Good article on CNN Money about Harley-Davidson

Good article on CNN about the rise and fall, and rebirth, and now fall again of the Harley Davidson company:

Article here...

It looks like the brand we all love to hate is going to need to be creative going forward, as they are facing a new crisis.

Not very surprising. If the price came down a little I might think about it.

The comments are priceless :laugh:

Good news there is MV Agusta is owned by the original owner again.... That's really good to hear

larrycavan wrote:

Good news there is MV Agusta is owned by the original owner again.... That's really good to hear

Yes, otherwise those bastards would write-off another marque :laugh:

I saw on yahoo the other day that they were be dropped by their Ad Agency. They were dropped because they were only spending, 11 million a year on advertising.

11 million????...I'm sure there is another company waiting in line, to get that 11 mill.

Hey, why waste time on the small guys? Most companies would eat dirt, for those big bucks.

I was surprised HD dropped Buell. Buell represented their only models focused on the sportbike audience - and even then there wasn't anything aimed squarely at the youngest generation of riders.

There's such a glut of used HD's on the market at the moment, I can't see how HD can sell many new units. When I look at the local craigslist, it seems like every other bike is a HD. Some of them being offered very cheap.

There's nothing compellingly new from HD, and there hasn't been since the v-rod was launched 10 years ago.

$11 million for advertizing isn't a surprise. Many companies spend up to 10% of their revenues in advertising.

Kawickrice wrote:

If the price came down a little I might think about it.

:

i think he hit the nail on the head here.

I went to see the Fat-bob at the local HD dealer early this summer and I liked it, but it was $15k. The simpler street bob was $11k about the same as the meteric cruisers. I liked them and the sales folks were outstanding. But yea I can find a two to three year old big twins for $8k even a few fat boys (I like em) under $10k on Craigslist now.
While they are great looking machines… They didn’t feel right to me. The air cleaner sticks out against your leg. The left side of the bike sticks out more than the right. And I don’t like the way-forward foot pegs or floor boards. And the passenger pegs are on the SWING ARM. Cant be fun for my GF. On the other hand she pointed one out the other day at the fair that was on display. "I like that one. You like those kind of bikes?" I dont know that model it was. Looked like a fat-boy with wire wheels and white walls. i liked but not the $18k price tag.

Hmmmm--

The economy is good, sales are high. Acquire an Italian bike manufacturer to gain entry into another market segment. Soon the economy stumbles, sales drop, Italian buddies dumped.
Somehow this seems familiar. Have the folks at HD killed all their memory cells???

:blink:

Jeff.Saunders wrote:

I was surprised HD dropped Buell. Buell represented their only models focused on the sportbike audience - and even then there wasn't anything aimed squarely at the youngest generation of riders.

There's such a glut of used HD's on the market at the moment, I can't see how HD can sell many new units. When I look at the local craigslist, it seems like every other bike is a HD. Some of them being offered very cheap.

There's nothing compellingly new from HD, and there hasn't been since the v-rod was launched 10 years ago.

+1,000,000

Buells are pretty awesome looking bikes, there latest models being the nicest, but I would have no problem owning one....and hope to add one to my stable someday.

You're right about Craigs, I was even thinking they should have a seperate Harley section. lol I've seen some decent deals for about $7k, but you see more of those people who think those bikes are worth a fortune.

I'd definately like to own a HD again....something a little newer than my old shovel...or something way older than it.

I wonder what would happen if HD decided to compete with the Japanese market as far as pricing goes? There would be a TON of P.O.'d Harley riders for sure. But that would kill the Japanese cruiser market in the states with all the "Buy American" stuff going on.

Times change, and HD has not kept up.

Look at the British motorcycle industry. They thought they could keep producing the same old tired designs for year after year. HD is making some of the same mistakes. Nostalgia helps keep a brand afloat, but sooner or later the next generation of consumers come alone who don't care about the nostalgia factor. I think that's the case with the current crop of teenagers and twenty year olds.

On the bright side for Harley, if the bike business fails, they are more than capable of making money on t-shirts, leather vests and bandanas... now if only they could license all those tattoos...