Harley-Davidson closing Kansas plant

[infinite_ideation_imp]

Wow. It's hard to imagine HD making the long term transition from their current old school V-Twin vibe of today to the electric bikes of the future with anywhere near the amount of marketing-driven success that they've enjoyed so far. It seems really weird to even think about to be honest.

+ 1

PB
HD would never have a spot in my garage...if given for free, I would immediately trade it in for Honda or something else...
....prehistoric design, noisemakers...

pb

+ 1

PB
HD would never have a spot in my garage...if given for free, I would immediately trade it in for Honda or something else...
....prehistoric design, noisemakers...

pb
My "prehistoric noisemakers" has carried my wife and I for 112,000km completely trouble free.

Over the Rocky Mtns, across the Mojave Desert in the middle of July at 100mph all day long, Blue Ridge Parkway, Mt Washington, you get the picture.

Now it has a sidecar that carries my special needs daughter. That's a lot of extra weight and it never misses a beat.

I thought we were above this kind of slagging on this forum.

Perhaps I'm in the wrong place.

This post deserves a reply.

I never met a motorcycle I didn't like.

I"ve had three Harleys, enjoyed every mile.

There was thread about Cycle World going quarterly, Sport Rider failing, and so on.

H-D sees the future and is going to be way ahead of the game, because Millennials do not know, nor do they care, about things such as changing oil, adjusting valves, and all that. They just want to have fun.

It IS about LIFESTYLE now. H-D gets it.

When they get this electric thing rolling, they'll be selling the most classic American bikes on the planet along with the most advanced bikes on the planet.

That's just good business sense.

To W/R:

This post deserves a reply.

I never met a motorcycle I didn't like.

I"ve had three Harleys, enjoyed every mile.

There was thread about Cycle World going quarterly, Sport Rider failing, and so on.

H-D sees the future and is going to be way ahead of the game, because Millennials do not know, nor do they care, about things such as changing oil, adjusting valves, and all that. They just want to have fun.

It IS about LIFESTYLE now. H-D gets it.

When they get this electric thing rolling, they'll be selling the most classic American bikes on the planet along with the most advanced bikes on the planet.

That's just good business sense.

To W/R:
Personally I disagree that Harley gets it. I'm not attacking the people who ride their products, however I as a "millennial" don't mind the raw work characteristic that older people clamor about. Just about every conversation about young riders seems to stem from the notion that young riders only want fun and instant gratification, yet seem to forget that they were very much like that in their youth and it's a phase of life. However I'm not going to debate that, though back to Harley. Their marketing is very sub-par, and personifies a lifestyle characteristic of men attracting women with a cool factor. That's an image that I as well as many others felt should have died decades ago and it plays into a very negative connotation and stereotype against their brand that leads most people to believe all Harley riders are "that guy". Furthermore the brand is overpriced for their marketing demographic. You can't expect to target "millennials" with unrealistic expectations about their product AND make them unattainable at the same time. The icing on the cake is that a) the bikes are like boats, a hole you throw money into. They cost a lot to maintain and suffer lower production quality than competitors that are cheaper. b) the aesthetic of the brand appeals primarily to older riders - not a bad thing but plays back into the marketing. You can't expect to deliver a message to a group of potential buyers and not have a product thats both affordable and appealing.

Harley is investing a lot into the electric bike, but it's (imo) too late. Other brands have been doing it better and longer, and once the tech is mature others will follow suit. Harley's product will be expensive, Kawasaki/Honda/Yamaha, etc. will produce a subjectively better alternative and produce it cheaper. I personally don't want HD as a brand to die, but their marketing, style, price, quality and arrogance need to change before I'd ever consider their products. If you even compare HD to Indian, Indian is outperforming HD and offers fun retro bikes with better lineups and build quality. There's a lot that needs to improve, and this era for HD is most likely the make it or break it moment for them.