Cruizin Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Link https://jalopnik.com/harley-davidson-is-sad-and-getting-sadder-1822557878 Quote "Harley made $8.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared with $47.18 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The company has been in decline for years now, as sales have sagged because consumers are worried about things like safety. In addition, baby boomers, who bought a very large amount of motorcycles back in the day and remain a big part of Harley’s demographic, are also getting older." MAybe AMF can buy them again? Yamaha FZ-10 Forum Yamaha FZ-07 Forum Yamaha Ténéré 700 Forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Link https://jalopnik.com/harley-davidson-is-sad-and-getting-sadder-1822557878 Quote "Harley made $8.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared with $47.18 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The company has been in decline for years now, as sales have sagged because consumers are worried about things like safety. In addition, baby boomers, who bought a very large amount of motorcycles back in the day and remain a big part of Harley’s demographic, are also getting older." MAybe AMF can buy them again? Here's a thought; Triumph Motorcycles is apparently not doing too well. Maybe HD should buy that company, which would take it into an entirely new customer demographic, a much broader product range, and a(nother) well-accepted heritage brand. I have for a very long time wondered why HD hasn't attempted to broaden its appeal away from a near-total concentration on heavy-duty old-fashioned cruisers - acquisition of Triumph would fix that at one fell swoop. Please send marketing consultancy fee in a plain brown envelope... Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koth442 Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Please send marketing consultancy fee in a plain brown envelope...Oh no! Triumph is a great brand. Don't let HD ruin them. However, I do agree they need to broaden their appeal. They have too narrow focus. Buell was a disaster, and I don't think it was Eric Buell's fault. If Buell had been allowed to produce I4's to compete with the Japanese bikes, the motorcycling market would be a different place. '15 FJ09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trokarr Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 From what I have read, they are closing the Kansas City factory in part because that is where they made the Dyna line, which is now extinct. I agree with some of the above comments that they need to change their marketing strategy to be competitive. I recently went to a HD dealership to check out the new Sport Glide, which was recently unveiled. I thought that it might be an updated version of my old Dyna T-Sport (FXDXT), which I loved. Here is a picture of the new 2018 Sport Glide): For comparison, here is the old Dyna T-Sport: A couple of points to note on the new model: 1) Single rotor front brake on a sport bike? Apparently, this was done to show off the new Mantis wheels specific for this bike. 2) Front controls on a sport bike? 3) The front suspension is not adjustable on the new model, whereas the old Dyna T-Sport was fully adjustable for compression, rebound and dampening. 4) The mini-batwing on the front has like a 2" high windshield (lol); the Dyna's was adjustable for height. 5) The new model is ~$24K (Cdn) before taxes, setup, PDI etc. 6) It comes with ABS and cruise control standard, which the old Dyna T-Sport did not. Needless to say, it is not enough to entice me away from my FJ-09. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norcal616 Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 To me Harley Davidson is not a motorcycle...for as long as I can recall, I cannot understand why Harley never followed its mission statement to be at the forefront of innovation... I cannot even find 3 things I like about a Harley to convince me enough to own one... Harley just paid $12million USD in civil penalties, buy back all "tuners" in stock and destroy em all(so they cannot be "dumped/sold in another market"), re-cert all sold bikes with tuner, obtain all new emissions certs and the cost with building up new inventory of "tuners" 2012 wr250f - C-class 30+ age group 2015 fz-07- Hordpower Edition-80whp 2015 fj-09- Graves Exhaust w/Woolich tune by 2WDW @120whp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruizin Posted February 1, 2018 Author Share Posted February 1, 2018 Harley phucked up when they listened to their old time buyers who resisted change and innovation. Now, they are going hard after electric bikes, but the range on electric bikes is still way too short. Yamaha FZ-10 Forum Yamaha FZ-07 Forum Yamaha Ténéré 700 Forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted February 1, 2018 Supporting Member Share Posted February 1, 2018 Harley phucked up when they listened to their old time buyers who resisted change and innovation. Now, they are going hard after electric bikes, but the range on electric bikes is still way too short. The Harley electric scoot just has to make it to the local tavern, range shouldn't be an issue. ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member wessie Posted February 4, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted February 4, 2018 Here's a thought; Triumph Motorcycles is apparently not doing too well.I think you need a more recent news feed http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-news-industry/triumph-bucks-downward-market-trend-surging-sales-and-profits This signature is left blank as the poster writes enough pretentious bollocks as it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 News takes some time to filter all the way Down Here, so my comment was obviously based on old news. Maybe I should have proposed that Triumph should take over H-D! BTW - the link said the page was not available, so I cannot comment on specifics, but thank you. Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kernowjim Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 News takes some time to filter all the way Down Here, so my comment was obviously based on old news. Maybe I should have proposed that Triumph should take over H-D! BTW - the link said the page was not available, so I cannot comment on specifics, but thank you.I wouldn't buy a Triumph now, they're all made in Thailand. I know that's the modern way etc etc but if I see the Union Jack on branding I assume I'm buying British but I'm not, it's the cheap end of the far east....and all for a premium price too. At least he FJ-09/MT-09 is made in Japan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member keithu Posted February 4, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted February 4, 2018 I wouldn't buy a Triumph now, they're all made in Thailand. A couple of comments: No, they're not. Some Triumphs are still made in Hinckley: Speed Triple, Daytona, Rocket III, and a few others. Second, so what? A lot of bikes are made in Thailand now. Some Hondas, all Ducati Scramblers, and soon some Harleys. Yamaha makes R3s and others in Indonesia. Triumph's Thailand factories are unionized, their workers are paid well. We are in a globalized economy where a Ram 2500 pickup is by all definitions an import and the most American car in the US is a Toyota. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koth442 Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 the most American car in the US is a Toyota.Yup! '15 FJ09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 I wouldn't buy a Triumph now, they're all made in Thailand.A couple of comments: No, they're not. Some Triumphs are still made in Hinckley: Speed Triple, Daytona, Rocket III, and a few others. Second, so what? A lot of bikes are made in Thailand now. Some Hondas, all Ducati Scramblers, and soon some Harleys. Yamaha makes R3s and others in Indonesia. Triumph's Thailand factories are unionized, their workers are paid well. We are in a globalized economy where a Ram 2500 pickup is by all definitions an import and the most American car in the US is a Toyota. It's easy to tell if a vehicle has been made in Thailand - if so, it comes out of the box with a distinct aroma of lemongrass. And FWIW, our best-ever and most reliable car was a Honda Civic made in Thailand. Never spent a penny on it other than routine services and a new battery at one point. We passed it on to our son, and used it occasionally when visiting him interstate - at 200,000+ km it looked and drove like near-new when cleaned up. He later sold it and it seems it's still fine... Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggy Nate Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 A couple of comments: No, they're not. Some Triumphs are still made in Hinckley: Speed Triple, Daytona, Rocket III, and a few others. Second, so what? A lot of bikes are made in Thailand now. Some Hondas, all Ducati Scramblers, and soon some Harleys. Yamaha makes R3s and others in Indonesia. Triumph's Thailand factories are unionized, their workers are paid well. We are in a globalized economy where a Ram 2500 pickup is by all definitions an import and the most American car in the US is a Toyota. It's easy to tell if a vehicle has been made in Thailand - if so, it comes out of the box with a distinct aroma of lemongrass. And FWIW, our best-ever and most reliable car was a Honda Civic made in Thailand. Never spent a penny on it other than routine services and a new battery at one point. We passed it on to our son, and used it occasionally when visiting him interstate - at 200,000+ km it looked and drove like near-new when cleaned up. He later sold it and it seems it's still fine... Entirely different to our Honda Civic experience... wifey’s car so not driven hard, rear brakes and discs worn out under 30k fronts not far after, shuddering clutch when used it hippy mode. Paper thin panels that dent very easily, and very strange radio issues that are almost impossible to replicate for warranty claims. Definitely won’t buy another Honda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 Entirely different to our Honda Civic experience... wifey’s car so not driven hard, rear brakes and discs worn out under 30k fronts not far after, shuddering clutch when used it hippy mode. Paper thin panels that dent very easily, and very strange radio issues that are almost impossible to replicate for warranty claims. Definitely won’t buy another Honda.Well, there ya go! Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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