One of the problems with Harley Davidson is the dealership charges 40.00 for a simple bolt. They don’t inspire loyalty because every time you go to a dealership they rip you off and act like they are doing you a favor.
It wasn't like that till the 1990s when everyone the big wanna be biker craze happened it used to be the elite people that really rode there machines now it's alot of rubs but that worked out good because you could always find used bikes with no miles on them
@@rockyklies8401 no it has ALWAYS been that Harley REFUSED to commit...they simply do not and never have had In last several decades at least) managment that loves motorcycles in general....they ONLY rode a fad....a fad they had no REAL hand in even creating.....biker clubs did that in spite of them....
I agree that the company has definitely sold out I mean there is not one bike I would own after 2008 and going to a dealer is like the gift shop at Disney world and the service Dept is a joke thank god I never had to have any warranty work done I had to fix older bikes that belong to tech's that turn wrench's at the dealership
They sell chromed old tech to nostagic fudds who watched Easy Rider one too many times, dressed head-to-toe in HD gear, and wouldnt THINK about riding in the rain. Younger gens want reliability at a sane price. If they want to stay alive, gotta change with the times.
My Night Rod can do over 100mph bone stock. They are strictly a motorcycle company. No car or ATV division. I have read up on Harley since the 60s. You have no idea of the exact truth. They are a survivor. I had an AMF XLCH. Not one bit of trouble. Zip. It was an XLCH kick only. I have had 3 XL models over the past 40 years. All ran like a top and I put thousands of miles on em all. My 86 883 had 75k on it during the 7 years I owned it. I don't see any Harleys broke down on the roadside. In fact, I worked at a Honda dealer for a year and there were many with serious engine issues. Like the 1983 750 Interceptior. Soft cams! With all due respect, you are full of shit.
@@frednouvertne4216 My experience was a little different. I bought a Roadster and riding it ON THE WAY HOME FROM THE DEALER AFTER THE PURCHASE the bike broke down. Electrical. Eventually I got tired of the lack of performance and traded in for a FJ 1100 Yamaha. Found out later that the guy who bought my HD trade suffered failure of a rear wheel bearing ON THE WAY HOME FROM THE DEALER and went over a guard rail. Never again.
Traded my last Harley a few weeks ago after almost 30 years of brand loyalty. I just got fed up with paying way too much for way too little quality and performance, not to mention the army of leathered up sheep who think that blowing 20K+ on a chromed out mobility scooter makes you a rebel. For about half the price of my Dyna, I scored a brand new Yamaha xsr900 with about twice the horsepower and no wardrobe requirements.
Or the Harley could've fed up with yer...the feeling can be mutual...m kidding of course 😅. Anyway, Harley is selling outdated fashion...for those who reminiscing yesteryear and live in the past...that is their market. And i m one of them...i feel alright alright alright 🤪🤪🤪
Uh huh, seems like a lot of projection going on here, go ahead and ride whatever you want to ride, I won't insult you by calling the newest Japanese crotch rocket ugly and completely devoid of soul, and I won't call the Honda Goldwing a parade float, nor will I call Japanese "V-twins" bad imitations, nor will I call psuedo race bike riders organ donors or wannabe boy racers, etc. I don't consider myself a rebel, nor do I aspire to be a 1%er ( or look like one), nor am I looking for a chromed "mobility scooter". I ride Harley's because I like they way they look, the way they sound, and the way they ride and because I appreciate the history of this American product. I could buy the latest Japanese wonder bike for a lot less money, but I choose not too because I don't like them....period! Lastly, stereotyping other riders and using unflattering names just makes you sound stupid, and can make people wonder where your hate for other riders, especially older riders, comes from. Your hateful remarks about "older riders" are doubly moronic since, I assume, an "older rider" is what most of you geniuses aspire to, one day, become.
I'm 70 years old. I purchased my first bike at the age of 14, and it was a 1958 Sporster. Over the years I have owned 27 motorcycles, and 16 were HD. In 1999 I purchased a new Road King after riding a Gold Wing for a few years. I Owned the Road King for 16 months, and out of those months it was in the shop 9 months. The last time I took it in I had to haul it 250 miles because the wiring harness burned up. While waiting for the bike to get finished I was looking through the want adds and noticed a used1999 Yamaha Road Star for sale. I rode the bike and fell in love with it. I put 171K trouble free miles on the bike before I sold it. I now ride a 2006 Road Star and it will take me out. Japanise bikes are just better bikes. Cost a hell of a lot less.
I was always into Yamaha sports bikes but on holiday in Portugal I hired a HD for a week just for the opportunity. It broke down after 2 days and they gave me a Yamaha (lol) but one of the HD "looking" ones something like an XV or something and it was SUCH a smooth and beautiful ride by comparison.
@@loooooopy I have been riding for 45 years, Never lose your fear, once you get real comfortable on your bike you start pushing your limits, and that's when bad things will happen. Respect the street laws, always know what's around you, know your limits, and you will be fine.
True have a 2007 road star warrior no problems ever and it will wheel stand with me my wife and 60 lb. In gear. I paid 9000.00 fuel injected, dynoed at 107 HP. At 5500 ft alt. I will never sell this machine. Love it.
@@loooooopy pretend you are invisible and know one can see you. You watch all traffic around you and actively avoid them all. In short assume all other drivers are 16 yr. Old girls texting.
The thing about HD is that yesterday's rebellion is today's uncool. The average Harley rider is a grandpa still cosplaying as an outlaw between games of golf. Doesn't help that Harley burned Buell to the ground where they could have had a good inroad to younger riders that cared more about performance than chrome and noise, not to mention you don't get much at all for what you pay for one.
You prolly dont give a shit but does anybody know a way to get back into an Instagram account..? I somehow forgot my account password. I would appreciate any assistance you can give me.
@Jasper Augustus thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site on google and im waiting for the hacking stuff now. Seems to take a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
They blew it a long time ago when they decided they'd rather be a status symbol than a company making motorcycles for the average working man that made them successful. They deserve to go broke
I owned one. Long long ago. So lay down hoss. I'm just saying that if you bite the hand that feeds you don't be surprised if it quits handing out grocries. You little whip I got socks older than you so step off. End of discussion no further reply will be offered or looked at
One thing Harley could do to help themselves is retool their dealership network. Harley dealerships are some of the rudest people I have ever encountered. They treat you like garbage and act like you're not worth their time. Indian dealers on the other hand treat you with respect. Indian has a superior product and a superior dealership mentality and attitude. Rest In Peace Harley.
I think if you don't fit the HD image you don't get much respect by the HD dealerships. HD dealers don't give me much attention when I have visited. However, Yamaha does. I have owned 6 Yamahas with very few issues.
I fit the image, and i’ve been a local fixture in the bike scene... and my local dealership sold me a bike... when the title arrived: odometer fraud! They tried to trick me into signing an affidavit that was fraudulent, after that, to “fix” it. I wasn’t having it. They wound up paying out on it, but souring the relationship... owned by some mogul who doesn’t care at all.... i wish Harley would relate to us in a way that turned us into ambassadors for the brand, but they just... they crap where they eat, all the time!
@@stevewalters6403 thanks Steve. I wish my experience were more rare. The way they handled it indicated that filing false affidavits was routine in their line of work. I wanted to run it to the fullest extent but my counsel settled it. My first response to discovering my title had “mileage non-actual” was to offer settling for four grand cash. They laughed. A few weeks later they cut a check for six grand. My lawyer got his two and I walked with four. Just in time for unemployment to paralyze my buying prospects. Classic.
2 other things happened in the early 80's that launched Harley toward the moon: The Evolution engine finally made a reliable leak-free Harley, and any Joe (or Jane) with a steady paycheck could walk in to the Dealer and ride out on a bike thanks to newly available easy financing. The seeds for the downfall were planted in the early 90's when Harley came around to their Dealers at Franchise renewal time and ordered them to build the big Boutiques we see today. The old-timers, whose Dealerships might be located in an older part of town, in an old building with wooden floors and a semi-musty smell, all retired or sold out. One by one here in Northwest Indiana and the Chicago area, the old guys are gone and the Boutiques rule.
Actually no. When their popularity increased in the eco era Harley failed to keep up with demand and alienated scores of buyers. Pure stupidity on their part. Of course this is no surprise due to the way they have mistreated their buyers through the years. So long Harley! The woke leadership is getting back at a largely conservative ownership. Black rock doesn’t care about such a small company.
Great video. Yes, I agree I've owned two Buells in the UK finally sold the Firebolt last year when parts had to come from the Netherlands. Bought a neat little Triumph Scrambler, 73 years old riding all my life I've owned five Harleys and three Goldwings and my wife has owned two. For my wife's 60th birthday promised her dinner at the Alahambra in Spain. HD Electra Glide serviced before trip we got off the ferry and broke down 200 miles into Spain, The bike had been to Italy the year before and was just two years old. We sat by the side of the Spanish motorway waiting for the breakdown truck and watched as an 1100 Goldwing, two up, sailed past. We never got to Alahambara though we did find Spanish railways are great even when lugging two weeks worth of touring kit. Trouble is big bikes and all that torque just get under your skin and I still look but not for serious work just an expensive toy.
