The jest I am getting from your post is: you were pissed because you were hungry, had to sit through a 75 minute meeting and got some bad food. Yeah that's MOCOs fault (NOT).

I joined the HOG CHAPTER to find some new friends who love Harleys and love to ride.

Our membership is around 175 also and the average ride we get is 15 bikes. Sometimes we get up to 25 to 30 but that’s usually once a year. Our Toy Run will have about 115 bikes. I didn’t join the chapter to worry what food they are going to feed me.

My dealer does basically nothing for its Hog members also. No discounts on parts and service, they even moved our Hot Harley Nites off property do the legalities/responsibilities of members drinking alcohol. If I don’t like their prices, I just buy on line.

If your dealer is closing, that’s a bad deal but not HD’s problem. Jeese man, just join another Hog Chapter and buy your own food.

 

I bailed from HOG in 2003 but got renewed twice since then for buying a new bike. Have never renewed on my own.

In 2003, they were having one of the anniversary events about 30 miles from my house down at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, GA. It was in June/July(can't remember exactly). I could have paid for wife & I to attend but since she wasn't a HOG member, she couldn't attend some of the events they had. I wasn't about to leave her standing outside in 100+ heat(you ever been to Georgia in June or July???) with nothing to do.

 

the only time you are part of the HOG family is when you allow the moco to rape you time and time again. Luckily my local dealer does believe in family. As for the MOCO no such thing anymore. It is strictly buisness and maybe not so good at that either

 

How can you say that, when you made the original post EXPLAINING what happened? You're not making any sense now.

 

lol!!

 

Well, first off if you read my whole post, I did not write the letter and I did not attend the rally.

What I was trying to convey was that HD really does not care about its customers anymore. They say join the family but what a dysfunctional family it has become.

Hey, that's what this place is all about, people giving their opinions, suggestions and ideas.

I knew when I posted that I would get some of the comments I did but my main objective was getting it on the forum where we all know that HD employees read our postings. They have to, we take it upon ourselves to mod our bikes one way or the other, post it on here and the next season, HD comes out with the same modification from the factory.

carry on....

 

Baaaaa! When someone makes the statement that "If you have to ask, you dont understand". What Im hearing is that you buy into HD's carefully constructed mind control. HD is making you feel like you are special and that you belong in an exclusive club. People, its all marketing and all about profit. Nothing more.

Made in America? Honda made every single Shadow, VTX and Goldwing in Marysville OH from 1979 - 2010. 450 workers were moved to other manufacturing jobs when the plant shifted from motorcycle to auto production. Not one employee lost their job!

Back in the 80s when HD nearly went under Reagan granted import tariffs on foreign made MCs. Why did HD ask for and need tariffs? Because HD manufactured a poor quality product that couldnt compete with higher quality, lower priced foregin made MCs.

Made in America? According to the Federal Trade Commission, more than 51% of the parts on a HD are made overseas. Its more like "Assembled in America".

So Honda closes its Ohio MC plant, they dont need it anymore, HD will not be able to get import tariffs ever again. Under FTC rules HD is not an American manufacturer of MCs.

The South is fast becoming Americas manufacturing center. Cheap property, low taxes, low wages, low utilities, and big government incentives to relocate in the South make it pretty hard for large companies to look anywhere else.

Look around, every major auto manufacturing plant built in the past 20 years has been built in the South.

Harley won the last round with the Union, but the Union isnt going to give anymore. Harley will have to relocate and de-unionize to stay in business. I cant wait to see the outcome of that battle. Today union membership is a fraction of what it was 50 years ago.

The dot-com boom gave the middle class in America more money and more buying power than they have ever had in the past. Those days may not ever come around again in our lifetime.

HD sold alot of MCs. Economists give the credit to the MOCO for turning around the business and producing a quality product. Some of that is true. Most of the turnaround was marketing and an increase in the number of people with enough income to afford a HD.

With a large amount of used late model HDs on the market, its tough to sell a high priced new MC in a poor economy.

Today, the number of people who can afford a HD (or any MC for that matter) is much less. I dont see that number increasing significantly anytime soon.

Cutting production to increase scarity and an increase in price is the worst thing that HD can do in this economy.

Cutting cost, producing, and pricing MCs at a lower cost per unit is a far better long term solution.

I think HD is heading for bankruptcy. Sales will continue to decline, costs will continue to increase.

 

I doubt the future is quite that dark.

How many guys do you know who own big boats? Boats that cost more than Harleys? It's a bad economy, sure, and lots of people are hurting, and sales could logically be expected to have suffered big declines. But sales of big boats are still being made.

Plus, as outlined in this and other similar threads, lots of dealers over-extended and upgraded during 2003-2007, and that might now seem to have been such a good idea now.

But if there are any segments of our economy where life is going better than average, it is in the areas where people with lots of disposable income continue to spend.

Boat sales have slowed down, but plenty of people nationwide are doing quite well thanks very much, and expensive boats continue to be sold.

Harley will be around for quite awhile. It might have to adjust to lower sales numbers for a few years, or re-tool, relocate, etc., but there is a pretty good market for Harleys and there will be into the future so long as the MoCo continues to manufacture motorcycles that people want to ride.

There will always be a segment of the market that can afford $25K-$35K+ motorcycles, and I suspect that thats the market segment that the MoCo will aim for in the future. Its far more 'recession-proof'.

YMMV.

 

Very well said. The only thing I can add to your comment is that the Marysville Ohio Plant was an assembly plant. The parts still came from Japan. But still, no one lost their job and that's because Honda is a very well run company and has competitive pricing. Harley on the other hand, as you said, is heading for disaster. I unfortunately bought into the whole HD hype as a lot of people do. I have learned my lesson. If I had to do it all over again, I would still be riding my paid for 06 Yamaha Roadliner. Don't get me wrong, my 2010 EGC is a very nice bike, but I could have spent a whole lot less on something very comparable. Your post is right on the money

 

Family?? Fredo was family.