Why would I do that?

 

Aging demographics of HD buyers is not declining it is increasing every year. There are more individuals in each age group of adults and it grows daily. In fact the largest increase in any age group is the 100+ folks.

What did you not understand that the Streets are selling well. They could not keep up with the demand to supply the assembly line with fuel pumps as the recall was in place. For this 1/4 the recall is done and the assembly line is going. They sold about 8K 15's and are on track to increase that considerably.

This area has strong sales. Helped the best I could bought two 16's so far. A Heritage and a Road Glide Custom Ultra CVO. Sure it costs as much as a Hylander Limited Platinum but many levels more enjoyable. You only live once so why not do it in style?

They still are 50% of the market in the size bikes that they sell. They have been at that level for years. That means that all the others which includes Indian now are still half the pie and fighting each other. Went into the Indian dealer a couple of times on rides which is the only one in a 100 miles radius. It was a morgue. I was the only one in the showroom. Not even a sales person. Finally the owner came out. Told him I was too old to ride motorcycles and was just looking so he walked away to his office. In a news interview he told the reporter that he sells 40 Indians a year. The local HD dealer has sold over 60 bikes a month several times this year.Same thing at the Victory dealer no one other than me and the Owner/sales person.

Does anyone know that sport bikes sales have dropped 70% from previous highs? Never a threat to HD sales. Honda publicly announced last year that they are no longer designing bikes to fit the US market. They are concentrating on the Asian rim. VTX's, Rune's and whatever that last V-twin chopper looking thing was lost money for them.

Buy the way each comparable model of any brands are not that far apart from each other in price. Compare the full dresser models of Indian, Victory, BMW, Honda, Kawasaki and others they just are not that far apart. Then look at Yamaha's Bolt which is priced the same as an 883 but it's has a spec version for more.

Read four of five motor cycle periodicals a month and pay attention. That way one can post more informed comments rather than raw gut opinion. When one posts that something is to expensive it is more than likely to mean that the author can not offord it than the fact the item is too expensive.

 

Too many recalls?
Stop cutting corners and start making better stuff.

I remember when they broke from AMF and started to really concentrate on quality...They need to do that again.

 

Stacks of unsold Streets can't help....
http://www.cycletrader.com/STREET-75...istance%3Aasc&
Oh,and good used HD's are really affordable because of the sheer numbers of old dudes selling (or trying) their bikes right now.

 

Odd, for such a hot selling bike, I have not seen a Street on the street yet.

 

If you've ever sat in a meeting where these types of objectives are finalized, what you see here is a company that realizes it has some very serious problems (like executives losing their jobs).

The objectives are grand and impressive but unattainable in the next 90 days. I don't think growing the sport of motorcycling is a good idea. That helps your competitors. The simple fact that HD thinks they can (or should) "grow the sport of motorcycling" suggests blind arrogance.

More people will lose their jobs after the next quarterly earnings call because someone didn't grow the sport of motorcycling in North America.

 

I'm actually wondering if the cruiser market as a whole is not drying up? I haven't seen a new Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha Star, on a dealer showroom floor since 2013. Our local Yamaha dealer only has a couple of leftover 2013 Star Raiders? on his showroom floor. The guy that traded in my current FXDC bought a big side-by-side and all the other Jap dealers seem to have gone almost entirely into the 4x4 type business over bikes.

 

I'm 62 and yet plan on buying a bike in the spring. As much as I love my 'keeper' (an '00 S/E RG,) my next bike won't be a Harley. They lost me in '07/'08 with their cast cranks, weak wheel bearings and still unresolved compensator problems. I suspect that there are a lot who agree with my thinking, and the now stiff competition will take its toll before they finally wake up, up there in Milwaukee. Marketing isn't the problem.

(Wandell obviously knew what he was doing when he 'retired' early last year.)

 

Harley would perform better overall as a private company, instead of cutting corners to increase profits for earning beats and shareholders.

BTW, that EPS would have been a lot lower without share buy back.

 

I was glad to read alot of the executives were going to be the first to be let go. Makes sense. Get rid of guys that sit in a office making 150k a year and don't produce anything to sell, and keep the guys with dirty hands that make the product that brings in the $$$. Harley was kinda on the right track when they took Buell on as their "get the younger riding crowd" in the door bikes. But They changed their mind on that plan pretty fast, but still keep the V-Rod. If they depended on v-rod sales to keep their boat floating, they would have sunk years ago. Young guys want bikes that will do 150 plus out of the box, and handle like a rocket. Today's Harley's have got nothing to offer them. If the Polaris bikes are sticking it to Harley ,they need to buy a few of them and dissect then to find out what they have that Harley's don't. Like when Mcdonald's comes out with a new burger sandwich, Burger king comes out with their version of the same thing. Harley needs to open their eyes and make what the other guys are sellin.,,,