@@kenfoster7668 Ive been looking at a Triumph Street Scrambler 1200 now that my ankle, knee and wrist, damaged from a long ago racing spill make riding sports bikes too painful for longer that half an hour. If you think getting parts from the Netherlands is a pain, try living here in NZ. :-)))
I owned 10 Buells from 1995 Thunderbolt to the 1125R. They werent all that good. The 1997 Thunderbolt was an engineering disaster as the attempt to lighten the flywheels was way off. They were 2 wheeled jackhammers. The X1 was an ill handling monstrosity with an equally horrible engine management system they could never correct. The XB's were ok with the exception of the Ulysses which the cooling fan for the rear cylinder ran constantly whether in traffic or open road. In 2009 the fuel managenent system was totally replaced along with a larger oil pump and oil cooler rectified that issue. Too late as HD shut the door on Buell after the 2010 model year. The 1125R was only ok. You could buy Japanese for less and have a much better bike. Bottom line although I did like some of them the Buell line never progressed to be on a competetive level with other manufacturers. That's really what did them in. HD just came to that realization after almost 20 years of financially backing them. It only made sense financially to cut them loose after that.
They could help themselves by retooling their dealerships. Way too intimidating to walk into one of those places. The prices for merch and parts and service are absolutely ridiculous. Cut the fat, the overhead. Get pricing under control. Rip me off or ignore me once and I'm never coming back
Indian est en train de faire la même erreur sur la question des tarifs ! Ces gens n'ont pas compris que ce n'est pas parce qu'on va acheter une moto à 32.000€ (plus de 38000$) qu'on acceptera de payer 300$ pour un simple levier frein en aluminium ! Idem pour les bandanas , vestes etc etc ... Ces gens là sont bien trop gourmands !
@@nicklabrie NOT. I own one. A 2005 Road King. Those giant dealerships are cold and impersonal. Corporate. I know I'm not the only one out here who rides HD and avoids those places.
Completely agree with you Rob.The prices,even for low end Harley’s are just too expensive.AJS,an old English bike company,have released a range of 125’s,Cafe racer,scrambler & cruiser for less than 3 grand(BRAND NEW)!!! Okay they’re only 125s,but the cruiser and cafe racer are great starter bikes,and the cruiser looks really nice.Even the Indian range are too expensive.The Sportster was always a great starter Harley for new rider,a great bike.I just don’t understand big companies that don’t listen to their customers,I just don’t.If the customer dosent buy your product, then you don’t have a business, it’s as simple as that, so why aren’t Harley listening? It’s like the bosses at Harley are politicians and not business me, and politicians NEVER LISTEN!!!😡
The whole Jason Momoa thing is weird to me... I believe Indian has a much better idea of how to market to the younger generation. They flew out the most well known moto vloggers to AZ and let them drive the new chiefs around for a couple days. I think that style of marketing is the future
Indian's do not have great styling except for the Scout. Motorcycle is 90% style and 10% reliability. If you are riding for performance you probably won't live that long anyway.
@@needparalegal Style is 100% subjective. Indians are arguably beautiful bikes. Their reliability is average to good compared to similar models. Indian performance is excellent and better than Harley in many cases. Indians demographic is younger than Harley.
@@MrSlapdash243 There's even a company that will convert a Tri-Glide into a Hearst, complete with casket trailer... I will say though, not everything with the H-D logo is made by H-D. Anyone can slap that logo on their products, just pay the licensing fees and royalties.
I think a big factor if you want to entice new customers to the brand is affordability. You need to be able to offer big fun at a good value. The competition has something for almost any budget and that's a huge factor in HD's future success.
Awesome video. Very realistic view of millennials. As a millennial or gen xer (depends on how you count birth year of early eighties). Growing up, Harley was always this unattainable or hard to achieve goals like owning a bmw for us teenagers. In college era, I would go to a Harley dealership to check out motorcycles, and always saw middle aged or older men there, staff and customers. They would look back at us college kids and scoff and never really try to help on owning a motorcycle. We went to another location motorcycle dealer of foreign brands, where sales people were similarly aged as ours, understood out situation of low income and short credit history and help us out on getting a right motorcycles. Harley and frankly lot of other American companies kept on catering to boomer generation and chose to ignore our generation. Now they are scrambling to get our business now that we have decent jobs, credit and money. Well no thanks.
Here is how to attract new riders. Don' allow dealerships to overcharge for maintenance. Don' overcharge for parts. Design the bike in a way that make it easy for do-it-yourself crowds to fix if they wish. Keep the price reasonable.
I own a 2005 BMW R1200GS. Yea it's not even close to a Harley in comparison. When my bike breaks down I can fix it with minimal tools and just about anywhere. I do all my own maint that doesn't require a scan tool. But it really is such a simple bike to work on. Oh and thats right, it makes more HP and Torque than the cute little "Hundred Dollar" bikes. Now is BMW service expensive? Fairly. But I can't help but consider the fact that my BMW just broke 100k miles yesterday as a matter of fact. Wanna show me a Harley that has accomplished that goal? A Harley with that kind of mileage would be worth jack shit! If Dealers won't even take a bike in on trade that has 30k on it? What a waste of money. I spend all that on my shiny Harley only to know I don't have any trade in value at my local Harley dealer that I've been so loyal to over the years. Thanks Harley. We love you too! Idiots! Oh and $146 for a fucking LED tail light assembly on a 2013 XL1200C! Come on. Really?
@@MrMasMola I did also forget the $250 stock rear tire and the $120 price tag to mount the tire. Its out of control! I can have my local Japanese dealer do it for $40 if I take the wheel off the bike.
@@Gewehr2180 Nearly 300$ here for a rear HD/Dunlop. A rear Bridgestone BT-016 Pro costs 150$ at my local tyreshop, including handwork. The HD dealership tried to convince me to come back to the official tyre, saying that the “sport” tyre would last a lot less. 12.000km for 150$ against 15.000km for 300$.
@@johnhotine5232 I was 20, looking for a new bike. Had a good budget. Saw what Harley had to offer, compared it to the Japanese bikes. The Harley dealer had nothing to offer. Bought a new Kawasaki 750 instead.
Someone messed with that bike. I have had 3 Harley-Davidsons (sill own two) never once did any of my Harley-Davidsons leak any oil, not even one drop. My first H-D was my 19943 883 Sportster, yea that long ago and she never leaked oil-not a drop.
Harley Davidson trying to compete with Japanese bikes ,never ever .Also I heard the guy say Harleys are eyecatching ,yea ,but for all the wrong reasons
Harley should be paying royalties to sons of anarchy because every douch bag hard guy buys their junk trying to look tough! These same douch bags were getting their asses kicked daily in school!
I had one, brand new cruiser, top of the line. Never again, 900+ lbs., doesn't corner, wasn't fast, all it could do is go straight. Sold it bought a Honda!
Maybe it didn't corner because you never learned to ride it. If you get a chance, go to a motor officer rodeo and see men and women who know how to ride. 99% of people on motorcycles don't know shit about riding a motorcycle . FACT.
@@JHV166, I have owned them all from a Honda 90 at age 14 to a Harley dresser and many in between in my 56 years of riding. You are right some people know how to operate a bike but not many out there can actually ride one. I grew up on them and still own and ride today at 70. It's more to riding than just getting on one and going through the motions it has to become a part of you.
@@williamluker9544 well Wiliam, glad to hear it. I'll be 70 in August. I have a beautiful Electra Glide Ultra Classic that I do about 20k miles a year. Have probably put close to a million miles on two wheels since I first throw a leg over...I'm lucky that I am healthy and can still enjoy the ride. I also practice EVERY TIME I RIDE. Find a parking lot and keep the skills up to date.
Harley knocked it out of the park with the LiveWire. it looks cool, sounds cool, stance is badass, super easy to maintain/operate its the PERFECT bike for millennials/Zoomers, and a great way to get newer and younger riders into the brand.. UNTIL they showed the price tag. Holy hot DAMN did they screw up. how can you make such a great product to attract people to your brand and IMMEDIATLY price it out of their reach?
After riding Japanese bikes all my life at an older age I have decided to finally have an Harley. Must say I love riding the bike, but my ownership experience has already cost loads of money. I have spent more money on this Harley that I ever spent on any Japanese bike. Everything about owing an Harley is expensive.
