Harley has new bike coming out...

Discussion in 'Anything Goes' started by Lint, Aug 22, 2017.

  1. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

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    Speaking of Death Wobble...

     
  2. VFR4Lee

    VFR4Lee Member

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    She says, "it's the last thing you want when you get behind the wheel."
    Apparently she thinks bikes have steering wheels.
    Her credibility is a used pinata. :Fish:

    I thought about renting one when I go visit my people in AR, because that's the only thing I can find to rent. But for $200+ a day to rent a 750 or 800+ pound Hog, I think I'll flog the econo rental car on my mountain exploration day.

    800 pounds is one heavy ass mofo. It carries it low. Yeah great. :rolleyes:
     
  3. Ghost_Rider

    Ghost_Rider Active Member

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    People can talk trash and make fun of them, but in the end Harley is laughing all the way to the bank. Regardless if you do not like them, they do sell. I personally wish they would modernize and make something innovative and exciting. At the least they could make bikes that actually stop and turn without issues, but they choose to walk a fine line with what their clientele demands and balance their identity in the process. Same with McDonalds. They get a lot of heat for the health of their menu, but they don't go changing the whole menu at McDonalds for fear of losing out on their base and their identity in the process...

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    --For full-year 2014, Harley shipped 270,726 motorcycles to dealers and distributors, a 3.9 percent increase compared to 2013.

    --For full-year 2014, dealers sold 267,999 new Harleys worldwide, up 2.7 percent compared to 260,839 motorcycles in 2013.

    --Retail unit sales for 2014 were up 1.3 percent in the U.S., 11.8 percent in the Asia Pacific region, 6.4 percent in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) region, 2.1 percent in the Latin America region.

    --Retail unit sales for 2014 were down 10.8 percent in Canada.

    INCOME AND EARNINGS

    --Net income for 2014 was $844.6 million, based on consolidated revenue of $6.23 billion. (In 2013, those figures were 734.0 million and 5.90 billion, respectively.)

    --For full-year 2014, revenue from motorcycles was $4.39 billion compared to $4.07 billion in 2013.

    --Revenue from parts and accessories was $875.0 million in 2014, compared to $873.1 million in 2013.

    --Revenue from general merchandise, which includes MotorClothes apparel and accessories, was $284.8 million in 2014 compared to $295.9 million in 2013.

    Here’s how Keith Wandell, Chairman, President, and CEO of Harley, summed it up: “Harley-Davidson achieved a great year of financial performance in 2014, with double-digit earnings growth, revenue topping $6 billion and continued strong improvement in margins. We also continued to broaden our customer base and expand the reach of our brand through unrivaled products and experiences. In international markets, our dealers in Asia Pacific, EMEA and Latin America posted their highest new motorcycle sales on record for each region, delivering on our expectation for international sales to grow at a faster rate than U.S. sales. And in the U.S., for the third straight year, sales to our outreach customers grew at more than twice the rate of sales to core customers.”

    upload_2017-8-23_18-0-26.png
     
  4. VFR4Lee

    VFR4Lee Member

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    They deserve congrats for keeping a mature company running strong in recent years.
    Even if they are a lifestyle company right after being a motorcycle company. :Yo:
     
  5. Ghost_Rider

    Ghost_Rider Active Member

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    There might be a lot of truth to that, but I have to admire a company who has figured out how to survive for 113 years!
     
  6. OOTV

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    Well, technically you are behind the front wheel...
     
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  7. FJ12rydertoo

    FJ12rydertoo Member

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    Nobody is talking about the company, we're talking about the bikes. Being a successful company doesn't mean you don't sell crap, it just means that your marketing department is paid more than your engineering department.

    Budweiser makes huge money, but they make sh!t beer, it's just very popular with people who don't really want beer, but want to be seen drinking "beer". Harley motorcycles are the same thing: they sell them to people that don't really want a motorcycle, they just want to be seen riding a "motorcycle".
     
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  8. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

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    I believe that Harley is actually a victim of their buyers, most want the "traditional" HD that their parents rode, their friends own/owned and the bike that is the "heart of America". These are the same people who look at the VRod as a red headed step child. HD builds what their buying public want, the same old bike, albeit with different hair do and make up, but alas the same bike as yesterday year.

    As the saying goes, to each their own but I would not own one nor do I think I would ever own one, it's just not my type of motorcycle.
     
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  9. Lint

    Lint Member

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    Speaking of brakes, when I was riding with my dad and my brother whilst up in Montana, a deer decided to stroll along down the highway we were going 70+ on. I was the first to see it and clamped on my brakes. I watched them both take seemingly forever to slow down and my brother was riding his 2017 Streetglide with ABS, etc. He went right past me, quite fast actually. We all slowed in time, but damn, I outbraked (outbroke?) them by a country mile. Kinda spooked me.
    And honestly, I am overdue for a brake flush/bleed and I know my brakes could be better than they are, as the PO put Galfer pads on it and it feels like wood for brakes.
    What exactly does Harley use? Used hockey pucks?
     
  10. duccmann

    duccmann Member

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    I'd think once the boomers die off they will lose most of their clientele.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  11. FJ12rydertoo

    FJ12rydertoo Member

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    That's a very real possibility.
     
