Harley Issues Statement About Low Sales!
Tourer
Joined: Nov 2006
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From: The West
You Might
[QUOTE=Walter White;18912396]
You might if "Crazy Bernie" gets elected.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2012
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From: Maryland
Millenials generally speaking who did go to college didnt get the high paying job their parents told them they would with a degree and with the student debt they have pay high rent because the cant afford the down payment on a house . Their priority generally speaking is hoping their student debt gets forgiven so they can figure out a way to buy a house and get out from under high rents. The job they got, their debt and high rents make it difficult to save a down payment. A new Harley, used Harley is not a need even if it was a want.
The ones who didnt go to college generally speaking didnt learn a trade so those industries cant find enough qualified people to replace the ones that are retiring . They work some low paying job and a bike is not on the list right now. Since they cant afford to do much they spend a lot of time on social media, video games, eating at home.
Maybe give them some A Clockwork Orange treatment. Pin their eyelids open and make them watch Mike Rowe videos nonstop for days.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2012
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From: Maryland
That's the correct way to look at it too. Thanks for posting this.
But before all of us start blaming the younger folks for all the declining sales, let's heap some blame, or reasoning, on our own age group too. Blaming all of the declines on the upcoming generations is just a little too easy and convenient to suit me. Maybe some of the reasons are OUR OWN age group has a lot to do with it.
Personally, I think the Big Sales years were big because a lot of rich people wanted to BE COOL, look like a badass(that they really weren't), and join in some groups, like HOG, and have an instant membership into the "CLUB". I know this for a fact. I've seen it. Dentists and Lawyers who bought and quit riding..but they rode a Harley! So the FAD has been over for a while now, and it showed up in lower sales.
But before all of us start blaming the younger folks for all the declining sales, let's heap some blame, or reasoning, on our own age group too. Blaming all of the declines on the upcoming generations is just a little too easy and convenient to suit me. Maybe some of the reasons are OUR OWN age group has a lot to do with it.
Personally, I think the Big Sales years were big because a lot of rich people wanted to BE COOL, look like a badass(that they really weren't), and join in some groups, like HOG, and have an instant membership into the "CLUB". I know this for a fact. I've seen it. Dentists and Lawyers who bought and quit riding..but they rode a Harley! So the FAD has been over for a while now, and it showed up in lower sales.
But there is another group that hasn't been mentioned, and I'm surprised that it hasn't. It's the riders that "dropped out" because they just got fed up with the whole Motorcycle Experience. They got tired of being "USED". They didn't make their money by being stupid with it. Let's face it. Owning a Motorcycle is WAY more involved than just buying it and putting gas in the tank. It's an EXPENSIVE HOBBY. And it's gotten more expensive over the last 20 years. Expensive to buy, and way too expensive to maintain and REPAIR. It's not just the repair expense either. It's the TIME expense to the owner..thew time it takes to get the bike to the shop and then pick it back up again. People are busy working, and when the get free time, they want to ride, not have a bike in and out of a shop all the time. And they get pissed because their bike HAS TO GO TO THE SHOP!!!!!!!!!! Why can't this motorcycle stay on the road and not require this kind of repair so often?(they ask).
Let's talk about the experience....like going to Bikeweek for instance. I used to love going to that each year and Octoberfest too. Well, folks got tired of jacked up hotel rates for 60 year old hotels and rooms, and having a week long commitment to stay there too. The Vendors got tired of being ripped off on Vendor fees too, so now the Bikeweek vendor areas are pathetic. Participation at the events is lousy and in decline, by vendors and riders.
Finally, "smart money" customers got tired of being used by Harley as guinea pigs on new products that weren't ready for release with all the bugs worked out. Their attitude was "screw you Harley, we deserve better than this" . And they got pissed too at the Harley Fanboys that told them to shut up and quit whining. In my opinion, that was the last straw for them. They understood that with nobody holding Harley's "feet to the fire" for shoddy design, there would never be any reason for improvements.
As to overall theme of this thread. If the younger generations aren't getting into motorcycling, then I feel sorry for them. They don't know what they are missing. Whether the motorcycling industry survives over the long term, well... from a personal perspective, I guess it doesn't really matter because sooner or later I'll be dead. What happens after that - and what the younger generations do with themselves then - I'm pretty certain I'll no longer care.
Last edited by T^2; Mar 1, 2020 at 09:33 AM.
Stellar HDF Member
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From: Charleston, SC
I see what your general drift is with that statement, but not all schools require $200,000 to get a degree. Thank goodness! The job market has been getting better too. And you are definitely better off with a Degree than WITHOUT one. The days of someone barely exiting high school and getting a $35/hour plus overtime job working in manufacturing are OVER, and have been for some time now, as far as an entry job at least. If your best education nowadays is a high school degree, your best bet to make money is probably in a trade. Or a specialty school like nursing or a Physician's Assistant degree. Even in tech jobs, Computer Science degrees are preferred.
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From: Charleston, SC
I've got a STEM degree and work in a professional career field. I haven't been riding all my life, nor did I buy a Harley, for any of those reasons. I suppose there's some truth to this for others I guess.
