| Author | Message | ||
     Lemonchili_x1 |
An interesting look at Harley Davidson... http://wmoon.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/harleys-lost -generations-failure-to-reinvent-loses-the-after-b oomers/ | ||
| Vampress |
I particularly enjoyed this part... Otoh, it did have Buell—while it had the negative of being “half a Harley” with its engine, it had innovative and cutting edge technology and styling. It is a sport bike and it had the right kind of styling—and as reported before—it was growing even as Harley shipments were shrinking. So Harley’s best chance of capturing After Boomers has been “discontinued” in one of the most blundering, short-sighted and idiotic management decisions in USA corporation history.  | ||
| Sparky |
A couple of gems in that article:
That about sums it up nicely. We got letters to write. Thank you! | ||
| Mmmi_grad |
Excellent post, thanks! | ||
| M2nc |
I copied the same paragraph. "So Harley’s best chance of capturing After Boomers has been “discontinued” in one of the most blundering, short-sighted and idiotic management decisions in USA corporation history." This is exactly the way I would put it. | ||
| Oddball |
I'm an after boomer. I don't want  in near the same form endlessly. Take the heritage and build on it. Don't make it good for yesterday, make it good for today. Or heaven forbid, Tomorrow. Re-acquire the fire in the belly of youth. Give the hormone laden young'ins something to crave. Thinks of "Boom or Bust". They've lived off the nostalgia & excess of the Boomers,  Now they need to appeal to the passion and frugality of the Busters.  | ||
| Buell2001b |
great article, its nice to see reporters value the pride that BUel brough to American riders | ||
| Snake_oil |
I'm starting to think that if H-D goes bankrupt it will be a blessing for the consumer. May be Eric Buell could be the new CEO. | ||
| Mmmi_grad |
Snake oil its the most logical " cure " for hd that i can come up with. I used to think that someday the company would come back to its roots and really be something the people in our country AMERICA could really wrap around. I can admit I was wrong, when will hd admit they are wrong.....NEVER. | ||
| Rightpecial |
Coming from someone on the tail end of geration x; I agree with the article to an extent. For a lot of Boomers it was HD or bust simply because of successful marketing and this is common knowledge. Now this article seems to suggest that the "image" qualities are completely lost on successive generations and I don't agree with that completely. HD is still a status symbol to a lot of guys in my generation the problem is...so is Ducati, KTM, Triumph to an extent, and BMW. The problem for Harley is that every manufacturer above also markets bikes that are fast and can turn and will remind riders, as they get older, of the cheaper Japanese bikes they started of on years ago. The "pirate" image doesn't help Harley here at all and I find that most guys my age actively try to overlook it when lusting after a Harley...so it is a detractor rather than a positive aspect of the brand image. For myself, I made enough to buy a Harley at a relatively young age, certainly outside of their age demo in any case, and found that it simply was too heavy for my tastes. I bought a Buell and loved it. Someone in the same situation can no longer do that. I would also argue that most people don't even know about Buell, but with another decade of sales and development I have very little doubt that Buell would have been seen in the same light as Ducati by the market as a whole rather than simply a few informed riders. That will not happen now and, as the article suggest, Harley is missing out on a lot of money. And I'm not bashing current owners...this is just me...I won't own another HD until I can buy a new Buell again. This is not due to riders or even dealerships, but because I completely disagree with a corporate mentality whereby bikes are marketed with an extreme "Made in America" image while they simultaneously crush an American visionary, Eric Buell, take away American jobs even when they are doing well by recession standards, Troy, Wisconsin, and continue to sell outrageously expensive clothing that is all manufactured in China. | ||
| Kilroy |
+1 Kilroy | ||
| Moonrunrs |
Rightpecial, I TOTALLY agree with you. My age places me right in the middle of Gen X and few of my peers are into HD or cruisers at all for that matter. I like cruisers and bobbers but I'm the anomaly. Maybe I'll buy an HD in the future simply because there are SO many cheap ones out there and I'd like a cruiser to compliment my Buell. Most likely, I'll be picking up a Victory, though, if their dealer network expands. What HD did is another example of american industry dropping the ball. I'm patriotic and what HD did and is doing is totally un-American and idiotic. It's the same mentality that's brought GM and Chrysler to the edge of ruin. Also I despise their whole "lifestyle" marketing schtick where the slap their logo on everything from condoms to coffins. The merchandise section of the dealership is larger than the bike or service areas! Madness. Let's see an american motor company build a superior product at an affordable price, using that strategy to crush the competition. That's what made this country great. | ||
| Gohot |
One thing they sort of eluded to was that the Cruiser type bikes have fell out of vogue. For the last 10-12 years they (everybody) have been building these cruiser deluxe bikes, the nostalgia thing, and it sold well for some time, but I think the whole cruiser thing is past its prime, actually on its way out. Sport bikes seem to be where its at, or what they like to call nakeds. its the Oldsmobile thing verses the Vette or Camaro or Mustang thing, something that looks fast and actually is. All indications point to a tough time for HD in the next fiew years, and it is an actual possability that they may follow Buell to the grave. Times are changing so fast that who knows what we'll end up with soon....mabe green vehicles, limited gas/deisel burning vehicles, as fast as the world theater is changing, what can we depend on to be here in 5 years? | ||
| Mmmi_grad |
cruisers wont go out of style but hd the motor company and its ways will. the shield is cracked willie. | ||
| Richsm2 |
tell me what a harley has that any of the others dont ,besides the trade mark. | ||
| Slojon |
What H-D HAD was a machine which could go down the road, and when a mechanical event(breakage) happened, the rider could usually trouble shoot/fix. THAT WAS THEN..... this is NOW- UJM showed the WAY....H-D made a comeback with flag waving products that had some better reliability. BUT; time has been creeping slowly into the FUTURE....... It IS still a nice product. I have only a fleeting desire for the XR1200- My personal preference, as a converted SPORTSTER fan from TWINSPORTS Racing days....anyone else recall?? These are FABULOUS times in Motorsports. Interweb posers who can be TrackDay FAST.....go be REAL RACERS and find the meaning of the SPORT. Just my BIASED onYun. Tomorrow I shall have a GRAND RIDE on my mochine of the Day... lifa So fine, I am glad I have Mine | ||
| Conchop |
I keep going back to the 80's when HD was about to go to Honda. They had the guts to bring it back up and became an American power house. But then they went to China and then they closed Buell. No more guts-no more glory. This article summed things up nicely. If the management team had handled this issue correctly, Buell would be in the fast track at HD. They could have even changed the name. But noooo! HD management just committed Hari kari. I will be surprised if they can regain. I said it once - one year from now will be some real pain - 3 years from now, it will be critical - 5 years from now, Buell will be in charge or HD will be bankrupt. PS-I'm 54 on a Uly an an X dealer |