I think it might have something to do with "saturation". Motorcycles don't make much sense anymore, at least not in the sense they did when I was a mechanic and enthusiast back in the '60s and '70s. Dealership I worked at sold so many small bikes to h.s. students and off road enthusiasts but both those venues have dwindled due to changes in liabilities and access. It's become a rich man's sport which was actually coming in view in the '80s. As a mechanic, I knew the physics favored the nimbleness of the Japanese machines as compared to the likes of H-D but I don't think many riders appreciate that during the quest for ownership.
@@highvolts6620 because every Harley guy customizes his bike, and the cost of HD parts and accessories is insanely expensive. Guys will buy a 30-40k dresser and immediately start changing exhaust, intake, bars, seats, grips, pegs, and tons of other stuff its likeva sickness.
@@mikehickman3635 I’m not talking accessories, I’m talking about engine problems, cam tensioner problems, primary chain tensioner problems, excessive oil dumping into air box, you know a lot of the crap you have to deal with the twin cam and Milwaukee 8’s.
In my little country Austria🇦🇹 I saw and see more Harley Davidson Motorcycles as I saw in the USA. Every day I can hear them passing along the road near to my house. Greetings from Linz-Austria 🇦🇹🏔⛷🛶🍺🥨😎👍✌️ Europe!
Even if the present company bankrupts , someone will come in and buy the "brand" because it's got world wide recognition. #1 Harley in order to avoid their demise needs to sit down with existing owners and get feed back and react to that feedback. #2 they must address reliability issues with corrective engineering fixes and end their questionable reliability . #3 address complaints about dealers with poor reputations - a bad dealer does not promote the brand.
I have been riding for nearly 40 years, most of those commuting, never owned a HD, besides not being impressed by their bikes the culture they seem to cultivate repels me.
Harley riders never wave unless you're in a Harley. Admit it, people, you know it's true! Whenever I pass a Harley rider, I give a big 'ol wave. I've NEVER gotten a wave back in 15 years of riding. I've gotten waves from EVERY other type of rider. I've been riding my metric cruiser and gotten waves from sports bikers. Sport touring guys almost always wave. Harley riders NEVER wave. They're (many of them, don't wanna stereotype) arrogant. Think they're better than us. They ride dangerously, love taking up an entire highway in group rides, and as we all know, love turning fuel into sound (instead of power) They're so loud and obnoxious. Dear lord, Harley sucks and so do most Harley riders. They must enjoy roll play: the obviously love playing dress up in their leather pants (lol) and matching uniforms, riding 15 minutes to the local bar or "clubhouse" and drinking and wasting time for hours on end. And yep I guarantee someone will reply saying Harley riders have the best communities and do charity rises and crap. Typical and expected.
@@MrRuger1977 I don't know about the Street's quality, but all of my friends play Epiphones these days, most of them wish they kept their old Gibsons, just like most of us wished we kept our old muscle cars, but who knew?
I drive Japanese cars, doesn't mean I like the Japanese. If the product is no good stop buying it. If the product is superior (For Harley its only superior in style) then I don't care who made it or who sold it.
@@needparalegal Yeah, I did my Harley thing back in the early Nineties. It responded well to some modest performance mods and a little customizing; a very handsome machine. The ergonomics sucked. The Ignition Module blew, and there I was, pushing my Harley, just like everyone else ... actually it was fairly reliable for a bike that vibrated so much. It was the dealerships that turned me off. Everywhere I went the dealer staff were just oily sleazes, out for merchandising. After all, the bikes weren't oozing oil anymore. Now I ride an old, reliable, beautiful, and plenty powerful Kawasaki Drifter 800. (My Harley had been a Sportster). And this Drifter is COMFORTABLE! The ergonomics are spot on. Harley Davidson is going the way of the British Bike Industry of years gone by, for the same reason. Piss Poor Management.
Ah, the good 'ol days where, as a repairer and machine shop owner I felt like sending HD a Christmas card every year. Not only did their bikes break a lot, they were slow, and virtually anything you did to them made them perform better, resulting in a happy customer. Tweeking the performance of a top Japanese bike was a lot of hard work for a tiny gain, and forget about the repairs. I used to think, "Harley, don't ever change", and that wish seems to have been granted, there's just less of them now.
Can’t get over the name, “Indian”. I’m surprised they’ve had any success bringing that back as a brand. The logo has a Native American and it’s called ‘Indian’. I’d get it if this was 1750, but that’s a line of thought and time that I personally don’t need a throwback to.
That pretty much sums it up a bunch of old men in the 60.s pretending there 21 again because the are afraid of change thinking every ones afraid of them because the have a harley that 1950.s mentality.those days are long gone now theres doctors lawers Christian riders And if you dont have a harley you cant ride with us.. all that is Harley Hipe Yhe japenese stuff is bullit proof realy fast and very popular .harley acuitly had alot less problems When they were old school all cast iron engine itwas heavier but a lot more tougher the evolution moter eh not so hot.. engines should be cast
Lighter bikes. Smaller sized bikes. Sportster sized full dress bagger for smaller people. Retro style bikes. Support the smaller mom n pop shops instead of forcing them to close or build a Taj Mahal. Drop the arrogance of a lot of the dealers, that alone would go along way. Have the top brass and designers actually go to bike rallies of all brands and ask the riders in person what they want/need.
So you're proposing something like the $1000 touring kit that kawasaki offers for the Vulcan 900c for a sportster? I've had the same thought. At 1200cc, the sportster has the power to handle the extra gear, and those tiny gas tanks make them feel like less bike than they are.
@@jimbartosevich498 That's a great idea, but the Hatley snobs will berate the shit outta them, just like they do everything Sportster. That's why I never bought one, just mentioning I was looking into picking up a Sportster 1200 led to ridicule when a buddy asked me of I wanted a skirt to go with it. Not all Harley riders are arrogant assholes, but the ones that are take the fun out of ridinh.
Agree. I don't give a fuco about Harley riders since as a skinny 18 to Honda rider I was mugged for my leather jacket by a pack of Harley scrotes. It was March, a freezing ride home. But the narrator here is talented. Nice work dude
@@Ifixitagain wow that's terrible but not surprising in the least. They stole your jacket? I bet you wish you were a member of their drama club (they play dress up and make believe..so, drama club!) 🙂🙄 I don't "know" any Harley riders (as in friends with them) but I do know of many ppl who ride them. They all have something wrong with them. They're either dumb, ignorant, stuck up, have an insecurity problem or are just an all-round a$$hole of a person.
@@endokrin7897 true, but these guys were actual Criminals, the one took my jacket showed me some kinda ID card since he just got out of prison. I was walking along an almost deserted beach boardwalk alone when he snatched it out of my hand, looked at the Honda patch on the back then put it on. He was a really big dude and I bought my jacket oversized since I had no car at the time and often rode in sub freezing temperatures and thus had to layer up. So the jacket fit him. Long story short, he stole it and the other Harley scrotes he was with enabled him.
@@endokrin7897 Almost forgot, I caught another Harley scrote actually cutting my spare helmet strap to steal it. He zoomed away when I came out of the pub and I found it cut halfway through.
but Harley die hard guys poo poo the Sportster as a girls bike. That is the thing with the Harley culture even if you ride a Harley if it isn't the right model you are still a low life
@@bultacowally Well I mean that really comes down to your personality because personally if I was riding a pink moped and I was having fun then I could give a fuck about some maggot saying "girls bike"
I'm 48 and certainly NOT dead for riding. I have 5 different bikes in my garage for different purposes. Somehow, I never had the need for a 900lb beast or a trike. I'd rather drive a convertible.
@@zf4hp24 The one thing that made that HD was something that wasnt HD...oh the irony, LOL. And it still was slower than smaller displacement bikes. Stock for stock.
The main problem with Harley is its old school customer, pretty much like what you explained. Anything that comes out that's new or different is ridiculed by Harley owners which in turn keeps new riders away from them.
58 years old never ridden a motorcycle. Signed up to take riding lessons at the local Harley dealership along with my 23 year old daughter and 24 year old son. This was their idea. Maybe Harley can speak to generation Z?
@@needparalegal Statements of pure ignorance... And riding a Harley has absolutely zero to do with testosterone levels. Sounds far more likely that it is you that suffers low testosterone.
Congrats! I started riding 2 years ago (at 54), did the Harley Riding Academy, got my endorsement and bought my first motorcycle-a 2019 Iron 883. I am loving every minute of it. Have fun learning to ride w/ your kids. Good luck!
The stunt dyna crowd out of california is the scene for Harley right now.... they should have supported this movement years ago when it started. From dirt bikes to sportsters to dyna's.....
@@sdefiel3719 agree. Not to mention if you bought a 2021 in California, you aren't tuning the bike still. I know that falls more on CA's EPA, but wish Harley won't blacklist the bikes if we do aftermarket tuners.
