Bc I can have a stable of different bikes built for different purposes for the cost of a single Harley that does nothing well. Also a low entry cost let me do dumb builds for the memes.
t. Ran when I parked it 500$ as is bring a trailer 70s-80s ujm enjoyer
HD is an identity company, not a motorcycle company. But the demographic that was susceptible to their identity was also susceptible to Fox News propaganda, which put them into "Trucks of Peace" instead.
You can't run through crowds of black people in a motorcycle.
It will always be funny to me how Honda managed to accidentally mindbreak Harley.
"You meet the nicest people on a Honda" sent Harley Davidson and its fans into a spiral of mental illness they never recovered from, and now Harley has just become a LARP brand where the only people who buy them are boomers who want people to think they're badasses.
Motorcycles used to be the poor man's way to commute. Insurance and regulations have stopped that, so now only wealthy old men buy them to relive their youths.
Most boomers have trouble riding a motorcycle in their advanced age. The sad fact is that harley-davidson has only a few years left to locate the fountain of youth before their company ceases to exist.
From my uneducated perspective, they were a victim of their own marketing success and are now struggling to reimage themselves or otherwise keep up with the times because of it >decide competing with imports is too much money and effort >form their own niche as a lifestyle brand, catering to people wanting to LARP as The Wild One >this image gets entrenched even deeper into the brand due to its success, as well as all the non-LARPers deciding that they'd rather meet the nicest people on a Honda instead >coast along like this for years >increasingly few younger people are attracted to the brand image, and the LARPers are increasingly getting too old to ride >too overpriced to hold onto their image of blue-collar americana (especially as cars became more affordable) >attempts to modernize designs and attract new customers get snubbed as "not a REAL harley" by existing consumerbase, because the engine's not unstable enough to stimulate their prostate anymore
People only buy Harleys because of the image they put out, and the only ones who care about that image are boomers. Every single other company completely BTFOs them at half the price, Harley is the ultimate boomer company.
Even if you want a cruiser they're extremely overpriced. Going period don't have any disposable income so they buy cheaper options. The used market for HD are huge too, any time I open a MC sales platform is like 80% HD bikes that people are trying to sell for >$25k used. I would have seriously considered the Bronx before it was axed if it was pierced right. It wouldn't have, it would have probablybeen 3x the price of the competitors. It was too cool for HD to make I guess. Not frumpy enough I guess.
The simple answer is the bikes cost too much money. That's literally it. It's not that Millennials and Zoomers don't want them, we very much do. But we have less and less disposable income these days, and the cheapest bike they sell is $11,000 dollars. Parry that you fricking casual lol. Or, go by a ninja 400 or a rebel 300 or tw200 or klx230 or whatever for under 5 grand instead.
If Harley could make a bike with a 650 twin, a wet weight under 500 lb, and sell it for less than $6,000, they would sell a shit ton of them. But they won't. And they will die as a result. It honestly does make me sad as a burger.
Harleys are the bike equivalent of pony cars. They don't fit or really work on Euro roads, so they get extra hate. Neither are really for tight tracks but excel at long distance cruising. I wouldn't want it as my only bike, but they are kind of perfect as a third bike.
Is it slow? Sort of but not really. It's all torque, so it races to 100 but you run out of engine and gears around 115. I cruise around at 85 so the limited top speed isn't an issue.
As to the price, have any of you priced a Metric cruiser? Harleys aren't that much more expensive (really just depends, some are cheaper) when you compare equal sized engines. R18, M109R, Vulcan 1700, Indians, etc., all cost 15-20k USD. Same price range as Softails. If you just hate cruisers, fine say that, but by bashing HD as the example of cruisers is saying they are the quintessential cruiser.
Most HD riders are tools (but most boomers are regardless of bike brand), and the company is nearing HK levels of 'frick you' but most of these posts stink of poor/typical American hate. Only Moto Guzzi builds with as much attention to detail. Slow bike but built really nice.
millennials / zoomers all saw the south park joke
the brand dies with boomers
they only built uncompetitive turds for half a century
But they still do. Booomers still gobble them up and you even see a lot of sub 40 year olds buying them.
Gay, expensive and slow
Have you ever seen one idling? Looks like its going to shake itself apart.
That's part of their charm
Overpriced for what they are, and some of the riders are an unpleasant group to deal with.
I hear a lot of them around me. Maybe they don't break often enough or something.
