Alarming HD trend....
Cruiser
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 130
Likes: 0
From:
RE: Alarming HD trend....
ORIGINAL: madden23
OK maybe this is off point, but I think Harley is manufacturing now for planned obsolesence, they make a higher margin on parts,reduce the product line, more parts to sell to separate bikes, more profit, they gang up parts so they cannot be be repaired on a cost effective basis, oops, you have to replace a whole assemblies to get a $2.oo part. Not just Harley but a lot of manufacturers build this way they design in a certain timespan before their product will wear out, sorry it will cost more to fix it than it's worth, might be better just to buy a new one, that way the factory keeps churning out product. Gone are the days you might actually fix a toaster, lawnmoweror a DVD player or whatever,buy a new one when it's broke, it's cheaper. Does anybody else but me see a major problem with this short sided business plan(on a personal and planetary level), we live in a era of diminishing resources and we fill our landfills with junk, because so much of what we buy is designed to be disposable. Gone are the "warhorses" that can be repaired indefinetly, a flat head 45 cubic inch from the forties could be repaired easily for decades and be cost effective in repair, Just wait til your 2007 bites it in 2010, cheaper to buy a new one, and that's what they are counting on.The whole thing makes me sick, and now China is upping the ante and dumping even more more rapidly disposal crap on the world, all based on price, the world is going insane, OK done now.
OK maybe this is off point, but I think Harley is manufacturing now for planned obsolesence, they make a higher margin on parts,reduce the product line, more parts to sell to separate bikes, more profit, they gang up parts so they cannot be be repaired on a cost effective basis, oops, you have to replace a whole assemblies to get a $2.oo part. Not just Harley but a lot of manufacturers build this way they design in a certain timespan before their product will wear out, sorry it will cost more to fix it than it's worth, might be better just to buy a new one, that way the factory keeps churning out product. Gone are the days you might actually fix a toaster, lawnmoweror a DVD player or whatever,buy a new one when it's broke, it's cheaper. Does anybody else but me see a major problem with this short sided business plan(on a personal and planetary level), we live in a era of diminishing resources and we fill our landfills with junk, because so much of what we buy is designed to be disposable. Gone are the "warhorses" that can be repaired indefinetly, a flat head 45 cubic inch from the forties could be repaired easily for decades and be cost effective in repair, Just wait til your 2007 bites it in 2010, cheaper to buy a new one, and that's what they are counting on.The whole thing makes me sick, and now China is upping the ante and dumping even more more rapidly disposal crap on the world, all based on price, the world is going insane, OK done now.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 3,909
Likes: 6
From: Livingston, Texas
RE: Alarming HD trend....
All you got to do is wait about 3 weeks and they will have some in the showrooms on like the 28th. You can bet if H-D quits making one kind for a year their gonna stick something esle in its place for you to choose from. The only bad thing is the resnators that are sticking in the mufflers and making the bikes EPA rated. This stops up the air intake, tried to reburn the gasses and makes the bike run very lean. Which all in all makes the bike run hotter. It takes some money to git the junk off the bike to make it run better. I hate to say it but as long as you got Yer buddy Al and his supporters its only gonna git worst.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 3,909
Likes: 6
From: Livingston, Texas
RE: Alarming HD trend....
Yer salesman only knows rumors, only the top people at the dealership go to the dealer meetings around the 16th to see what is new. Yer salesman can guess like everybody else. H-D is going to revamp all their bike, whatever that means. Radiators, mabe because of EPA and the heat. Gotta wait like everybody esle and see. Man its torture waiting huh. Will be like last year. Waiting till the new bikes come into the dealership to see what new colors are in, and what changes has been make. And all the magazines coming out telling you what changes were made, showing the bikes.
I've already spent thousnads on my 07 model to git it like I wanted it and I still ain't threw.
I've already spent thousnads on my 07 model to git it like I wanted it and I still ain't threw.
Road Warrior
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,262
Likes: 4
From: Logan, Ohio
RE: Alarming HD trend....
Let us not forget the popularity of the Street Glide which didn't even exsist until a few years ago.I think whomever makes those decisions is probably making good ones given the popularity of the new models and Harley's in general.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,728
Likes: 1
From: Olympia, Washington
RE: Alarming HD trend....
I would expect we'll see some new and different things in the future--some might be reallynew and some might be "re-introducing" classics from past years. You have to have different lines for different riders and styles. Otherwise, if everything starts looking the same, people might begin looking elsewhere. Whatever they do, I'm hoping they get some inspiration in the paint colors. Some of these combos look like someone's having acid flashbacks when they roll them out.
Banned
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 7,292
Likes: 13
From: Sacramento California!!!
RE: Alarming HD trend....
IF HD continued to make models that didn't sale then they wouldn't be in business for long.
Sounds like a smart bisness decision to me.
Sounds like a smart bisness decision to me.
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Stage I
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
RE: Alarming HD trend....
During my 15 years working in the automobile industry at the dealerhip level. I saw just about ever manufacture design and build models that were primarly used to create brand name recoginition and excitement. Honda's NSX is a classic example. They lost millions and millions designing and producing that car. but people flocked in to see it, and ended up buying Preludes Accords ect. I imagine keeping some of the classic HD models in some form or another will always be important to MoCo, even if they don't make money on them all the time. Times change, taste change, but have a way of recycling ever few years. I look at the old Harleys and enjoy seeing the evolution of their bikes. They are fortunate to have so many looks and styles and such a great heritage. That to me is what makes them desirable.......my2cents 