IDK... I seem to have the opposite view of the "Motorcycle Experience". Sure the hobby has some cost, but I can think of other hobbies that are far more expensive and problematic. One of the things that draws me to motorcycle is that you can get a whole lot of enjoyment out of it for the money (bang for the buck). Perhaps I'm just lucky, but I haven't had all that much issue when it comes to time and expense with repairs - whether it be the Japanese bikes that I've owned in the past or the Harleys that I own now. Most bikes I've owned were purchased used. When purchased they were sound bikes in very good shape. I keep the preventive maintenance up and I don't abuse my bikes. In the end I don't seem to experience the woes described concerning repair expenses and down time. My bikes haven't lived in the shop. They are always ready to go when I am. Again, taken as a whole, one of the reasons I like motorcycling is the bang for the buck proposition.
I understand that this aspect may be a big part of the experience for some, but it has never been for me. I've never been drawn to the big bike gatherings. I don't care for big crowds that much. One of the things I enjoy about motorcycling is that it provides a fun way to get away from it all. That includes getting away from people. I generally ride alone or with my wife. I haven't done a group ride in years - partly because I don't care for the dynamics they often spawn.
Again, I buy used. For one, it's nice to have volunteers out there that will take care of the immediate depreciation for you. Another boon from buying used, you can pick bikes that have had the initial kinks worked out and are now proven. This all helps with the time/expense/bang for the buck aspects of the experience/hobby.
Don't know what to say about that... I don't have much to complain about when it comes to motorcycling. I've been getting a lot out of my meager investment over the years and I don't see it coming to an end anytime soon.
As to overall theme of this thread. If the younger generations aren't getting into motorcycling, then I feel sorry for them. They don't know what they are missing. Whether the motorcycling industry survives over the long term, well... from a personal perspective, I guess it doesn't really matter because sooner or later I'll be dead. What happens after that - and what the younger generations do with themselves then - I'm pretty certain I'll no longer care.
IDK... I seem to have the opposite view of the "Motorcycle Experience". Sure the hobby has some cost, but I can think of other hobbies that are far more expensive and problematic. One of the things that draws me to motorcycle is that you can get a whole lot of enjoyment out of it for the money (bang for the buck). Perhaps I'm just lucky, but I haven't had all that much issue when it comes to time and expense with repairs - whether it be the Japanese bikes that I've owned in the past or the Harleys that I own now. Most bikes I've owned were purchased used. When purchased they were sound bikes in very good shape. I keep the preventive maintenance up and I don't abuse my bikes. In the end I don't seem to experience the woes described concerning repair expenses and down time. My bikes haven't lived in the shop. They are always ready to go when I am. Again, taken as a whole, one of the reasons I like motorcycling is the bang for the buck proposition.
I understand that this aspect may be a big part of the experience for some, but it has never been for me. I've never been drawn to the big bike gatherings. I don't care for big crowds that much. One of the things I enjoy about motorcycling is that it provides a fun way to get away from it all. That includes getting away from people. I generally ride alone or with my wife. I haven't done a group ride in years - partly because I don't care for the dynamics they often spawn.
Again, I buy used. For one, it's nice to have volunteers out there that will take care of the immediate depreciation for you. Another boon from buying used, you can pick bikes that have had the initial kinks worked out and are now proven. This all helps with the time/expense/bang for the buck aspects of the experience/hobby.
Don't know what to say about that... I don't have much to complain about when it comes to motorcycling. I've been getting a lot out of my meager investment over the years and I don't see it coming to an end anytime soon.
As to overall theme of this thread. If the younger generations aren't getting into motorcycling, then I feel sorry for them. They don't know what they are missing. Whether the motorcycling industry survives over the long term, well... from a personal perspective, I guess it doesn't really matter because sooner or later I'll be dead. What happens after that - and what the younger generations do with themselves then - I'm pretty certain I'll no longer care.
I don't enjoy the crowds anymore either. And my bikes don't live in the shop. BUT, they have been in there far more than I think they need to be. What is excessive to me may not be even a blip on the radar for you. My bikes have all been serviced, at the time designated by the owner's manual, by a Harley Dealer. I don't abuse my bikes either, and I leave them stock. And I can tell you that doesn't guarantee you not to have trouble. And from reading these forums, I wouldn't buy a used bike on a bet anymore. I have in the past. NO MORE!
I'm glad you have had a better experience than me. Certainly SOMEONE deserves to.
I do not consider myself a Harley Basher. But I also will not give them a pass when it comes to faulty engineering design either. And I have that right because I've owned them and ridden them for over 20 years, and put up with the faults and failures during that time. So my experience, and the others that have had like experiences, has shaped my attitude and philosophy.
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Joined: Mar 2010
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From: Florida
[QUOTE=jcr1800;18902077]
Millenials couldn't hold up an engineless Sportster.
Another reason Millenials don't ride is because bikes are racist.
7. Millenials wouldn't be caught dead on an overpriced, underperforming, and outdated motorcycle owned by mostly white, old, ugly, fat, grumpy, bigoted dudes fixated on insulting entire segments of the population that could possibly pick up the saturated market their dead and dying demographic is leaving behind.
Another reason Millenials don't ride is because bikes are racist.
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