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The Analyists are Wrong About Why Miienials Don't Buy Harleys

Reli said:
Young people don't want to look like old people. And I'm guessing Harley probably has the oldest average age of any motorcycle brand. Put 2 and 2 together and....
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There's a whole universe beyond BARF and I have to say there are a lot of sub-40 y/o riders out there who have fully embraced "the lifestyle". Go to an HD shop and you may notice a lot more people under 40 than over. Pendleton, engineer boots, rolled up jeans, brain bucket, farkled-to-fuck bike, simulated genuine patented HD scowl. :twofinger

Not everyone wants a fart-proof suit and hi-viz nerd bike. :party
 
doc4216 said:
I would say, with hesitation, absolutely. I know more people now that don't want to be bothered with anyone else rather than have a conversation. Just look around the next time you are in a restaurant or public transportation, especially airports, no one talks to each other.
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TRYING not to ruffle feathers out there; it's the way of all the new to the US folks teach their children. "Be safe, look out for #1, nobody else. Family is #1, no one else matters. Everyone is out to get you so CYA. Don't let the other guy go 1st because you have to take your turn or you might loose it." Ect., ad nauseam.

Just makes me sick as I'm sure it does to you old timers, who have been around forever. We were taught differently: Be polite, let ladies go 1st, open a door for ladies, let a gal w/a baby go ahead of you, etc. x a million. You KNOW what I mean...

Old American values are quickly going away. Younger folks are just taught differently. Even MY kids are doing it now. No "excuse-me" when walking thru a tight space, no "pardon me" when walking w/a heavy box, they just BARDGE right by. Same goes w/their driving...

You all know what I speakith of..... I'm glad I won't be around to see where this goes. I pray for you young folks out there that will see...:cry

ok, sorry for the threadjack...off soapbox.
 
Phanuel said:
Count me as part of the 13% then.
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I used to enjoy sitting smugly in the scent of my flatulence, but after getting the BMW the constant edging between shitting myself when twisting the throttle necessitated a move to perforated leathers. Now I just crop dust:twofinger
 
aminalmutha said:
Most millenials I know don't care about anything except masturbating in front of the computer. I mean, that's great for some of the time, but you gotta come up for air occasionally.
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You know some pretty boring ones. The ones I know are roughly the same as when I was growing up. We largely just waste time differently.

I know some millenial riders too and they are only interested in dual sports/sumos, sport bikes, and standards. Not a harley to be seen among them, as they all view them as boring slow old man bikes.
 
jwb said:
This is a bit misleading because market share is dollar weighted. Honda sells on-road motorcycles that cost $5k and H-D starts north of $20k.
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Sorry, no. That's unit sales. Harley Davidson is selling more new on road motorcycles to millenials than any other manufacturer. H-D is also outperforming everyone else selling to women, Hispanics and African Americans.

This isn't a coincidence, H-D looked at their sales demographics and started executing on marketing outreach programs over a decade ago.

I personally am not into cruiser style bikes but H-D is the best run manufactuer and the best marketing company in the motorcycle industry, by a mile.
 
Sorry, no. That's unit sales. Harley Davidson is selling more new on road motorcycles to millenials than any other manufacturer. H-D is also outperforming everyone else selling to women, Hispanics and African Americans.
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OK but is their share growing, dropping, or staying the same?

A simple graph showing unit share by year would have ended this argument long ago.
 
TTTom said:
Sorry, no. That's unit sales. Harley Davidson is selling more new on road motorcycles to millenials than any other manufacturer. H-D is also outperforming everyone else selling to women, Hispanics and African Americans.

This isn't a coincidence, H-D looked at their sales demographics and started executing on marketing outreach programs over a decade ago.

I personally am not into cruiser style bikes but H-D is the best run manufactuer and the best marketing company in the motorcycle industry, by a mile.
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This is very true.

One of the absolute best things H-D does goes beyond the usual demo truck with a small fleet of bikes. A lot of other brands do that at the shows or local dealers. But Harley actually has a rig setup with a real bike on it that doesn't go anywhere. Just strapped down upright on a roller. Anyone, I and mean anyone can feel what it's like to ride their bike. Sort of. No wind in your face. But you feel and hear the engine do its thing. With H-D people right there showing you how easy it is to work the clutch and shifters. And they also have some program that teaches the basics to new riders (similar to MSF perhaps). Nobody else does that. You can walk into any dealer and test ride just about any bike on the floor. Not many other brands do that.

These are very powerful marketing tools. Whether you're talking about a pair of headphones, a car, or a smartphone...nothing sells the product better than actually just putting it in the customer's hands.
 
I guess I'm one of the few "millennials" in this thread. AMA I guess?

Personally, I don't plan to buy new bikes. Maybe other millennials share my sentiment? The value on the used market is substantial.

HD as a brand and manufacturer has never appealed to me since it does have the stigma of "old, fat bearded, old-tech, and expensive". That, and I'm not a huge fan of chrome.
 
How can the XR1200 only put out 67 horse power? When a z900 puts out well over 100? That's why Harley's are trash.
 
Dubermun said:
How can the XR1200 only put out 67 horse power? When a z900 puts out well over 100? That's why Harley's are trash.
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Paging Fish to the Hardley phone...

Fish would probably say that the XR1200 is tuned for torque...as you can see below it makes 70ft-lb of torque by 3000rpm...

dynoaleksey.jpg
 
Dubermun said:
How can the XR1200 only put out 67 horse power? When a z900 puts out well over 100? That's why Harley's are trash.
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Learn what torque is and then you can have a seat at the grown up table and talk.
 
Dubermun said:
How can the XR1200 only put out 67 horse power? When a z900 puts out well over 100? That's why Harley's are trash.
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Your numbers are a bit dated. The big difference is water. It's simple. Heat destroys the ability to make h.p.. The Sportster is air cool. The Z900 is water cooled. There are other reasons, but that is the biggest issue for pure h.p. on these mass produced bikes. And on any internal combustion engine.

EDIT: And just to make TheRob happy, Horsepower is just a number derived from torque. Here is the simple formula: (RPM * Torque)/5252 = Horsepower. Works wet or dry! :)
 
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TheRobSJ said:
Learn what torque is and then you can have a seat at the grown up table and talk.
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Also, it's a slippery slope... if HP is king, why isn't everyone riding ZX10R's, Busas, etc.? Moto mfg's would make nothing but 200+hp bikes if that was the most important factor of riding.
 
aminalmutha said:
Also, it's a slippery slope... if HP is king, why isn't everyone riding ZX10R's, Busas, etc.? Moto mfg's would make nothing but 200+hp bikes if that was the most important factor of riding.
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HP IS KING

it's just a matter of when you would like it delivered :)

i prefer the power to come on just as the bike is finishing the corner, enabling me to go WFO sooner and delivering max HP as the bike is back to vertical

if you ride stoplight to stoplight, you want the hp right from idle, hence the harley curve
 
Smash Allen said:
HP IS KING....
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It's torque that is king. Horsepower is queen and does not exist without torque.

One of my favorite examples of the King is when Panoz was kicking Porsche, Ferrari, etc, asses with their American V8. It was a gas to listen to it rumble by at 4800 rpm ahead of the screaming Euro trash. :laughing

I rarely use the BMW h.p. on the street. It doesn't even start until about 7k. It is best between 10 to 12 k. But that seems rather "racy" for normal street riding, don't you think, since you have one?
 
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