@@mikeskidmore6754 You dont have to be a stunt rider to set up your bike based on current stunt performance trends, to be a fan of hooligan style racing and stunt riding.. from groms to people in their 50's. Not everyone who owns a dirtbike or bmx bike is an X Games contestant.... think this through
I've had 4 Harleys over the last 35 years. When I was riding English, European and Japanese bikes I viewed Harleys with contempt, as overweight and underpowered. Then I rode one and fell for the very different and more relaxed riding experience. That suits my riding requirements, living in regional South Australia where the distances are long and the curves gentle. It is a lot easier to keep one's license on a Harley without falling asleep through boredom. At a time when overhead cams that require shimming became common, I was attracted to the low maintenance requirements of a simple pushrod engine with hydraulic lifters, electronic ignition and belt drive. My first Harley was an 83 Shovelhead Lowrider. It had some problems that I fixed. There is a point here that was not mentioned in the video - the challenge Harley faced meeting emission and noise regulations with an old engine design. They reduced valve guide clearance and fitted seals, apparently to reduce oil consumption. The rear exhaust valve seized and split the valve guide. Once the valve guides were reamed for sensible clearance, the exhaust valve seals omitted and free flowing intake and exhaust components fitted, I had a great bike that never let me down in 11 years of ownership. It was the first bike I owned that I did not destroy through thrashing and youthful ignorance. The 400km rides to the city at speeds as fast as the thing would go had killed all my other bikes. On the Harley I backed-off before long, because hanging-on into the wind got the better of me over 140km/hr. The next Harley was an 85 Lowrider. With a few suspension mods the handling was surprising good for anyone who can tolerate a bit of benign frame flex. That Evolution engine went hard but solid mounting to the frame made vibration severe. At full throttle it blurred my vision. Harley's solution was rubber mounting. That was never a great idea on a motorcycle. I learned that the hard way in 1976 when my Norton Commando went into a tank slapper, somersaulted and spat me onto the bitumen. A few years ago I gave-in to my resistance to flexible mounting and bought an 07 Dyna Lowrider. It looked gorgeous, was economical to run but handled like a bucket of pigswill and the brakes were woeful. Sputhe stabilisers and soft brake pads made a big improvement and I enjoyed the bike. However it never gave me confidence to push hard in bumpy corners. I recently took delivery of a Softail Lowrider S. I am delighted with it so far. Balance shafts cancel most of the vibration while the performance, fuel efficiency, handling, suspension and brakes are perfect for me. I only hope that there have not been corners cut for cost saving that will ruin the long term reliability and the ownership experience. This is my first brand new bike and I expect, my last. Just in time to see the end of ICE powered bikes Harley have finally produced the bike I wished my other Harleys had been. I think HD are missing an opportunity in the marketplace. They have a "take it or leave it" attitude to their customers. With benefit of computerised ordering and production it should be possible to build bikes cost effectively with the factory options the buyer wants. Then we would not have to spend extra thousands buying options and discarding the perfectly good bits that don't suit our requirements. I have no solution to the reality that we Harley lovers are aging and will eventually replace our bikes with gophers. Perhaps HD should explore that business!
I bought a 2020 streetglide special it's a nice bike I really do enjoy it. the ride is comfortable decent power but with the upgrades I made it was honestly more money than my Truck that's a lot to ask from most people. I have friends with other bikes that basically have everything I have for much less money. But I still love my bike
Lower their G damm price and make sportsters cool for entry level people, create a cool lowered sportster frame then expand that line and make the livewire affordable
Nice video! It is now generally understood that AMF helped keep the brand afloat, albeit with its own manufacturing woes. Arguably, the SuperGlide in itself resurrected the brand as it created a whole new segment of bikes: the middleweight cruiser. But it seems to me that the people in power now truly have no clue what they are doing. I'm Gen X and just got into bikes a few years ago. I could've bought any brand new bike I wanted but ended up with a Sportster and a Dyna, two families Harley has or will cancel. Those were the bikes that spoke to me, not the new Softails with no chrome or paint options, no vibrations, and no soul, and definitely not the ugly touring bikes. No, the segment that AMF created is what I like, and many of my generation. And there is a yuuuuge market for Dynas still. Look at Indian's new Chief family - Dyna clone. And the M8 is no gem either. I really don't think I'll ever consider a new Harley ever again since where they are going is not at all what I would buy. Maybe the Boomers will keep them afloat with the Touring line for a while, which is where all of Harley's focus is right now, and maybe the Millennials will buy the Pan Am, but Gen X has very little options. We are the next demographic to buy the big $$ bikes, but if they alienate us now (like they have), who's gonna buy them?
So... A Street Bob, as single example, which sports plenty of vibrations since it’s now rigid mounted (unlike the Dyna versions) with more color options, significantly better handling, and now w/ an ABS option is worse to you? In what way, other than two visible shocks and a name? The 2010 Street Bob came in black, black, black, and red; 2021 comes in black, white, orange, and green. Oh, and the base MSRP has risen < $2000 since 2006.
@@nicklabrie Bwahah what... The M8 is dual counter balanced, twice what the TC ever saw, it has zero vibes at idle or riding, the tank shrunk from 4.7 to 3.5, the gauges disappeared (unless you consider 1980s Timex a gauge), four drab colors compared to everything from tri-tone flames to custom candy flake, and there's zero chrome at all. Tell me again how the current Street Bob is in anyway like the Dyna. I'll wait. . . .
I did tell you, you just didn’t listen. I’ll tell you what though, you can come ride my 2010 and my 2021. And while you’re at it, I’ll let you ride my 2020 Fatboy and compare it to my 2008. I’ll follow you on my FZ10. And the twin cam was never counterbalanced on a Dyna… come on man.
They should has stuck with Buell as a brand. Basically you start with a Buell and eventually move to a Harley. Triumph seems to have no problem with it's retro bikes, and street bikes and adventure bikes.
There were two companies interested in buying Harley-Davidson AMF and Bangor punta Bangor puenta was famous for buying famous companies demolishing the factory taking a tax write-off and then keeping the name and trademark. The family told the court they wanted AMF to buy Harley-Davidson. The Harley-Davidson was in bad shape all the production Machinery was left over from the 30s and 40s and worn out completely just like Indians was. The workforce was all on the verge of retirement. AMF bought Harley-Davidson and put 7 to 10 million into the company when that was a lot of money they established the motor plant and made it easier to produce more motorcycles. They had aramachi under their wing so they had a source of little motorcycles and dirt bikes and scooters to bring other people into the dealership but once they got there they found the dealership was not interested in selling anything but a Sportster or a big twin. AMF suffered a lot of employee sabotage just like General Motors did during the same period just like BSA. Employees thought sabotaging their employees products would be a good way of getting back into company but in bsa's case it ran the company into the ground and they lost all their jobs and they were replaced by anything. If Bangor Punta had succeeded in buying Harley-Davidson we would not have Harley-Davidson today except for mugs and jackets and shirts and knick knacks but no motorcycles. AMF had the family dealers that truly liked the brand. AMF never went after independent shops because they had Harley in their name or the bar and shield on a t-shirt. They spent seven years developing the Evolution motor to offset the problems the shovelhead motor encountered by being pushed harder and harder to make more horsepower just like a Sportster was. Both for being pushed beyond their limits. AMF made a business decision to sell Harley-Davidson just like they did when they bought Harley-Davidson. General Mills bought Lionel trains and all the old guys considered 1969 the dividing Mark just like the Harley guys have before AMF and after AMF but if it wasn't for General Mills buying Lionel trains we would not have Lionel trains today even if the bastards makes them in China. The new Lionel company brought out new locomotives and other things that kept the line fresh as well as the old favorites. Every corporate decision at Harley-Davidson has made since the decision to discontinue the Evolution Big twin has been a hellacious mistake. Cheapening of the motor of the twin cam ruins their reputation. The Milwaukee 8 has severe problems that have been mitigated but never completely eliminated. The same goes for the new Revolution match which is turning off customers left right and Center. If I wanted a liquid-cooled V-Twin I would buy a Honda or a Kawasaki I would never buy a Harley. Before anybody says anything I have a 1999 xlh 883 with 400,000 miles on it still on the original engine. Harley just continued to Sportster which was their best selling and most reliable bike in this age that they made. They overpriced by kill sales so they could close the Kansas City plant. The Kansas City plant made Sportsters and used to make the V-Rod and both of them are better than anything hardly makes nowadays I wish somebody would buy the company and put those 800 people back to work. But this is not in America where people get rich by putting Americans to work this is an America where you get rich by putting Americans out of work.
In august 2020 I bought a brand new Road Glide Limited. After riding it for less than a year I just traded it on a 2021 BMW K1600B. I didn’t like that it was overweight and underpowered, the BMW is such a far superior bike in every way and considerably cheaper
well to be fair fucking europe is kiling the car and motorcycle industry with their bullshit environment policies and taxes. its like they pretend motor-vehicles to run on water or air.
