A good friend of mine and fellow Bucket Head, rculpepper, wrote in his personal blog yesterday that Amazon is now selling HD parts. I met him for lunch and he described the situation to me and we mused about how ironic it was that years ago unless you were a licensed dealer, you had a hard time selling used Harleys without getting a ration of poop from the MoCo. Those were the days, huh?

Yep, those were the days indeed. When the maker of our beloved motorcycle had customers lining up to buy their products. Harley couldn't make enough bikes. Dealerships were charging thousands over MSRP and treating people like they were doing them a favor by selling them a Harley. And people were still knocking each other over to have one.

Those were the good old days when supply was far exceeded by demand.

Those days are long gone however and now, Harley has given nearly 5400 employees some forced unpaid time off. The layoffs come after a couple of years of aggressive sales, free goodies with a new bike, and special financing options making it possible for everyone to be able to buy that Harley of their dreams. It's even forced the MoCo to (gasp!) make a water cooled performance bike and target younger riders!

Some die hard Harley enthusiasts will call Honda and other Japanese cruisers wannabes. The say that those bikes copy the style, sound, and feel of a Harley. The one thing they aren't copying is the pinch on the pocketbook. That's why Harley is losing some ground in the large cruiser market.

That's why it's not surprising to me to find Officially Licensed HD Merchandise on Amazon. Dealers as well as the MoCo have to really get creative on how they move product. They're using every tool they can.

BTW, just so you know, the merchandise on Amazon is being sold through the Amazon Marketplace by Adventure Harley-Davidson in Dover, OH.

 

Hey, Mike!

Thanks for the plug, both here and on Brain Bucket.

[sm=thanx.gif]

 

The parts are being sold by Adventure HD of Ohio through amazon. Not by amazon. Amazon does not stock the parts. No different than dealers selling on ebay.

 

HD stock is still a favorable buy. I like the fact that HD decided to idle 5400 workers for a week instead of a 20% work force reduction, so I think the moco is in good hands.

Also, I tried to order a 21" wheel and a new tin (in august), I was toldmy order would take 3 months. Why? Cause HD does not mass produce.

IMHO. For all of us here; These days, are the good old days.

 

Yes, I said that. Although I didn't say it's no different than selling on eBay, I did say that it was Adventure Harley-Davidson selling on the Amazon Marketplace.

 

I agree with Waterhog. IMO these are the good old days. I have an HD to ride and at the time it wasn't easy to get. I think HD still has a pretty good handle on the market. A lot of people that I know who dont ride HD's wish they had one.

 

Maybe good ole days for you. I bet the MoCo might have a different opinion.

 

I understand the point, however, its got to better then the AMF days. Right?

 

Words can not begin to describe!

 

Sorry I missed that. Wasn't fully awake yet.