Sometimes I think I need to change my tune when I type. It's hard to portray an inflection verbally thru typed words.

My "well no ****" was directed at the CEO of Harley, not to you. Now that I read it I can see where you're coming from. And my point was based on one of Harley's previous quarterly comments about manufacturing a lot less motorcycles to better align with sales. Sorry for the confusion.

 

I owned two back-to-back BMW airheads in the early 70's. The first one burned up in a building fire while I was in Vietnam on my 2d tour. It was a real beauty compared to bikes of the day, 1970, and I loved it dearly. In those days, almost nobody bought BMWs. The BMW dealer in Savannah GA was tiny, with one new bike in stock, and an empty showroom. Everybody was buying Honda 750's and Kaw Z-1's. When I got home I bought a used R60/5 to replace the dead bike. I rode it for a couple of years and then went back to Japanese bikes. Neither of my BMWs was free of defects. Oil leaks, whiny rear ends, blown head gaskets...

So, a few weeks ago I rode up to Riverside HD to have a look around. Right next door to Riverside HD is a BMW dealership. Riverside HD was full of people, coming and going, buying stuff, dozens of bikes parked outside, I had trouble even finding a place to park my RGU. I looked over at the BMW dealer. Parking lot had maybe one car in it, no bikes parked there. It was like the place was out of business.

Pretty much every bike I pass on the highway is a Harley. It is very obvious that HD commands the motorcycle world in California. Same as it does in New Mexico, where I used to live. There are AT LEAST eight Harleys for every ten bikes on the road.

I really doubt that Harley is in danger of losing out to BMW in sales. I've ridden most of the models that BMW has made in the past 20 years or so, and have not found any of them worth the money compared to the bikes I actually bought, which were all Japanese. They were kinky and techno-glitzy and fast, but not the end result of a century of steady development. I wish BMW well, but BMW can't compete with HD.

 

BMW's worldwide motorcycles sold:



We don't need to post the chart showing HD's worldwide motorcycles sold, do we. Total for 2018 was 228,051, down from 2017, which was down from 2016, which was down...from around 350,000 in the mid-2000's.

There is no doubt that the two trend lines are going to intersect at some point in the future. How quickly that happens will depend entirely on the MoCo's decisions on what they intend to do about the trend.

 

Your "local perspective" is unfortunately very skewed when it comes to global company performance which is all that matters if you care where a company will be in a few years. BMW Motorrad has had 8 straight years of unit sales GROWTH. Compared to Harley which is heading towards its 6th straight year of unit sales DECLINE. BMW will sell a forecasted 170,000 units in 2019 to Harley's forecast of around 215,000. Given the current trends, the facts would suggest that BMW (and other motorcycle manufacturers) are unfortunately "schooling" Harley on what the global and US marketplace wants in motorcycles.

 

give the people what they want !!!......get yourself one of these Heatwave..even the Vesperados M / C wouldn't mess with you..wonder how many of their scooter lineup are included in the 170,000

 

Do some homework. BMW's top selling model is the GS1200. "The GS continues to be king for BMW, with 51,000 of the GS and GS Adventure variants of the R1200 and R1250 motorcycles sold in 2018." The 6 cylinder K-series (160hp) grew by 25% in 2018 with the help of the new Grand America models. BMW is currently on their 8th straight year of sales growth. Harley only wishes they had BMW's growth rate. https://www.asphaltandrubber.com/new...le-sales-2018/

 

go buy one then, I don't really care that much..this is a Harley M8 Forum not a BMW Forum

 

Perhaps you’re posting in the wrong thread. This is a thread about Harley sales and how the M8 has NOT stopped or reversed the declining sales trend for HD. Only a fanboy would prefer being being blind to understanding what is driving the growth of Harley’s competitors. Why would anyone want to avoid learning what products, technology and designs are driving the growth in motorcycle sales for a company other than the one he’s riding? Sorry my friend, but the days of Harley resting on its laurels, its old technology and the “blind” loyalty of past customers are officially over.

 

uhm, because I don't care about other motorcycles other than the one I chose and enjoy the most, otherwise I would have bought something else, ...I like my Toyota Avalon better than all other sedans so I don't care about how or what Honda is doing with their Accords

 

Certainly your prerogative. Ignorance can be blissful for some. I prefer to understand what value I get for my investment when compared with competitive alternatives. The days of blind loyalty to outdated technology and ignorance of alternative products are over, as reflected in the 6 years of declining sales for HD while other motorcycle brands are growing.