They need to come out with new sportsters. The sportster line was something that changed harley forever when it first released. By now it’s become a shell of its former self. Redesigning the sportster lineup (which is probably the model Harley the younger crowd likes the most) and lowering prices would bring them in at least more than they are now
Just bought my first Harley after years of Metric bikes. I just hated that they did not try to sell me the bike, they expected me to buy it. The sales Manager at the first dealership was a real ass hat
@@JR-bj3uf LMAO , luckily I do all my own maintenance on the bikes and my cars. I'm installing the Thundermax fan for the oil cooler, let's see if they will be dicks about flashing the ECM to turn on the fan circuit.
@@easyglider1307 I worked at a H-D dealer. I brought my Buell rear wheel with a new, Shinko, tire to ask if they would mount and balance it. The shop was empty. The service guys were standing around. I knew and worked with these people and the service writer said "I'll have to charge you one hour shop time ($125). It's company policy. I went down the street to the Kawasaki shop. They did it for $40, and acted like they actually wanted my business. In answer to your question "Yes, they will probably be dicks."
@@JR-bj3uf i did the same thing. I asked harley if they would mount two tires for me and they said they would charge me double the labor since i didnt buy the tires from them. Went somewhere else and had both tires mounted for under $100. Because of that ill never take my bike to harley ever. Ill never have any kind of sympathy for a company with those types of business practices.
@@michaelbillstrom170 Their business philosophy is not to be a help to their customers but to squeeze as much money as they can out of them. It is the one thing I think of when I consider the purchase of a Harley and it turns my stomach every time.
I'll put my two cents in. I recently was in the market for a brand new bike.. I would LOVE a big bagger, but for 25k+? No thanks. So I narrowed it down to a BMW F900R completely loaded for about the same price as an Iron 883. One came with keyless everything, electronically adjustable suspension, cruise control, heated grips, etc etc, incredible technology, amazing safety features, and an awesome warranty.. can you guess what I took? Yes. Not the iron 883 which only offered an old analog speedo.
@Carl Skaggs thanks for the reply, actually that's incorrect. They are made in Berlin, Germany. Some engines are manufactured in Austria, China, and Taiwan.
@Carl Skaggs Thanks for all the info, not sure how your comment argues in any way why I would purchase zero technology analog over everything offered from BMW though besides being made in China? The sad fact is no matter how hard you try multiple things you own are made in China.
Getting older, I was considering downsizing to a street 750, but then I learned that HD discontinued the line. The fact that they were built overseas didn’t help. HD focusing on their big cruisers and trikes is suicidal. It focuses the company on a major segment of it’s market that is dying (literally). But let’s face it, CEO’s don’t really care. They have their “Golden Parachutes” so any strategy that keeps the company staggering along for a few more years is just fine with them.
I'm 45 on Saturday April 17th & I want the Bronx we were promised = I'm not a boomer & not a millenial but I don't want a current HD... Guess I'll keep my Buell on the road for many more years to come...
Happy early birthday! I'm with you on the Bronx. Super pissed. My dealership had agreed to allow me to trade in 2 late '90s Thunderbirds as a presale down payment. Man, my heart broke the day I got the "We are sorry to inform you. .." letter. I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that the Bronx would have outsold that Pan America by huge margins
I bought a 2008 Nightster last year. Achieved my childhood dream of owning a Harley. After a few improvement, the Nightster now ride great. I have fun riding it more than my previous Kawasaki Versys. Will I upgrade to another Harley? Well that is a hard question to answer... as a fan of Harley... I should answer the question without any hesitation but after looking at other alternatives price vs performance... a Harley currently is not my 1st choice for new upgrade.
As a rider since 1977 and owner of many metric bikes over the years, I have never been compelled to buy or even test ride a HD. They have been overpriced junk and on the brink of bankruptcy for decades. They make more noise than power. If they finally fail, no loss.
This is one of the better examples on the Harley story imo and is in line with my life experience in australia. My father had the AMF superglide boat tail in red white and blue. It was lovely bike but he did have reliability issues and the CB750's were going mad out here while the Harley imports where rare and people were changing carby's and trying to make them start and run better. A few years later the kwaka 900 put Harley outve action for most of the 70's and early 80's. But it picked up after that and has grown into these corporate sales office dealers in flashy shiny premises with all things dirty and mechanical hidden from view, that we have today.. Nice one mate 👍
I was waiting expectantly for that electric dirt bike at under 7k. New CEO killed the whole EV line except maybe the livewire. I kinda want one of those as well, but at 30k? Nope.
I bought leather boots in a Harley store last year. The cost was over $200. It is the double-zipper model. The left side zipper got detached from the leather on the left boot after about 9 months of use. This is how the store handled it: 1. They sent the boots to HD factory for inspection. 2. Two or three weeks later they offered me options: - Get $100 store credit and boots destroyed. - Get the boots back to have them fixed somewhere else. Take a wild guess whether or not I will ever buy anything in a Harley store ever again. Especially after I learned that they went woke.
I remember walking into a Harley dealer here in Los Angeles and not one salesman came up to me to offer any help. The sale personnel were in a room shooting the shit oblivious to the customers outside.
@@johnbrooklyn8829 Harley has an anti cuck sales policy, lol... Normally if someone does not want my business I go elsewhere, but for a Harley I will put up with what I would not for any other purchase.
Heck thats better then what its like at a car dealership your not even out of your car and they got ya by the hand pushin ya right into the take it for a drive if your trading your s in they will have a deal for you to drive it home same day to much pressure I like to take notes drive a few go home and think about it all for about a week if still interested my questions on my notes iI o in ask a salesmen if he can answer them and go from there.
@@needparalegal If I was to walk into a shop with a pocket full of cash and was not even greeted by someone asking me if they could help me, I would walk out of the door with my pocket full of cash too! I do not like the high pressure sales pitch either but it would be nice to at least have your presence acknowledged. Even if it was a service tech! Witch by the way is an answer to your impromptu sales meeting.
@@Steven1Cicero Actually that is standard at used car lots. I made the mistake of saying I was paying cash, they told me they didn't have any cars for sale.
Their current branding/lifestyle image cuts both ways (it's a matter of taste, but ultimately unsustainable), plus, overall fewer people can afford big bikes and they're more difficult to service yourself. Without change, they'll just end up in a small niche, like Urals, and Royal Enfields.
I did my business capstone on this and they are definitely right in keeping the premium brand classic look going, they should divest the adventure bike (it just adds competition) or at least not put it at the epicentre of their diversification campaign, they should keep slow but steady investment in the electric field, they should create a wholly owned subsidiary located overseas to make small, cheap commuters of all types including nacked with the "Harley touch" and to support financially that branch they should take out some of their repetitive models and instead sell more add-on features to add to their basic and classic models. This way they can keep their US brand intact, their classics premium, but also start acquiring the larger customer base i.e. commuters, women and learner riders.
I bought one HD in my life. A brand new 883 iron. It was like riding a bag of spanners down a cobbled road. And sooooo slow !! I sold it after less than 600 miles and bought an R6.... ah, thats better :-)
Indian folks treats the youtubers real nice,cool place,food etc..and a test ride with their new products... youtubers are influential...thats how you market motorcycles, some of the new buyers are going to youtube for ideas and insights of the motorcycles...
I know a few people that have bought Harley recently, None of them were new and none of them were from a HD dealership. But they also said that HD is buying up all the used from dealerships and selling them at new prices or near them to force people to buy new.
Harley's biggest competitor is Harley. There really is no reason to buy a new one off the showroom as long as craigslist and facebook marketplace are around
Harley did the same thing in the 50's after Indian went out of business in 53. They bought up all the used Indians they could or took them in trade and then scrapped them so they were gone off the market.
I have no desire to own a new Harley, they really lost me when they redesigned the Softail line and made them look like mid 90's metric bikes. I'll stick with my 1980 Superglide Fatbob, at least it looks and sounds like a Harley.
I don't know man our local dealership is selling a lot of HDs . meanwhile our local indian dealer got the axe. I think their new strategy of marketing used bikes is working....at least here in Fla
After riding reliable race rockets I was trying to slow down and decided to buy an Street Bob back in 2014, was nice but sooner or later problems started, I went to their service department and lies started. They made me buy a new battery, was ok, at the end it never started when I most needed the bike so I decide to fix it later and bought sportster 48...another peace of garbage, later trade the street Bob and the sportster 48 for a 2019 Road King special. They paid me nothing for the street Bob and nothing for the sportster... later my friend the mechanic told me the main problem the Street Bob had was a bad harness from the battery.. they could really fix that under the warranty but they only lied to me and rip me of.. later the Road King special had a bad clutch due to a recall that Harley never told me..traded again for Street Glide Special, another piece of garbage.. after making my payments on time the tranny went bad due to a transfer fluid problem and I am still begging for them to use my warranty but all I get is just excuses and they don't want to help me... I really wish they go under, Harley Davidson is the worst motorcycle brand in the world. I feel sorry for their good employees. But karma will get them.asholes..
