing to honor warranty repairs and supply service parts and technical support. The sidecar was first made available to Harley-Davidson customers in 1914 and will remain a proud part of the Company’s history.
HootieWho says
I didnt even know they made sidecars.
Cantrell says
That’s too bad. Although I understand their thinking, the thought of trikes replacing sidecar rigs just doesn’t feel right. Sidecars have style. Besides, there’s always room for a few extras…like your dogs and such. What a shame.
Cantrell
Chris says
What HootieWho said. H-D still makes sidecars? I thought Ural was the only ones still making ’em.
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todd says
The “one more cut if things get tight” might be referring to the the V-Rod line. I can see that going too since it is less “core” to the brand then side cars and trikes.
Potentially, cutting this arm of the business merely opens up opportunities for start-up companies to offer up their own solutions to the demand. This is good for the little guy (though an outfit will obviously cost more) and Harleys will continue to have hacks bolted to their off sides regardless of the decision.
-todd
Hammerspur says
“Tri-Glide??”… A trike?
Didn’t even know H-D made a modern rendition of this configuration, thought they were only custom house numbers.
The old flat head Servi-Car still bears a certain desirable patina (nostalgia?), but other than so called ‘reverse-trikes’ or hacks three wheelers, to me, are carnival monstrosities like 2 headed sheep fetuses or something… “Blechhh!”
Hawk says
“The sidecar was first made available to Harley-Davidson customers in 1914 and will remain a proud part of the Company’s history.”
Perhaps the statement may become:
The first Harley-Davidson was made in 1909 and will remain a proud part of American history.
Tinman says
I think Ive seen one HD made Hack in the last 10 years, How many were sold last year?? No intellegent major corp. will continue to produce such a low volume product. HD made 139 Million Dollars Profit last quarter, I bet none of it was on sidecars. This nitch market will continue to be serviced by the after market. On the subject of V-Rods, they are more popular in Europe than in the US, I still think a V-Rod bagger is in the cards.(wishfull thinking).
Byrd says
I’m baffled. Not my HD’s decision, but by their press releases. Companies stop making certain products all the time, but do they put out a PR telling the world how lousy some aspect of their business is doing?: “As a result of the decline in retail demand….”
First the trial balloon about “maybe” moving production to India, and now this?
I’d almost swear someone’s trying to drive HD’s stock down for some reason.
…And I don’t give a rat’s ass about their stupid side cars and don’t know anyone who does. Maybe they just like to hear themselves talk, but it seems not to make a lot of sense. All they NEEDED to do, was tell their dealers to stop taking sidecar orders, who in turn would simply tell the 9 people on earth who want one “sorry”. Why this need for HD to shout from a roof top is my question.
I don’t recall a press release announcing their elimination of the Sportster trans trap door to save a few bucks. btw, absence of THAT feature was allegedly historically responsible for the failure of two HD unit engine Sportster predecessors as “unmarketable” due to serviceability problems.
Greybeard says
Is this Harley admitting they’ve got poor management?
Were they actually producing inventory of a product that was a special order?
They should have had to clean the cosmoline off the tooling if anyone wanted a hack!
I’ll bet they think this news will dazzle Wall Street so financial wizards will say ” Harley’s really got a handle on things!”
kneeslider says
If you don’t have a sidecar or don’t want a sidecar, sidecars are irrelevant, but if you talk to folks who have them and like them, it’s quite a bit different. Many of the same folks who purchased sidecars now find the trike suits their needs so it makes sense demand is down.
Anything that a company has offered for almost 100 years is significant, whether it is something you have personally purchased and desired or not. There seems to be a lot of this “I don’t want one, my friends don’t want one, so there’s no reason for them to exist” thinking. It’s hard to believe, but some people might have ideas different than yours, so, yes, this is quite a change. As with anything, if you don’t want one, you certainly don’t need to buy one and you can leave it at that, but serving the needs of small market segments can be profitable for a company if done right. Harley doesn’t want to invest time and energy into this product so they’ve dropped it.
I agree with Todd, it opens up an opportunity for a small company to serve that market.
Will13 says
Interesting, particularly the comments on the V-Rod line.
The V-Rod represents a huge step forward in technology for the Motor Company, though I feel that the V-Rod is priced too high to reach the buyers that are clamoring for it. That said, the V-Rod I think is more than secure as the EPA is not going anywhere here in the US, and European Emissions Laws continue to become more stringent by the day. That was the main reason for the V-Rod in the first place.
Too bad about the sidecars, I had no idea that the Trikes had taken off in terms of sales, especially in a struggling economy.
jim says
How ’bout a performance-oriented sidecar for the V-Rod? Introduce it with a marketing campaign aimed at young riders who ordinarily would buy a small car; make it sound like a hack is the coolest thing on the planet. Once you’ve ridden a hack outfit and learned how to really make it hustle, you’ll understand.
Won’t happen. The V-Rod’s days are numbered, too.
aholecop says
why would anyone want a $9000 sidecar when you can by a ural for $900 more. this is good news for aftermarket folks.
FREEMAN says
I wouldn’t be surprised if the “one more thing” was the VROD Destroyer, Harley’s production drag race motorcycle since it’s not street legal. Then again, I don’t know if they still make them or not.
Unruly Human says
They can always crank out more vests and chaps. And do-rags of course.
larry kahn says
Sidecars look cool, trikes look like a joke. (With apologies to those riders on trikes because of physical limitations. Ride on.)
