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Harley-Davidson Tries to Rejuvenate Motorcycle Sales

rsrider said:
+1 I looked at the XR1200 (when they were in the secondary market), and everything about it looked HEAVY (completely opposite of the scrambler or cafe ethos). They had parts on there that could have been made smaller or with different materials that could have shaved multiple pounds. I don't think they did anything to the engine internals, just slapped their screaming eagle kit on it. A wallowing pig of a bike, (because it was still a Sportster at it's core), that did look nice. Harley fit and finish is awesome. But that's not enough...........
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There was actually a race series for the XR1200. With the Vance & Hines race parts installed it was way better than any Sportster.

But I have to agree that it was at least 100 pounds too heavy.
 
aminalmutha said:
LoLz. Because Buell and MV sales are so huge. :laughing
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They were what they made them. The Harley dealer sales channel didn't work well for Buell. And the quality issues didn't help. It was still viable when killed but wasn't well handled when it was alive.

They must have had plans to do something with MV, but apparently they changed their mind.
 
davidji said:
They were what they made them. The Harley dealer sales channel didn't work for Buell. And the quality issues didn't help. It was still viable when killed but wasn't well handled when it was alive.

They must have had plans to do something with MV, but apparently they changed their mind.
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They had plans for MV and then the economy took a giant shit. Seeing as HD sells street bikes and not cars, generators, weed wackers, ships, tractors, aircraft, boats, quads, etc, etc. that many other motorcycle mfgs do, they had to cut their losses. It was bad timing, had to cut their losses.

Buell always sold in very small numbers relative to the rest of their lines. Why have bikes take up space that don't sell? They were cool bikes, just too niche.
 
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Smash Allen said:
By increasing their marketing budget by 65%. i wish they would increase their direct materials budget instead :sadface
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You believe their issues would be solved by spending more on higher priced materials? Which ones in particular? What buyers will that attract who don't buy Harleys today?

Jalopyshoppe said:
Harley seems to be in a similar position as Porsche is with the 911. If you quit making an awful platform and offer a modern vehicle, your fan base will shun you.
It's a tough market. No one buys a Harley to leave it stock, so they sell awful bikes with a giant catalog of shit to personalize it.
Polaris makes an outstanding product out of the box, but the market they want doesn't care how good it is, but how much shit they can change easily.
Good on HD to see the trend. I don't have much faith that they'll address it successfully.
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This seems closer to the truth. HD buyers have repeatedly shown a preference for bikes that look a certain way (e.g., staggered shorty duals, small, side mounted air cleaners, etc.), sound a certain way, and ride a certain way. When HD has deviated from that - think V Rod - the traditionalists have stayed away in droves. Sadly, when bikes are made to fit the mold, and made to comply with the law, they don't have much power. To get the image, folks spend a lot of money in the aftermarket in order to get the bike to be loud, and to go. HD has captured a big piece of the aftermarket, giving them further mixed incentives around making the bikes right from the factory.

As much HD hate as there is teh BARF, they still have over 50% of the heavyweight market. They still sell more bikes to women than anyone else. Some of the hard times described in the article reflect problems for the US motorcycle market in general, not just HD. The decline in the baby boom generation has not been adequately replaced by younger riders across the board. It's a problem for all motorcyclists, not just a problem for Harley.
 
Smash Allen said:
This is all true. 80% of riders (at one dealership iirc) trading in for Victory had HD. Too bad HD doesn't break out sales by model, we could see how their Street is doing in sales, and more specifically, young / new rider sales
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I work at a Harley dealership.

We've actually sold a decent amount of Streets. It is mostly younger/new/women riders that are buying them. Almost all of them that come in for service have at least been dropped. I personally do not like them at all and you can tell Harley cheaped out on a lot of stuff on them.

mrzuzzo said:
Doesn't Harley manufacture 500 and 750cc bikes for beginners?
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Yes, The Street 500 and 750.
 
flying_hun said:
As much HD hate as there is teh BARF, they still have over 50% of the heavyweight market. They still sell more bikes to women than anyone else. Some of the hard times described in the article reflect problems for the US motorcycle market in general, not just HD. The decline in the baby boom generation has not been adequately replaced by younger riders across the board. It's a problem for all motorcyclists, not just a problem for Harley.
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Bingo. What's good for HD is good for the industry in general (for the most part). Wishing them ill or gone is plain stupid.
 
flying_hun said:
You believe their issues would be solved by spending more on higher priced materials? Which ones in particular? What buyers will that attract who don't buy Harleys today?
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I believe that they will reach more younger / newer riders by changing their product offering rather than changing how they display their product offering.

Strigoi said:
I work at a Harley dealership.

We've actually sold a decent amount of Streets. It is mostly younger/new/women riders that are buying them. Almost all of them that come in for service have at least been dropped. I personally do not like them at all and you can tell Harley cheaped out on a lot of stuff on them.
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This is my point. Their entry level bikes should be a loss leader. High quality to impress new buyers. They will buy bigger models later on which HD can make profit from.
 
Smash Allen said:
This is my point. Their entry level bikes should be a loss leader. High quality to impress new buyers. They will buy bigger models later on which HD can make profit from.
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For a couple thousand more someone could get on a Sportster which is a much nicer bike. They're not that much bigger or heavier either.
 
Strigoi said:
For a couple thousand more someone could get on a Sportster which is a much nicer bike. They're not that much bigger or heavier either.
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One thing I've always found odd about the Sporty is how heavy it feels when you lift it off the side stand. :confused
 
flying_hun said:
One thing I've always found odd about the Sporty is how heavy it feels when you lift it off the side stand. :confused
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This is a big deal, especially to new riders.

When my prettier half completed MSF and was shopping she tried a couple of Sportsters (she really wanted a cruiser). The Sporty just felt to heavy and awkward to her.

Metric cruisers were all lacking in some regard, either underpowered or also too much weight.

She ended up with a GS500F, pretty much the last moto I would have expected her to choose, and she's still happy with it.
 
Strigoi said:
I personally do not like them at all and you can tell Harley cheaped out on a lot of stuff on them.
.
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Yah think? The wiring is atrocious!

Street-750_11.jpg
 
UDRider said:
So what they are trying to sell more bandannas and leather jackets?
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You drank some Haterade? :laughing

In 2013, the company made just under $59 million licensing its trademarks for T-shirts, key chains, dog collars and the like. That's not chump change, but it's a drop compared to the company's $5.9 billion in total revenues.
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aminalmutha said:
Buell always sold in very small numbers relative to the rest of their lines. Why have bikes take up space that don't sell? They were cool bikes, just too niche.
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Yeah, my point was they didn't sell well because Harley didn't handle them well. If they want this sort of thing to work they need to execute better.

Actually I think with the Streets they're doing a better job selling an arguably inferior (to the later Buells) bike.
 
flying_hun said:
One thing I've always found odd about the Sporty is how heavy it feels when you lift it off the side stand. :confused
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:laughing It IS heavy. The 883 Sporty is like 575 lbs wet, that's a lot for such a small bike.

Personally if I was to buy a cheap HD, I'd take the 883 over either of the Street models. It may be slower and heavier but the build quality is there and looks like a real Harley.
 
Big Problem... Harley doesn't know how to do what needs to be done.

Their sales folk don't know squat about Sport bikes, and can't talk features.
 
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