HD needs to expand on the “new” motor and build more bikes with that motor design. Personally, I’d like to see the current bikes offered with the air cooled and the water cooled motor. Side by Side. Let the people tell you what is the better bike.
The smog people are killing off the air cooled versions. When you start leaning out to the magic 14:1 air/fuel, stuff gets hot so ya' have to have some better cooling than cylinder fins..
As a millennial with a 48 it’s kinda fun riding onto campus with my bike because it’s counter culture. Some ppl have sport bikes but my bobber with ape hangers and drag pipes is more fun and just feels like that old school ftw do what I want vibe and I love it
I have a springer and will never let it go. I wish they would tempt me with a new version. The parts are ridiculously expensive and rare. The springers are also coveted in Asia and Europe.
@@Rob-lj1jl You can still find them but most of the springers are going up in price or at the least hold their value. If you are patient you will find what your looking for.
@@Rob-lj1jl Rob, I have a 2001 H-D Heritage springer softail and it rides super smooth for being a 20 year old bike. I treat her well and she’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Good luck in your search.
They got the fxbb street bob, shits on the dyna in every way. It’s a softail dyna with a better frame more power, less vibrations. Just an all around better bike.
Ok we need to address the elephant in the room, how in the hell do you only have 375 subs? (I just subbed). Excellent video, I rarely watch beginning to end but did with this. I'll add my 2 pennies FWIW. Just got back from a 4 day trip in and around Moab, UT. Beautiful scenery, roads, awesome trip to start the year. In every instance, just like in my 20+ years of riding, the HD riders made themselves known be it in a gas station parking lot, in the National Park, on the road. Folks who can barely ride a bike well to save their lives, obnoxiously loud pipes which they rev to say "look at me and this oil tanker I almost tipped over 10 x" while blasting loud music to also announce their presence. I'm not saying the sportbikes who do standup wheelies down the highway are any better / worse but it's been my experience HD's are just super cringe worthy. The bikes themselves pretty much don't do anything well performance wise (go fast from 0 - 45?) and from my personal experience if you want to watch someone slowing down 18 wheelers through corners for lack of riding ability...follow a group of HD's. Look if riding one of those things makes someone happy more power to them but 30-40 grand for a chrome turd seems like a stretch. Great vid man and your editing is fantastic, really well presented.
I'm a millennial former gsxr boy. Found a 1993 sportster 1200 for $2k. I'm going to ride the poop out of it. It's sleek and the rumble feels great, and I might keep my license longer
I've been a a diehard Harley guy my whole life, as were my father and grandfather before me. That being said, I think we're witnessing the death throes of The Motor Company. Why? Well, you hit it pretty much on the head. They have, for too long, been selling nothing more than an image. And it has bitten them square in the ass. The younger generation has shown them what anyone with a brain already knew: if you're into motorcycling for the sake of motorcycling, why would you buy 1936 technology for twice the price? I've ridden all kinds of different bikes. I own 3 Harleys, a Triumph and a BMW. More often than not, the HDs just sit around collecting dust. Why? Well, because of what the youngsters have been trying to tell HD for years. My BMW K1600GT is far more comfortable than my '07 Softail Custom, my '15 Road King or the '47 Knucklehead chopper I built in my younger days, it goes like a Saturn V rocket, is smooth, comfortable, and waaaayyyy more powerful than anything HD ever built for, what, 10-15K cheaper? The BMW is, at least to me, just an all around better motorcycle than anything HD has or probably will build. So do I blame or make fun of the youngsters for riding something else? Hell no, I wouldn't go buy a new HD and I can afford it. I may have been and elitist in my teens and 20s, but at the prices they command Harley should be a BETTER motorcycle than the other offerings, and they are most assuredly not. Prime example is the new electric bikes (which if you haven't test ridden you should, they are fun). Zero motorcycles are basically the benchmark there right now, and for good reason. The Livewire is a nifty gizmo, but at the price they want you could buy two Zeros with change left over, and the only thing it offers is having the Harley name in it. So for me it boils down to nostalgia, riding something that vibrates like hell, is obnoxiously loud and sounds a certain way, remembering the days going to Sturgis, Daytona, Laughlin, etc with Dad back in the 90s. I'll probably always keep at least one Harley around for that reason. I'd sell the Softail and the chopper, but nobody's really interested in a 15 year old machine that are a dime a dozen. The chopper is "old school cool", but the only people who care about that sort of thing and would be willing to overlook the fact that it handles like shit, is not even remotely comfortable, difficult to start (kick only) and nothing to write home about performance wise once you do, well, they're either middle aged guys like me or old timers, and all of our knees start hurting just looking at that kicker. But anyway. I think HD is circling the drain and honestly, they kind of deserve it for the way they've operated for the last 20 years or so. Maybe they'll pull it out of the toilet like they did back in the 80s, but I have my doubts......
I bought a brand new2014 FXDL -DYNA LOW RIDER . I have had alot of fun on this 103 cu.in. 6 speed bike . However the quality of parts / materials are sub par to say the least . Before 10,000 mile mark I had motor mount recall, fork seal failure , front master cyl failure (causing brake lamp to stay illuminated) neck bearing failure all of which was warrantied. By 18,000 miles front master cyl failure again (same issue) rectifier failure , battery failure, vss failure (vehicle speed sensor) causing no speedo readout , coil failure kick stand spring broke while on interstate and drive belt broke when I put it in 1st gear before attempting departure ,rear wheel bearing failure...All that was on my dime. I replaced all but drive belt which I had local small reputable shop perform to the tune of $600 parts & labor ... Which is roughly half of the price of HD stealership. All seemed well until just before 30,000 miles ... the 2 into 1 exhaust literally split at the cat ...rendering a purchase of a set of drag pipes . That 2in1 was just getting broke in and sounding good ! And then the big one..,Ah yes slippage under acceleration... Clutches you say.... But ONLY in 3rd gear?? Hmmm ,... Try the dogs on third gear in trans were rounded off causing disengagement ., Oh so nice... I had a local bike shop replace the trap door/ gear set for $1,700. Then the clutch cable broke .Again all at my expense. So do I love my Lowrider? Sure I do ...it provides a feeling like no other when in the wind ...Is it a piece of shit... absolutely.,.will I buy another HD M/C? I highly doubt it. That being said good luck and ride safe my brother
I've witnessed a huge influx of new riders with the new lineup. The Roadster Sporty, Street Bob, and specially the Low Rider S are selling really well. The LRS "club style" is getting extremely popular these days (Too much SAMCRO Influence I guess? Haha) and every time I visit a Harley dealership here in the LA area, those places are packed. I think they are doing some things right, for the first time in decades. Only in my group of friends, more than 4 have decided to buy a HD for the first time, switching over from Hondas and Triumphs. They are doing a good job at marketing the new models, and launching different products like the Pan America (Pretty rad bike), the electric Livewire and the new Softails. Their cruiser lineup is good where it is, in my opinion. Expensive? Yeah. Fun? Hell yeah. Every time I ride another brand (might be placebo) but I feel it lacks "soul". Oh noooo, I'm turning into a Harley dude!!
Well, I was born in 1970 and every guy in the family had a Harley all my life, and I was never old enough to have one. I'm now 50 and could afford one, but I still don't feel old enough to have one yet. Maybe in a few more years.
One of the problems with Harley Davidson is the dealership charges 40.00 for a simple bolt. They don’t inspire loyalty because every time you go to a dealership they rip you off and act like they are doing you a favor.
Never go to a dealership for parts….they suck
It just seems that Harley is content with being a fashion brand first and a motorcycle manufacturer second.
Couldn't agree more. They've morphed into a clothing company selling overpriced merchandise that's not made in America ironically 😂
It wasn't like that till the 1990s when everyone the big wanna be biker craze happened it used to be the elite people that really rode there machines now it's alot of rubs but that worked out good because you could always find used bikes with no miles on them
@@rockyklies8401 no it has ALWAYS been that Harley REFUSED to commit...they simply do not and never have had In last several decades at least) managment that loves motorcycles in general....they ONLY rode a fad....a fad they had no REAL hand in even creating.....biker clubs did that in spite of them....
I agree that the company has definitely sold out I mean there is not one bike I would own after 2008 and going to a dealer is like the gift shop at Disney world and the service Dept is a joke thank god I never had to have any warranty work done I had to fix older bikes that belong to tech's that turn wrench's at the dealership
They sell chromed old tech to nostagic fudds who watched Easy Rider one too many times, dressed head-to-toe in HD gear, and wouldnt THINK about riding in the rain. Younger gens want reliability at a sane price. If they want to stay alive, gotta change with the times.
