Looks like a long road back for HD( sadly)
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I always felt they lost there way around 1999 when the twin cam engine was introduced started to get even more ācorporateā in approach and market placement and lost and alienated the base line customers! but then i am an ol git and consider the 1340 motor the pinnacle of Harleys progress and understand that it became ever more difficult to retain their traditional values in the modern marketplace.
I donāt understand how they can make a $29m loss and still pay out $86m in share dividends. I thought dividends were a share of the profit.
Harley have ignored the fact that bikers are getting older and their customers are some of the oldest. One of the biggest categories of new bikes is small capacity, classic styled bikes and theyāre popular with old riders who like the light weight and younger riders who like the lower cost. Harley have ignored this area thats growing when a smaller sportster styled bike would be ideal. Instead, they decided to concentrate their efforts on t shirts and things with tassles.
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They will survive of course but not like the existence they enjoyed in the past.
A classic case of corporate arrogance and poor product and customer marketing 
Just before Christmas while my car was having a MOT I crossed over the road to a Harley dealer I had a gander around and sat on a new Heritage Soft tail which has a 117 1923 cc, it weighed 74kg more than my EV, one disc on the front wereas mine has two and out breaks the Harley by a long way. The price was Ā£24,350 and made in Thailand. BLIMEY no wonder HD are not doing very well.
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ā¦ā¦ and this appears to be the conundrum for simple folk like me, eye-watering exec team salaries, bonuses and shareholder dividend payouts from seemingly failing companies - UK utility companies Iām looking at you for a start - that have been bailed out from the edge of insolvency using public funds 
I should have paid more attention during economics and maths in high school. 
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Accht: the twin- cam is much maligned. It breathes far better than an Evo, is far more powerful, and apart from the unfortunate choice of cam chain tensioner material is a solid and reliable machine. I have two, and neither has ever let me down, although one does need a tensioner change now. I like the primitive nature of the machines, but have no time for the corporate bodyā¦.
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I have had numerous HDās and also love/loved the basic foundations of these bikes. In so many ways the Guzzi is very similar.
There are some great people who ride Harleyās and like me ignore the corporate BS that has been the HD mission creep of recent years and which has driven a wedge between the machines we ride and the company.
HD had a huge sense of connection between company and riders so when even small matters disrupted that precious relationship it is amplified perhaps more vs other manufacturers.
Being new to MG I see good connections between riders and manufacturers and while not on the same level as HD itās refreshing to see it existing within MG.
We read what I believe is garbage about HD reeling because it left its older baby boomers behind. I know HD riders who are much younger than me and they are equally disappointed and disillusioned about the brand damage that has been done.
IMO anyone who does not ride a motorcycle or has never ridden should never be allowed near the board of directors room of a motorcycle manufacturer( with few exceptions of course).
I now notice that HD have just recruited a new head who does not meet that criteria
I agree with the āloss of connectionā creep and Harley are far from the first in that trend. Failure to keep up with a changing market and reliance on heritage alone does not cut it. Itās a subtle problem but one that has been solved successfully by others. Think Triumph, Enfield and, of course MG. The key is willingness to keep up in technology but also affordability. The majority of motorcyclists simply are unwilling or unable to dedicate mortgage level asking prices just to be annointed with access to the badge. MG has taken the unavoidable but intelligent approach under Piaggio (whatever you may think of them) with the V100 by embracing modern engine design without abandoning the basic platform and, at the same time, managing to keep a premium badge within reach. Additionally benefitting from staying in the current sweet spot of middleweight to litre bike size on the whole. MGās always āworkedā in the important respects as motorcycles. By accepting and investing in modern tech they can continue to deliver riders machines that people actually want.
Reemember their biggest market is still the US and a culture that is reluctant to admit they are no longer āthe bestā! I lived in the Southern USA for 25yrs and riding a Harley there is eminently a comfortable choice for a certain kind of riding experience. It is rooted in the past though more and more these days. The demographic who cling on to that are slowly disappearing and the behemoth bikes they canāt sell while arguably attractive and desirable are out of sync with the times.
As an old guy, I would love to be able to run a 1950ās Rover 90. I miss dreadfully my big full size V8 trucks but I live in the present sadly and in Europe. Aināt happeninā.
Here is a corollary? The US interstate trucking industry is gigantic. Take a look at their trucks? The Peterbilts, Kenworths, Freightliners, Macks. Lovely brutes but cannot compete on tech and innovation, power and driver comfort with modern Scanias, Volvos and the like. You can only cling desperately to tradition for so long. The bottom line rules any business. Refusing to accept that someone elseās product is simply better, more versatile and economical is just blind.
Purely personally, to me the notion of an HD adventure bike is an oxymoron. Oh I am sure they could wrangle one out that kinda works but how many could they actually sell? We know the answer. All you can do as an enthusiast is swallow it and move on.
I sold my vinyl record collection 40yrs ago now. They were lovely and deservedly have a younger and committed following. I am happy for them to have that but they will never again dominate. Better hold on to your Harleys or grab a bargain ASAP.
Yes - some of the old carb and early FI sporsters, roadkings and glides are starting to creep up in value if they are in top condition.
If I had a great old sportster( esp a1200) Iād be keeping it
Yeah when I was riding in the States with my ZZR buddies had a pal used to ride with us on his sportster I believe the 850 even and he could hang with us just fine. Physically smaller, flickable and manageable. Also hugely cheaper. That is a direction they could profitably have emphasised and sold units with. The old adage that āthere is no substitute for cubesā no longer applies.
I think itās āthereās no replacment for displacment" 
Yeah but that was Shakespeare, Iām talking Einstein. 
H-D have lost direction several times in their history, and their attempts to move into small capacity and sports bike markets via acquisitions have been universally disastrous.
That said, this time itās different. When they screwed up before, their key market of American baby boomers was still buying, and once they had sorted out various quality issues post AMF, their sales soared. Itās different today: that market is dying out, or looking for smaller and lighter machines, that they are better able to handle.
Just like the classic and vintage market, the demographic that has supported their business is gone, and they havenāt developed the right products at the right price to satisfy those who do have money to spend. Yes, they have the trikes, but you could buy a truck for the price, and yes, they have the new water-cooled lightweights (
) but theyāre ājust another bikeā in a market overwhelmed by cheaper and just as attractive alternatives.
Itās much the same as Guzzi under Piaggio: thereās a huge market segment for which they have not a single product to offerā¦
Someone with vision is required in both cases.
If Harley made a 750cc bike with classic Sportster styling, 60hp and 200kg for Ā£8,000 theyād sell all they could build. Maybe make them in Mexico to keep costs down.
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Their 750 Street was made in India for the European market, I quite liked the look of those, not sure how good they were, but Iād bet the Harley āpuristsā werenāt fans.
The street was a decent bike but the materials used were horrendous, rust, fading and not so good build quality
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So very similar to the American ones then?
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