Hey, it's all just fun and games until someone gets hit in the eye with a blunt stick!

The secret is not to take it personally, and to not resort to personal insults and name calling.

In Australia we have refined this to and fro banter into an art form, it's called "taking the ****" It's also a great way to learn new comebacks and insults for next time!

So don't get too upset at us Aussies, you may think we are insulting you, but in reality we are just taking the **** out of you.

 

There seems to be a lot of rhetoric and personal bias in this thread. I just thought I would chime in with my experience as I probably deviate from the accepted opinion.

I've just purchased my second bike, the 2018 Softail Slim. First is a BMW S1000R that I still love. There are multiple things that happened that lead to this. I think I fall into that category you say Harley can't, or isn't, selling to. I was definitely a "Never buy a Harley in a million years" guy.

The first thing is the culture change around the subcultures I have exposed myself to. It's true, a lot of my life is in the online world, but the culture is changing there, and maybe some of you don't see it, which is okay! For instance, I watch a lot of youtube, and the ads on youtube for Harley are frequent and they paint a different picture than previously. The ads are mostly about riding and the riding experience. They also show a younger person and many different demographics. Now this alone isn't enough to get me to walk into a dealer, but it is a piece of the puzzle. I'm just trying to paint an overall strategy that worked for me.

On youtube, many of the motovloggers I watch have tried the new softail models and had nothing but good things to say. Some of them even ride Harleys. These aren't SOA wanna be, or MC lifers. They are just regular dudes who happen to ride a Harley. So this was another factor in my changing opinion. I'll give just a few examples, Blockhead and Shadetree Surgeon. I don't really agree with Shade's political opinions, but I like his content and no nonsense approach to motorcycling :P Blockhead just seems like a chill, anything goes dude. I would say he influenced my decision the most to walk into a dealer.

On a personal note, I do follow motorcycle news, and I really REALLY liked the look of the 2018 Softail Models. It's always sad when something you like changes, but when it comes to motorcycles, for people that drop off the subjective looks department, others come on. I think that's ultimately Harley's goal here, it is to get new people like me. Which is good for everyone isn't it? Everyone benefits if Harley does well. The used market for Dynas will still be strong for many MANY years to come if any of the claimed traits of a Harley are true.

All of that combined caused me to reflect on why I was a Harley hater and what I was basing my opinion on. I admitted to myself that it was unfair to judge without ever actually riding one. I was still determined to hate the bike. I went to Hannum's in Sellersville PA. Guy there named Dell pretty much would have let me test ride the store. It was a busy day as they were having an event I didn't know about, but he still made time for me. I ended up liking the softail slim so much I deviated from the test route and took it on a decent ride. This bike didn't match up with the rumors that exist in my sport bike subculture. The people in the dealership didn't look like they were going to break my limbs if I asked a stupid question. They were friendly, bright, and young. Dell also didn't push me to purchase AT ALL. In fact one could say he may be a poor salesman (or good IMO), for not even asking me if I was interested lol. He was attentive but in no way pushy. He never tried to push extra stuff at me, or parts or anything. He did recommend the paint I ended up getting though, but I liked it anyways so w/e. It was wicked red

Now, I know all of this culture shift may be a sour note for some of you. It makes sense. It's not YOUR culture. In a lot of cases it may even be counter to the existing culture. It's just an unfortunate sign of the times. People will never be the same as they were, and millennials some day will be the one's complaining about it. It is an endless cycle. It's my hope that the two cultures can merge though. I like making new friends and meeting new people so I hope I'll be accepted on the more conservative side :P I'm a veteran so I feel I have earned my right to hold a democratic opinion on some things heh. It doesn't mean I don't respect other's opinions though. I think a lot of millennials match my views as well. You just have to invite them over for a beer and I'm sure it will go well!

In short, all of it worked on me, and I was super against ever even riding a Harley. So something must be working. In fact I was so anti Harley that my 400 strong discord group are all second guessing Harley now as they were shocked I purchased one. I think the tide may be turning on some of the negativity surrounding the company. I think many people who are the core Harley base assume that millennials are anti America or something. This is 100% not the case. I really hope if you take anything from this post you take that away. I think a lot of people WANT to buy an American motorcycle, desperately in some cases. They just want it to be good enough to buy. Good enough for them anyways. It has to fit their needs. You have no idea how much I want to sell my BMW and get an american made sports bike that can compete with it. They do exist, but they are also 30-40k dollars. I think there is a genuine desire to support one's own country, it just has to make sense, and I think Harley is starting to slowly do that.

None of this helps you veterans who want more of the same, but I hope you can play Devil's Advocate and welcome us new rides to the fold In the end more riders is better!

For my part I'm still shocked how much I like the bike. I bought an Indian Scout a while ago when Polaris launched the new one and absolutely hated it. I never thought I would buy a cruiser again.

 

 

Well the owner actually started the conversation about what kinda deal he got which he also divulged associated costs - my bikes gifts.... I wish - but they didn't cost any where near what that poor guys paying for his Heritage!

LOL, Honestly his was a nice bike but it wasn't that impressive to spend the money he spent on it - If I were getting new Id probably go with the Road glide, The softail is a capable touring bike & I have both mine set up for light to medium touring, If the day comes where the wife doesn't wanna ride any more then a Heritage might be in the works - the new heritage even with the tour pack just doesn't have the same cargo space as its predecessor, but right now I'm satisfied with what I have.




Fish, out of all on this site you are truly a well balanced guy, always positive & pretty much have a favorable stance on the subject at hand! very respectable! you are right we are all blessed to have the freedom to carry on & money for bikes - others are not so lucky

 

Thanks LXT. I’m just a lucky bastard and I try hard not to forget it

 

 

I don't know any who can tell the difference between a 17 or an 18 Softail at 100 feet on the right side let alone 50 feet on the left side actually so yea , looks are subjective but when they appear so hard to distinguish and they look the same at a short distance it's just new model envy BS.

 

 

The stats are less than 1.2 percent of 2017 model Tourers man ,it's really insignificant numerically.