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Harley Davidson is closing a plant and laying off 800 people


Cruizin

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Harley is in business to make money. We should all be on their side whether or not we like their products. They make and sell motorcycles, so they are part of the same community that we are. I guarantee you that ALL of the Japanese manufacturers would trade their bottom line with HD every day of the week and twice on Sunday, especially if you extrapolated it over a 5 or 10 year period. Additionally, HD is a marketing machine. I personally know a former dealer who, less than 10 years ago, was in the top 1% of dealers nation wide. He was very open about sharing numbers with me and he was very open about sharing that he made far more money on accessories (chrome and t-shirts) than he did on bikes. Unless you’ve been in the manufacturing business for a long time, I don’t think we should be too critical about their business model. I don’t think they’ve read the market too badly when I see a HD or 12 on every street corner. My FJ 09 had its second birthday yesterday, and in that time, I have seen a total of maybe 5 others on the street in that time. Just sayin. If I were offered a free dealership of any kind and all I was concerned about was profit, HD would absolutely be my first choice. Keep in mind that a so called terrible year was still profitable. As mentioned above, since there are so many of their bikes out there, who do you think is paying the lobbyists that keep us all riding? Just my $0.02
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@crempel - I 100% totally and completely agree. HD has built a strong and valuable brand, and ANY manufacturer’s success is good for the broader powersports market. The wild fluctuation of profit (not revenue, but net income) based upon a relatively small variation of production volume hints at just how thin the margins can be in this business. By my math, that $40M unfavorable variance is about $160 per unit sold... essentially rounding error on $20k plus machines.
 
What HD has done is start to significantly change their product mix. The 750 Street Rod is nice, practical, has some HD swagger, and costs about $9k... new territory for The Motor Company.
 
Like it or not, the industry isn’t as strong as it once was. Closing a plant sucks for the impacted workers, but it’s the right fiscal business decision.
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. I don’t think they’ve read the market too badly when I see a HD or 12 on every street corner. My FJ 09 had its second birthday yesterday, and in that time, I have seen a total of maybe 5 others on the street in that time. 
Other than a by-appointment meeting-up with two other Traceristas, I've seen precisely two other Tracers in the three years since I bought my first MT-09 Tracer here in Oz in early 2015 (currently on my third).   But in a very long riding experience over 25+ years I have often wondered why it seems that 90% of the motorcycles I see on the road are H-Ds.   It's true.   I can only assume that (1) H-D owners get out on their bikes more often than others: and/ or (2) the H-D machines themselves have a greater longevity and thus last a helluva lot longer than other brands, which may be ditched after a season or three.   I cannot think of any other rationale!   But I'd welcome comment and any other points of view...

Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia.   

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My last two Dodge Ram trucks - about as American of a vehicle as you get - were assembled in Saltillo Mexico...    
Next time get a Toyota Tundra: Assembled in Texas from 70% US-made parts.
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. I don’t think they’ve read the market too badly when I see a HD or 12 on every street corner. My FJ 09 had its second birthday yesterday, and in that time, I have seen a total of maybe 5 others on the street in that time. 
Other than a by-appointment meeting-up with two other Traceristas, I've seen precisely two other Tracers in the three years since I bought my first MT-09 Tracer here in Oz in early 2015 (currently on my third).   But in a very long riding experience over 25+ years I have often wondered why it seems that 90% of the motorcycles I see on the road are H-Ds.   It's true.   I can only assume that (1) H-D owners get out on their bikes more often than others: and/ or (2) the H-D machines themselves have a greater longevity and thus last a helluva lot longer than other brands, which may be ditched after a season or three.   I cannot think of any other rationale!   But I'd welcome comment and any other points of view...
Apples to Oranges comparison here.  You are comparing seeing a single model against seeing a single brand.  You should compare... I've seen ## of Yamaha's to I've seen ## of H-Ds.
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Other than a by-appointment meeting-up with two other Traceristas, I've seen precisely two other Tracers in the three years since I bought my first MT-09 Tracer here in Oz in early 2015 (currently on my third).   But in a very long riding experience over 25+ years I have often wondered why it seems that 90% of the motorcycles I see on the road are H-Ds.   It's true.   I can only assume that (1) H-D owners get out on their bikes more often than others: and/ or (2) the H-D machines themselves have a greater longevity and thus last a helluva lot longer than other brands, which may be ditched after a season or three.   I cannot think of any other rationale!   But I'd welcome comment and any other points of view...
Apples to Oranges comparison here.  You are comparing seeing a single model against seeing a single brand.  You should compare... I've seen ## of Yamaha's to I've seen ## of H-Ds.
Bullshete, joe!   I'm riding one model, not an entire range!   And in any case, the comparison still stands - relatively fewer 'other brands' compared to many more H-Ds of all persuasions.   Doesn't necessarily apply elsewhere, but it's something I've been aware of - and wondered 'why?' - for years.

Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia.   

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If Harley wants to turn things around with an electric bike they need to have a battery capable of going at least 200 miles in hilly terrain, and no electric bike is capable of that yet. If it’s a 60-70 mike bike it will fall flat and finish the company off. I don’t know what could save Harley now.
I expect to see a bunch of new movies like “wild hogs”
And there is a spin-off show from sons of anarchy coming out soon. Their marketing team will go in a full on blitz in Hollywood to tap into the bullshet “tough guys ride Harley’s” routine.
 
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considering a dresser runs 800lbs, that ought to get you a stonking big battery. But I can "recharge" my dresser in 3 minutes flat and do another 200 miles - with dino juice. Having to park the bike for 2-8hrs to get another 200 mi out of it is a death sentence.
OT: Electric bikes are an absolutely stupid fad and make zero economic or environmental sense unless inside metro/city where 50-100mi range is perfectly appropriate.
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I disagree about electric bikes. The battery technology for electric cars and bikes is advancing rapidly.
 
Zero already offers models with 100+ mile range, and they're physically smaller motorcycles. There's probably an expectation that a Harley will be bigger, and that should allow more battery capacity.
 
I've seriously considered getting a Zero for commuting. My daily commute when I'm at home is 24 miles round-trip, well within the range of even their cheapest model. My work even has free charging stations. I like the idea of having a commuter where the only maintenance needs are tires and brakes.
 
The only reasons I haven't done it are:
 
a) Initial cost
 
b) I currently travel 60-70% of the time for work, so most of my "commuting" is actually in rental cars.
 
More manufacturers getting into this field can only help develop the technology and bring down the cost. Yamaha is rumored to have electrics in development, and I applaud H-D for jumping in too. I truly believe this is the future of transportation.
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I also have looked into Zero Motorcycles, a dealership is just down the road... I already have my "go to" bike which is the FJ-09 so I wouldnt mind trading my FZ-07 in for a Zero Motorcycle...
 
the biggest problem I see that prevents ppl from getting onboard the electric motorcycle/dirt bike train, is vast majority of riders use hearing to ride rather than a very select few ppl like myself due to total hearing loss use sight/vibrations/sensations/windforce to ride which will give me hardly no trouble adapting to an electric bike...
 
how many of you would buy an electric dirt bike or motorcycle if the track was located right downtown of a major city and you could ride at all hours of the day/night since its whisper quite compared to a track that needs to be out in the "sticks/boonies" to let ppl ride without noise complaints during select hours/days...
2012 wr250f - C-class 30+ age group
2015 fz-07- Hordpower Edition-80whp
2015 fj-09- Graves Exhaust w/Woolich tune by 2WDW @120whp
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Harleys have just gotten too damn fancy, bring back the panhead.
Harley riders rejected the fairly advanced Street Rod, with its nice liquid-cooled engine, partially developed by Porsche, so it's hard to see them warming to an electric bike.   I know, I know!, H-D will say it's aimed at an entirely different demographic, but it will be an extremely narrow niche they're looking at.   Fail. 
Gotta say though, that I wish H-D well in this enterprise.   I have never ridden an H-D of any flavour, and although I don't care for their overall approach they are, as someone else said here, part of the fraternity.   I can certainly stand and admire the acres of chrome and shiny paintwork (though not the fluorescent 'bar-end tassels) on most of them that I see.

Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia.   

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