  12. Ghost_Rider

    Ghost_Rider Active Member

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    All that you stated, no matter how passionately, is your opinion. If you think that Harley is more about marketing because they sell bikes to people who think differently about motorcycling than you, well, then you are just as guilty by owning a sportbike (how Honda categorizes it). Makers sell sportbikes with pictures of them racing around tracks pulling wheelies, racing around roads, all tricked out with way too much power, race inspired seating position, and body panels. They are selling the image of racing, and extreme speed and horsepower to people who are by far going to ride it on the street, many in a straight line. By many sportbike riders that I see, I could call them posers as well, because all they do is cruise around town and rev up their engines hoping people look at them to see how cool they look without a shirt on, on a 180HP rocket.

    Some people swear against "crotch rockets" as they call them, because of the many squid antics, and racing antics seen on the road. The latter especially by many "experienced" riders who treat the road as their racetrack. I think you would have difficulty to find that more people die on Harleys that Sportbikes. Harleys might be annoying to many, but they usually are slower going and just cruise around making a lot of noise. Just because something is different than what you perceive is better, or the true meaning of riding to you, doesn't mean your opinion is right, it is just that, your opinion. And if the people buying Harleys believe that motorcycling is just cruising for 50 miles to eat with friends, or to go to Sturgis, so be it. I won't force my belief on them and label them fakes, just like I won't tell them how to vote. I just presented facts that Harley is indeed successful, they are selling more bikes, and they have been around for longer than any other (continuous) American Motorcycle Company....Indian has sadly been put thru the ringer, so lets not go there. :)

    If you think that Budweiser is shit beer, again, that is your opinion. Many people would disagree with you. I grew up drinking Bud, Miller, and Coors, and I didn't think I "really didn't want beer" nor did I just want to "be seen drinking beer." I drank it because it was affordable and I actually liked the taste, still do. I never thought it was an image thing. Take that as you will. I like the taste of craft beer also, but I personally don't think all other beers are inferior to craft beers. I could argue that you don't know what true bottled water is a because you only by cheap crap water and not some fancy $6 dollar a bottle from a pristine Argentine glacier, therefore you must be ignorant, a fake, or both.
     
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  13. VFR4Lee

    VFR4Lee Member

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    So, what is the lightest HD currently produced?
    Are they under 600 pounds? 500? :Der:
     
  14. Big_Jim59

    Big_Jim59 Member

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    When I worked at the Triumph shop we had guys coming in all the time that had taken perfectly good Bonneville and Tiger Triumphs and bolted on hard tails with useless little solo spring seats. There is a certain draw to the bikes of the 1930s. Harley has made this into a religion. To this group form matter more (way more) than function.

    I don't count Harley out. I do think their demographics are shifting but they are working hard to attract the flannel shirt wearing hipster as well as his dad. I think the biggest problem for Harley as well as for the metric and Euro makers is the falling level of discretionary income. The kids that are growing into today's middle class are saddled with huge college loan debt. Housing costs are killer and to be quite honest I made more back in the 90s. You may have a customer that drools all over your bikes but if he can't buy it then it does the company no good.
     
  15. James Bond

    James Bond Member

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    Harley's and Bud. Something for everyone. I choose my own lifestyle and it certainly doesn't match any template for anything a marketing effort defined. I've owned a Harley. It didn't go, stop, or corner well among other dislikes so I found a bike that did go, stop, handle and do other things better in my list of priorities. As far as beer.....really? How much beer has Budweiser sold since it's been around? Something for everybody is OK with me. People seem to be on the perpetual hunt for a group just like them to follow......the lemming syndrome.
     
  16. Lint

    Lint Member

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    Ooh, I'm so skeered by all this massive performance....

    www.baggersmag.com/2018-harley-davidson-cvo-road-glide-dyno-numbers

     
  17. Getn off

    Getn off New Member

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    Um, 800lbs!
    Troy
     
  18. Getn off

    Getn off New Member

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    I have no problems with HD. They know their demographics and build a bike for them. Yes, it does change slightly, and thats what we see year after year from them...slight changes.
    I have gone to an HD dealer exactly 4 times with the intension of riding one home. After a test ride, I just can't come to terms with it. I love the idea of their Road Glide. Comfy highway cruiser that I can bring my wife and some gear in the bags while listening to Free Bird! Problem is, it is not very comfy for me personally. Thought about bars, pegs, seat et al, but then just walk away. Biggest problem is my current cruiser is an M109R that is a complete beast to ride powerwise. Yes, kind of like going from my Busa to the viffer, but that is another story. The hogs just feel so damn slow. Even the Screaming Eagle mods aint that impressive. Waaaay better than stock, but meh.
    Tried to like the Vrods. Again, felt slow. The quarter and 0-60 times are decent, but very tall gearing and roll riding is sluggish as hell. I ride my buddies 2015 Vrod a bunch when visiting him, and it is def a bike I would not own. I do think they look great tho.
    As said, to each his own. Great bikes for peeps that want to experience the Harley lifestyle. Hell, they may even fit some people!
    And lets not even consider the cost diff of them! To me, not worth it. But I will say that their chrome is about the best quality out there.
    Besides, if I bought an HD and go to Bikeweek, I would prolly lose my bike.
    Troy
     
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  19. VFR4Lee

    VFR4Lee Member

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    According to story in the times this years bike, whichever one they tested is down 35 pounds.
    Still too big and heavy.
     
  20. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

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    Was surfing YouTube and found this video pretty interesting. It was made by a HD rider/fan.

     
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