I'm 30 now, got my Nightster when i was 28... dunno where i fall into that catagory.
I do know i never would've gotten my favorite 'toy' had i not been making good oilfield money.

 

There are those of the younger crowd that aren't looking for a hot rod.
To generalize it as all is just that, generalizing.

 

Have to chime in on this matter. I have a 11 Ultra limited (baby boomer myself), and my son who's in the Army and heading for his second tour fell in love with it. Took him to the HD dealer and he's saving for a Nighter 1200 or a Fat Bob, when he comes back.

I see a lot of riders around DC that are in their 20's and thirty's riding Harley's. Some that I've talked to, think the glamour of the crotch rockets are fading and they want a bike that's has quality and is built in America.

So there's my two cents.

 

yea i wasnt implying that all...i just meant that performance was a big part...i think the two main factors are the affordability and the performance aspects

 

I'm 38 and just bought my first Harley (a 2011 Street Glide). Not sure where that puts me on the age spectrum but here are my observations.

I had a 2000 Yamaha R6 about 10 years ago. Bought it at a time where had more ***** than brains and except for insurance the bike cost peanuts, cost peanuts to run and maintain and still got me decent resale money.

At that time in my life the bike did everything. Speed, performance, fun, women, at a great bang for the buck. Had a couple close calls (only a matter of time driving like that) and re-evaluated my bike ownership. Got rid of the bike, got married, had kids.

Missed the bike and always craved the experience but had a young family and couldn't justify buying a bike again. Bought a car with big aftermarket options (Subaru) and played and tinkered and spent but still missed the bike. Hell, it's pretty damn hard to justify leaving wife at home with kid(s) while you go out and spend money on a bike, being away, spending money, while she's at home.

Many younger riders are probably in a similar situation. Money, kids, time, cheaper options, are all a hinderance to younger riders.

 

I agree with you 100% but Harley's understanding of "performance" is limited to stock prices and market share.

The reason I don't own a Harley (in the traditional sense anyway) is value. price/performance is a HUGE factor for me and Harley's are just about the worst in the market in this regard. Even if I was in the market for a cruiser Harely would be at the bottom of the list because there are several MUCH better performing options for less money **cough*Victory*cough** Harley's extremely narrow focus has alienated buyers like you or I. I wouldn't mind having another Harley for a 2nd or 3rd bike but certainly not for my primary bike and honestly, I may never be able to justify the price of a Harley as a 2nd or 3rd bike either.

As far as Buell, I think most people just didn't understand what they were. It's just silly to try to compare a naked air cooled pushrod V-twin bike to a fully faired Japanese race ready sportbike. That's like pitting a Ducati Monster up against an R1; it ain't going to be pretty for the Monster. Try comparing Buells to other sporty standards like the FZ1, the Z1000, the Ducati Monster or the Triumph Speed triple and they fair pretty well. I own a Buell and if you can get over the fact that it's not a racebike you'll find that it's an extremely good streetbike. Comfortable, fun, adequately powerful, simple/low maintainance and very capable. It's a shame that HD held Erik back from creating a full on superbike (they specifically forbid him from making a fully faired bike) because he was certainly more than capable. Google Buell 1190RS sometime and see what he's getting ready to produce out of a company the size of a storage shed behind the HD plant.
Buell would have been an ideal addition to HD just for the sake of broadening their market appeal. Even though the profits would never been the same as the cruiser line (the sportbike market is VERY competitive) it would (and did) bring people into the HD dealers that would have never been in there otherwise. A large portion of sportbike riders are VERY anti-Harley and I think Buell could have helped "bridge the gap" and maybe soften the negative image sportbike guys have of HD.

 

I've found that people who write magazine articles are often not as smart, or knowledgeable, as we'd like to think. I wonder if they are aware that younger motorcycle riders are still aging at the same speed they always were and harley is doing pretty well?

 

The recession has hit all brands. One brand seems to be digging itself out pretty well. I wonder if non-Japanese riders at Japanese forums are suggesting that their brands start making bikes that someone (anyone) wants to buy?

It seems pretty straightforward to me. Harley makes bikes for people that want to buy Harleys. All of the Japanese make bikes for some of the people that want to buy Harleys, but can't afford them. The Japanese also make bikes for people that don't want Harleys, but aren't interested in the Euro stuff. Euro manufacturers make bikes for some people that want a bike that doesn't work as well as a Japanese bike, but costs as much as a Harley.

Something for everyone. Got it?

 

I turned 30 two months ago, bought my touring bike when I was in my 20's. It's also my first Harley. Finally in a spot where I could afford it, and I knew after several years on other bikes that I wasn't going to be pissing money away on something I wouldn't enjoy. I always wanted one, and some of the newer features pushed me over the edge to take the plunge (the 103, ABS, etc). I want to ride it every day, and didn't think I had the knowledge to keep a shovel on the road. I've had plenty of old cars but never an old Harley. Now that I have experience with mine, and am learning every day, I might pick up a shovel for a bar hopper/drag bike.

I will admit to being a slave to technology sometimes, like most people my age. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate simplicity, though.

 

Most people I saw in Harley's booth at the Chicago bike show (IMS) a couple weeks ago were 45+. I saw lots more younger people looking at metrics.