Harley-Davidson: Yesterday's Technology at Tomorrow's Prices.
I'm a life long Harley rider and I have to agree with you
My Night Rod can do over 100mph bone stock. They are strictly a motorcycle company. No car or ATV division. I have read up on Harley since the 60s. You have no idea of the exact truth. They are a survivor. I had an AMF XLCH. Not one bit of trouble. Zip. It was an XLCH kick only. I have had 3 XL models over the past 40 years. All ran like a top and I put thousands of miles on em all. My 86 883 had 75k on it during the 7 years I owned it. I don't see any Harleys broke down on the roadside. In fact, I worked at a Honda dealer for a year and there were many with serious engine issues. Like the 1983 750 Interceptior. Soft cams! With all due respect, you are full of shit.
@@frednouvertne4216 My experience was a little different. I bought a Roadster and riding it ON THE WAY HOME FROM THE DEALER AFTER THE PURCHASE the bike broke down. Electrical. Eventually I got tired of the lack of performance and traded in for a FJ 1100 Yamaha. Found out later that the guy who bought my HD trade suffered failure of a rear wheel bearing ON THE WAY HOME FROM THE DEALER and went over a guard rail. Never again.
@@frednouvertne4216 They are called Harley, cus they Harley ever run.
Roasted!
Traded my last Harley a few weeks ago after almost 30 years of brand loyalty. I just got fed up with paying way too much for way too little quality and performance, not to mention the army of leathered up sheep who think that blowing 20K+ on a chromed out mobility scooter makes you a rebel. For about half the price of my Dyna, I scored a brand new Yamaha xsr900 with about twice the horsepower and no wardrobe requirements.
had a xsr 900 blue one was a fast ripping bike, but rode like shit and hurt my back
Sir i would like to respectfully suggest you take a serious look at BMW motorcycles. Worth every penny and ride like a cadillac.
And it only took you 30 years to get fed up...
Or the Harley could've fed up with yer...the feeling can be mutual...m kidding of course 😅.
Anyway, Harley is selling outdated fashion...for those who reminiscing yesteryear and live in the past...that is their market.
And i m one of them...i feel alright alright alright 🤪🤪🤪
Uh huh, seems like a lot of projection going on here, go ahead and ride whatever you want to ride, I won't insult you by calling the newest Japanese crotch rocket ugly and completely devoid of soul, and I won't call the Honda Goldwing a parade float, nor will I call Japanese "V-twins" bad imitations, nor will I call psuedo race bike riders organ donors or wannabe boy racers, etc. I don't consider myself a rebel, nor do I aspire to be a 1%er ( or look like one), nor am I looking for a chromed "mobility scooter". I ride Harley's because I like they way they look, the way they sound, and the way they ride and because I appreciate the history of this American product. I could buy the latest Japanese wonder bike for a lot less money, but I choose not too because I don't like them....period! Lastly, stereotyping other riders and using unflattering names just makes you sound stupid, and can make people wonder where your hate for other riders, especially older riders, comes from. Your hateful remarks about "older riders" are doubly moronic since, I assume, an "older rider" is what most of you geniuses aspire to, one day, become.
I'm 70 years old. I purchased my first bike at the age of 14, and it was a 1958 Sporster. Over the years I have owned 27 motorcycles, and 16 were HD. In 1999 I purchased a new Road King after riding a Gold Wing for a few years. I Owned the Road King for 16 months, and out of those months it was in the shop 9 months. The last time I took it in I had to haul it 250 miles because the wiring harness burned up. While waiting for the bike to get finished I was looking through the want adds and noticed a used1999 Yamaha Road Star for sale. I rode the bike and fell in love with it. I put 171K trouble free miles on the bike before I sold it. I now ride a 2006 Road Star and it will take me out. Japanise bikes are just better bikes. Cost a hell of a lot less.
i have been riding almost two years, as my only vehicle. What is your biggest tip on staying alive?
I was always into Yamaha sports bikes but on holiday in Portugal I hired a HD for a week just for the opportunity. It broke down after 2 days and they gave me a Yamaha (lol) but one of the HD "looking" ones something like an XV or something and it was SUCH a smooth and beautiful ride by comparison.
@@loooooopy I have been riding for 45 years,
Never lose your fear, once you get real comfortable on your bike you start pushing your limits, and that's when bad things will happen.
Respect the street laws, always know what's around you, know your limits, and you will be fine.
True have a 2007 road star warrior no problems ever and it will wheel stand with me my wife and 60 lb. In gear. I paid 9000.00 fuel injected, dynoed at 107 HP. At 5500 ft alt. I will never sell this machine. Love it.
@@loooooopy pretend you are invisible and know one can see you. You watch all traffic around you and actively avoid them all. In short assume all other drivers are 16 yr. Old girls texting.
The thing about HD is that yesterday's rebellion is today's uncool. The average Harley rider is a grandpa still cosplaying as an outlaw between games of golf. Doesn't help that Harley burned Buell to the ground where they could have had a good inroad to younger riders that cared more about performance than chrome and noise, not to mention you don't get much at all for what you pay for one.
You prolly dont give a shit but does anybody know a way to get back into an Instagram account..?
I somehow forgot my account password. I would appreciate any assistance you can give me.
@Levi Trevor instablaster =)
@Jasper Augustus thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site on google and im waiting for the hacking stuff now.
Seems to take a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
@Jasper Augustus It did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D
Thank you so much you really help me out !
@Levi Trevor no problem :)
They blew it a long time ago when they decided they'd rather be a status symbol than a company making motorcycles for the average working man that made them successful. They deserve to go broke
Amen
Yes
You're still butthurt you couldn't afford one.
I owned one. Long long ago. So lay down hoss. I'm just saying that if you bite the hand that feeds you don't be surprised if it quits handing out grocries. You little whip I got socks older than you so step off. End of discussion no further reply will be offered or looked at
yup , they lost the simplicity battle
One thing Harley could do to help themselves is retool their dealership network. Harley dealerships are some of the rudest people I have ever encountered. They treat you like garbage and act like you're not worth their time. Indian dealers on the other hand treat you with respect. Indian has a superior product and a superior dealership mentality and attitude. Rest In Peace Harley.
I think if you don't fit the HD image you don't get much respect by the HD dealerships. HD dealers don't give me much attention when I have visited. However, Yamaha does. I have owned 6 Yamahas with very few issues.
I've always found visiting virtually every motorcycle dealer of any brand a less than pleasant experience. I'd rather go to the dentist.
I fit the image, and i’ve been a local fixture in the bike scene... and my local dealership sold me a bike... when the title arrived: odometer fraud! They tried to trick me into signing an affidavit that was fraudulent, after that, to “fix” it. I wasn’t having it. They wound up paying out on it, but souring the relationship... owned by some mogul who doesn’t care at all.... i wish Harley would relate to us in a way that turned us into ambassadors for the brand, but they just... they crap where they eat, all the time!
@@CapmLew I think you win for having the worst dealer experience. That really sucks.
@@stevewalters6403 thanks Steve. I wish my experience were more rare. The way they handled it indicated that filing false affidavits was routine in their line of work. I wanted to run it to the fullest extent but my counsel settled it. My first response to discovering my title had “mileage non-actual” was to offer settling for four grand cash. They laughed. A few weeks later they cut a check for six grand. My lawyer got his two and I walked with four. Just in time for unemployment to paralyze my buying prospects. Classic.
All I want is for the next CEO reveal to be a silhouette coming through a smoke machine saying:
"Howdy, it's Lemy from Revzilla"
2 other things happened in the early 80's that launched Harley toward the moon: The Evolution engine finally made a reliable leak-free Harley, and any Joe (or Jane) with a steady paycheck could walk in to the Dealer and ride out on a bike thanks to newly available easy financing. The seeds for the downfall were planted in the early 90's when Harley came around to their Dealers at Franchise renewal time and ordered them to build the big Boutiques we see today. The old-timers, whose Dealerships might be located in an older part of town, in an old building with wooden floors and a semi-musty smell, all retired or sold out. One by one here in Northwest Indiana and the Chicago area, the old guys are gone and the Boutiques rule.
Actually no. When their popularity increased in the eco era Harley failed to keep up with demand and alienated scores of buyers. Pure stupidity on their part. Of course this is no surprise due to the way they have mistreated their buyers through the years. So long Harley! The woke leadership is getting back at a largely conservative ownership. Black rock doesn’t care about such a small company.
Harley screwed itself when it dropped Erik Buell and his bikes.
