Why America's Favorite Motorcycle Company Is In a Serious Slide
As pointed out in the linked article, Harley Davidson, while it remains a large and profitable company, is in a death spiral. It's main customers are getting too old to buy its expensive new bikes (the most profitable models), and its relatively cheap smaller bikes do not compare favorably with what is available from other makes.
As I look over their product offerings on the company Website, they look to me like variations on the same theme. There are no adventure bikes, no dirt bikes, no sport bikes. In fact, with the death of the V-Rod, they don't sell anything I would have any interest in owning. And I'm a Boomer.
There used to be a lot of quality problems with H-D, but I believe that situation no longer prevails. Apparently, Gen-X and younger buyers (assuming there are enough of them to sustain the market), simply have no interest in investing large sums of money in a depreciating hulk whose main selling point is the noise it makes. They also seem to fight being part of a "herd mentality," and even if they do like the concept of a "cruiser" they are willing to look at Yamaha ("Star"), Kawasaki, Indian, and other cruisers, and not just H-D.
If they were willing to spend a chunk of their development capital on a new style of bike (for them), what should they build? A sport-touring bike? An Adventure Bike? A Sport Bike? An electric bike?
Parenthetically I will add that in my geographical area (Western Pennsylvania), Harley is still the King. The vast majority of bikes one sees out and about are Harley's, most bike shops are nearly-exclusive with Harley's, and most of the motorcycle community either owns or aspires to own a Harley.
My current ride is a Kawasaki Vaquero, which I believe is equivalent to a Road Glide.
As pointed out in the linked article, Harley Davidson, while it remains a large and profitable company, is in a death spiral. It's main customers are getting too old to buy its expensive new bikes (the most profitable models), and its relatively cheap smaller bikes do not compare favorably with what is available from other makes.
As I look over their product offerings on the company Website, they look to me like variations on the same theme. There are no adventure bikes, no dirt bikes, no sport bikes. In fact, with the death of the V-Rod, they don't sell anything I would have any interest in owning. And I'm a Boomer.
There used to be a lot of quality problems with H-D, but I believe that situation no longer prevails. Apparently, Gen-X and younger buyers (assuming there are enough of them to sustain the market), simply have no interest in investing large sums of money in a depreciating hulk whose main selling point is the noise it makes. They also seem to fight being part of a "herd mentality," and even if they do like the concept of a "cruiser" they are willing to look at Yamaha ("Star"), Kawasaki, Indian, and other cruisers, and not just H-D.
If they were willing to spend a chunk of their development capital on a new style of bike (for them), what should they build? A sport-touring bike? An Adventure Bike? A Sport Bike? An electric bike?
Parenthetically I will add that in my geographical area (Western Pennsylvania), Harley is still the King. The vast majority of bikes one sees out and about are Harley's, most bike shops are nearly-exclusive with Harley's, and most of the motorcycle community either owns or aspires to own a Harley.
My current ride is a Kawasaki Vaquero, which I believe is equivalent to a Road Glide.
