Community Reacts to Closure of Kansas City Plant
DrCollie looked at the industry as a whole, and felt this wasn’t just this one company, but indicative of a larger trend: “I don’t think it’s Harley per se, it’s the entire industry which peaked about a decade ago. You are seeing a culture shift in generations–not so many younger people are interested in motorcycles or even cars (especially with three-pedal manuals). They would rather be transported by a driverless Uber while having their head in their phone on the commute. I have a 24 year old son, and 27 year old daughter. Neither they, nor their friends, can drive my manual transmission cars, and none have ever rode a motorcycle, nor are they interested. As us bikers age out, there are less and less to take our place both in the buying of bikes, and the riding. It will take an even later generation to re-spark the interest, if it ever happens.”
Call us crazy optimists, but we do think it will happen. We are seeing a definite interest emerge in new riders including women, millennials, and more. Harley-Davidson has started new programs and initiatives to generate interest and so far, slowly but surely, that it is working.
We thank everyone for the lively discussion, you gave us a lot to consider and dropped some serious knowledge. We encourage everyone to head over to the forums to keep the dialogue doing.
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