Richard Gozinya says
Sidecars are very much a niche market, and it makes sense for Harley to drop them if they’re losing money. Same can be said for the V-Rod. Yes, there’s a dedicated following, but it’s not a large following compared to their other bikes. They’ve even gotten rid of the basic V-Rod now, leaving the VRSC bikes with only two models. Compare that with the rest of their line up.
Tom says
I was planning to have my next bike to be a sidecar rig. Granted, it wasn’t going to be a Harley.
Derek Larsen says
so guess this indicates that most people bought sidecars for the stability of three-wheels? for the freedom from having to balance your bike at a stop?
Jack says
I had a great time riding a Harley side car in 1970 and wanted to buy one several years later but my insurance company would not sell me any coverage at all and my life insurance provider said they would cancel me if I bought one, this is probably what happened to side car sales.
Byrd says
kneeslider, if you’re addressing me, you’re missing my point. I’ve got nothing against side cars, and nothing against the few people who want one. May even want one myself some day. I don’t understand HD’s strange and IMO, needless self-defeating press releases or why they’re being done. I don’t understand most of what they do these days.
chief says
Don’t let this little side car ‘thing’ detract everyone from the real issues the motor company should focus on such as continued use of 1970’s chassis technology, exclusive use of air cooled v-twin engines, millons spent on engine development and other pet programs only to kill these programs prior to production launch (ever hear of the ‘Skater Engine’??), 1200+ engineers working hard to create new renditions of of P&A and existing model variants “lipstick on the pig”, union labor, and on…and on… Aside from the v-rod, where’s the real technological innovation? So much for the CVO platform…
Perhaps hd will learn from the folks at BMW. It’s no secret that BMW published their intent to enter the US cruiser market, the only market segment in which BMW is the weakest. Rumor has it they are seeking to purchase entirely or execute a joint venture with an existing US company sometime in late 2010, early 2011. Hmmmm, who do you think Beemer is looking at? Victory?? Probaly not since even after 11+ years they still have zero ‘brand recognition’ (confirmed by an independent consulting company at a cost in excess of 1mm). Next to hd what other existing US mc company has a brand??? You do the math…
Tinman says
Cheif, I would not mind if HD merged with BMW, Two Iconic brands under the same roof would be a great thing. The worlds greatest Cruisers right next to the leader in High Tech bikes, Holy Cow!! I dont for a minute think this will ever happen, but if it did I dont see the downside. How in the World we got from dropping the Side Hack line to this Im not sure, buts its good fun.
woolyhead says
Another nail in the coffin………….
Marvin says
Cheif and Tinman you are really worrying me, I can see many downsides to BMW merging with Harley and they are centred around currant Harley management dragging a good company down. We in the UK used to have a nice oil company (as nice as oil companies get anyway) called British Petroleum if you remember it merged with Amoco and it didn’t work out that great for either of our fair nations. They somehow managed to combine the the American gunghow spirit (misapplied to safety) with a British relaxed incredulity to any disaster and ruin several eco-systems. Could you imagine the worst of the Bavarians and Harley combined, we would get no new models but the worlds most highly efficient branded baseball cap and T-shirt distribution network. The robotic folding and plastic encapsulation of these garments would be super high-tech as BMW ploughed engineering time into the perfection of its key product lines.
chief says
I wasn’ t referring to hd as the potential BMW partner….think older, say 1901???
Tom says
…and the champagne flows in Seattle:
http://www.libertysidecars.com/
bblix says
chief,
Not sure anyone outside of the H-D production stream would know much about “Skater”…that was a big disappointment when it was canned–couldn’t make it’s price-point. My thought was they should have then figured out how to justify the cost that they were coming up with (value add) to make it work. It was a really nice product line.
Tinman says
It is truly wonderfull to see all the concern about HDs ability to survive this financial crisis. Im sure upper management is following these comments very closely trying to find a new direction for the future. After all, they lost 50 million in one quarter last year, forget about the profits for the 20 years before that and the 139 million profit last quarter, they need guidence from the internet. What Fun!!
Chris R says
I didn’t see exiting the sidecar biz really is worth the hipe. Just another management PR statement to show they are IN Charge and making changes. Big fricken deal. Try making changes that make a difference like producing a real new bike that is affordable instead of reinventing “sporter” models especially ones that try to compete with the sport bike class, what a joke. Also if they want to make a difference to the bottom line get rid of the unbalanced cam engines that shake, rattle and roll, and produce one V-twin with a balanced cam like what is on the Softail line and use it across the board. This will improve the touring class brand and cut operation costs. If Harley wants to do something to improve and save the company, get rid of the upper management team starting from the CEO on down.
dom says
While I am not a HD rider, it’s a shame they’re out of the sidecar business as the ones I’d see where quite well made and looked quite striking.
Ironically, this announcement from HD comes on at same time I had posted a review of a couple of Hungarians who rode around the world from 1928-1936 on a Harley Davidson sidecar rig! Back then the roads, were sometimes nonexistent when compared to today’s infrastructure worldwide and their HD made it all the way through the 170,000 Kilometers ridden!
I hope Kneeslider will permit this link, so HD aficionados can read what a Harley from the late 20’s accomplished.
Around the World on a Motorcycle – Sulkowsky
glen mack says
I am very interested in a complete late model harley sidecar preferably black. If anyone has any infomation on one, I am willing to travel and pay reasonable dollars.
I need one for this riding season