$30k for a bike mechanically identical to one from 1947
But not really
You must not know about bikes
We're talking abouy Harley, not Ural
Bc I can have a stable of different bikes built for different purposes for the cost of a single Harley that does nothing well. Also a low entry cost let me do dumb builds for the memes.
t. Ran when I parked it 500$ as is bring a trailer 70s-80s ujm enjoyer
HD is an identity company, not a motorcycle company. But the demographic that was susceptible to their identity was also susceptible to Fox News propaganda, which put them into "Trucks of Peace" instead.
You can't run through crowds of black people in a motorcycle.
It will always be funny to me how Honda managed to accidentally mindbreak Harley.
"You meet the nicest people on a Honda" sent Harley Davidson and its fans into a spiral of mental illness they never recovered from, and now Harley has just become a LARP brand where the only people who buy them are boomers who want people to think they're badasses.
Motorcycles used to be the poor man's way to commute. Insurance and regulations have stopped that, so now only wealthy old men buy them to relive their youths.
When I was in highschool, a buddy of mine had a CBR300 and only paid $200 a year in insurance. He paid like $2k for the bike used
hecho en mexico
Most boomers have trouble riding a motorcycle in their advanced age. The sad fact is that harley-davidson has only a few years left to locate the fountain of youth before their company ceases to exist.
> why people don't do X
> everyday see people doing X
OP WHY ARE YOU moronic?
From my uneducated perspective, they were a victim of their own marketing success and are now struggling to reimage themselves or otherwise keep up with the times because of it
>decide competing with imports is too much money and effort
>form their own niche as a lifestyle brand, catering to people wanting to LARP as The Wild One
>this image gets entrenched even deeper into the brand due to its success, as well as all the non-LARPers deciding that they'd rather meet the nicest people on a Honda instead
>coast along like this for years
>increasingly few younger people are attracted to the brand image, and the LARPers are increasingly getting too old to ride
>too overpriced to hold onto their image of blue-collar americana (especially as cars became more affordable)
>attempts to modernize designs and attract new customers get snubbed as "not a REAL harley" by existing consumerbase, because the engine's not unstable enough to stimulate their prostate anymore
Inferior to their metric competition and at double the price or more for the privilege. Why the frick -would- anyone buy them anymore?
People only buy Harleys because of the image they put out, and the only ones who care about that image are boomers. Every single other company completely BTFOs them at half the price, Harley is the ultimate boomer company.
Even if you want a cruiser they're extremely overpriced. Going period don't have any disposable income so they buy cheaper options. The used market for HD are huge too, any time I open a MC sales platform is like 80% HD bikes that people are trying to sell for >$25k used. I would have seriously considered the Bronx before it was axed if it was pierced right. It wouldn't have, it would have probablybeen 3x the price of the competitors. It was too cool for HD to make I guess. Not frumpy enough I guess.
new color scheme, r8 or h8
not bad
The simple answer is the bikes cost too much money. That's literally it. It's not that Millennials and Zoomers don't want them, we very much do. But we have less and less disposable income these days, and the cheapest bike they sell is $11,000 dollars. Parry that you fricking casual lol. Or, go by a ninja 400 or a rebel 300 or tw200 or klx230 or whatever for under 5 grand instead.
If Harley could make a bike with a 650 twin, a wet weight under 500 lb, and sell it for less than $6,000, they would sell a shit ton of them. But they won't. And they will die as a result. It honestly does make me sad as a burger.
Harleys are the bike equivalent of pony cars. They don't fit or really work on Euro roads, so they get extra hate. Neither are really for tight tracks but excel at long distance cruising. I wouldn't want it as my only bike, but they are kind of perfect as a third bike.
Is it slow? Sort of but not really. It's all torque, so it races to 100 but you run out of engine and gears around 115. I cruise around at 85 so the limited top speed isn't an issue.
As to the price, have any of you priced a Metric cruiser? Harleys aren't that much more expensive (really just depends, some are cheaper) when you compare equal sized engines. R18, M109R, Vulcan 1700, Indians, etc., all cost 15-20k USD. Same price range as Softails. If you just hate cruisers, fine say that, but by bashing HD as the example of cruisers is saying they are the quintessential cruiser.
Most HD riders are tools (but most boomers are regardless of bike brand), and the company is nearing HK levels of 'frick you' but most of these posts stink of poor/typical American hate. Only Moto Guzzi builds with as much attention to detail. Slow bike but built really nice.