Great video. Yes, I agree I've owned two Buells in the UK finally sold the Firebolt last year when parts had to come from the Netherlands. Bought a neat little Triumph Scrambler, 73 years old riding all my life I've owned five Harleys and three Goldwings and my wife has owned two. For my wife's 60th birthday promised her dinner at the Alahambra in Spain. HD Electra Glide serviced before trip we got off the ferry and broke down 200 miles into Spain, The bike had been to Italy the year before and was just two years old. We sat by the side of the Spanish motorway waiting for the breakdown truck and watched as an 1100 Goldwing, two up, sailed past. We never got to Alahambara though we did find Spanish railways are great even when lugging two weeks worth of touring kit. Trouble is big bikes and all that torque just get under your skin and I still look but not for serious work just an expensive toy.
@@kenfoster7668 Ive been looking at a Triumph Street Scrambler 1200 now that my ankle, knee and wrist, damaged from a long ago racing spill make riding sports bikes too painful for longer that half an hour. If you think getting parts from the Netherlands is a pain, try living here in NZ. :-)))
My 09 Ulysses is my favorite bike
I owned 10 Buells from 1995 Thunderbolt to the 1125R. They werent all that good. The 1997 Thunderbolt was an engineering disaster as the attempt to lighten the flywheels was way off. They were 2 wheeled jackhammers. The X1 was an ill handling monstrosity with an equally horrible engine management system they could never correct. The XB's were ok with the exception of the Ulysses which the cooling fan for the rear cylinder ran constantly whether in traffic or open road. In 2009 the fuel managenent system was totally replaced along with a larger oil pump and oil cooler rectified that issue. Too late as HD shut the door on Buell after the 2010 model year. The 1125R was only ok. You could buy Japanese for less and have a much better bike. Bottom line although I did like some of them the Buell line never progressed to be on a competetive level with other manufacturers. That's really what did them in. HD just came to that realization after almost 20 years of financially backing them. It only made sense financially to cut them loose after that.
Nice job on the video, you did a lot research and have a unique delivery style - it's very professional. Continue making videos, great job!
Agreed!! I was gonna say the same thing.
I’ll be keeping any eye out for your future videos man. 👍🏼
Indeed, it was a very well made video. Thank you for sparing us from lousy music and ridiculous theatrics.
Yup, this was well put together and presented. Thumbs up from here.
I agree great job
Agreed. Top notch my dude
They could help themselves by retooling their dealerships. Way too intimidating to walk into one of those places. The prices for merch and parts and service are absolutely ridiculous. Cut the fat, the overhead. Get pricing under control. Rip me off or ignore me once and I'm never coming back
Yeah, $35 for a bandana, $75 for a small ladies gloves, made in china.... Some call it "Tourist Pricing".
If you’re intimidated walking into a dealership, I think your issue has little to do with Harley Davidson.
Indian est en train de faire la même erreur sur la question des tarifs ! Ces gens n'ont pas compris que ce n'est pas parce qu'on va acheter une moto à 32.000€ (plus de 38000$) qu'on acceptera de payer 300$ pour un simple levier frein en aluminium ! Idem pour les bandanas , vestes etc etc ...
Ces gens là sont bien trop gourmands !
@@nicklabrie NOT. I own one. A 2005 Road King. Those giant dealerships are cold and impersonal. Corporate. I know I'm not the only one out here who rides HD and avoids those places.
Completely agree with you Rob.The prices,even for low end Harley’s are just too expensive.AJS,an old English bike company,have released a range of 125’s,Cafe racer,scrambler & cruiser for less than 3 grand(BRAND NEW)!!! Okay they’re only 125s,but the cruiser and cafe racer are great starter bikes,and the cruiser looks really nice.Even the Indian range are too expensive.The Sportster was always a great starter Harley for new rider,a great bike.I just don’t understand big companies that don’t listen to their customers,I just don’t.If the customer dosent buy your product, then you don’t have a business, it’s as simple as that, so why aren’t Harley listening? It’s like the bosses at Harley are politicians and not business me, and politicians NEVER LISTEN!!!😡
I was considering a Harley for my boat but went with a stainless steel boat anchor instead as I heard it would be more reliable.
C'mon, don't sugar-coat it, tell us how you really feel!
Ha! Nice one.✋🏼
No shit 😂😂😂😂😂
Ahahaha
youve n
ever rode one huh??
The whole Jason Momoa thing is weird to me... I believe Indian has a much better idea of how to market to the younger generation. They flew out the most well known moto vloggers to AZ and let them drive the new chiefs around for a couple days. I think that style of marketing is the future
Indian's do not have great styling except for the Scout. Motorcycle is 90% style and 10% reliability. If you are riding for performance you probably won't live that long anyway.
@@needparalegal Style is 100% subjective. Indians are arguably beautiful bikes. Their reliability is average to good compared to similar models. Indian performance is excellent and better than Harley in many cases. Indians demographic is younger than Harley.
@@needparalegal , Me and my stunning 2019 Indian Springfield in gray and burgundy, take copious vehement umbrage to your misguided statement.
Dan Dan, or Blockhead?
@@BlackMountainCycles I watched blockhead and Her Two Wheels... bunch more were there though
Give them another 10 years and they’ll be selling HD caskets.
You're about 15 years late....
@@deangullberry5148 At least with highway pegs it’ll make it easier to carry the casket.
@@MrSlapdash243 There's even a company that will convert a Tri-Glide into a Hearst, complete with casket trailer...
I will say though, not everything with the H-D logo is made by H-D. Anyone can slap that logo on their products, just pay the licensing fees and royalties.
@@MrSlapdash243
HD *bodybag #touring edition with nylon straps for the very last trip.
Hah ha LoL
I think a big factor if you want to entice new customers to the brand is affordability. You need to be able to offer big fun at a good value. The competition has something for almost any budget and that's a huge factor in HD's future success.
Awesome video. Very realistic view of millennials.
As a millennial or gen xer (depends on how you count birth year of early eighties). Growing up, Harley was always this unattainable or hard to achieve goals like owning a bmw for us teenagers.
In college era, I would go to a Harley dealership to check out motorcycles, and always saw middle aged or older men there, staff and customers. They would look back at us college kids and scoff and never really try to help on owning a motorcycle.
We went to another location motorcycle dealer of foreign brands, where sales people were similarly aged as ours, understood out situation of low income and short credit history and help us out on getting a right motorcycles.
Harley and frankly lot of other American companies kept on catering to boomer generation and chose to ignore our generation.
Now they are scrambling to get our business now that we have decent jobs, credit and money. Well no thanks.
Here is how to attract new riders. Don' allow dealerships to overcharge for maintenance. Don' overcharge for parts. Design the bike in a way that make it easy for do-it-yourself crowds to fix if they wish. Keep the price reasonable.
I own a 2005 BMW R1200GS. Yea it's not even close to a Harley in comparison. When my bike breaks down I can fix it with minimal tools and just about anywhere. I do all my own maint that doesn't require a scan tool. But it really is such a simple bike to work on. Oh and thats right, it makes more HP and Torque than the cute little "Hundred Dollar" bikes. Now is BMW service expensive? Fairly. But I can't help but consider the fact that my BMW just broke 100k miles yesterday as a matter of fact. Wanna show me a Harley that has accomplished that goal? A Harley with that kind of mileage would be worth jack shit! If Dealers won't even take a bike in on trade that has 30k on it? What a waste of money. I spend all that on my shiny Harley only to know I don't have any trade in value at my local Harley dealer that I've been so loyal to over the years. Thanks Harley. We love you too! Idiots! Oh and $146 for a fucking LED tail light assembly on a 2013 XL1200C! Come on. Really?
@@Gewehr2180 In Spain, a set of rear blinkers for a Dyna cost 230€, 275$.
@@MrMasMola I did also forget the $250 stock rear tire and the $120 price tag to mount the tire. Its out of control! I can have my local Japanese dealer do it for $40 if I take the wheel off the bike.
@@Gewehr2180 Nearly 300$ here for a rear HD/Dunlop. A rear Bridgestone BT-016 Pro costs 150$ at my local tyreshop, including handwork. The HD dealership tried to convince me to come back to the official tyre, saying that the “sport” tyre would last a lot less. 12.000km for 150$ against 15.000km for 300$.
Never happen
25 guys all dressed identically and riding on identical bikes: *WE ARE INDIVIDUALS*
Ducati, Triump, KTM, Yamaha pure motorcycle. Harley Davidson 90% Hollywood, 10% motorcycle
Harley needs a good sport bike!! Like buell !!
@@valdiviezo32 Buell is coming back... just not owned by Harley but by the original designer
@@cruzzindodge another owner, Erik is not involved...
@@j0m026 I stand corrected... its Bill Melvin CEO of Erik Buell racing... which is bringing the brand back to life.
I'm a 60 year old rider. Harley lost me 40 years ago. The Evolution series was a great move, and they've pretty much went back to sleep since then.
Yeah and the Evolution series was from AMF years which all the Harley die hard hate.
When you have young women like doodle on a motorcycle vlogging their positive experience on an Indian, that is how you attract a younger audience.
They went to sleep before then. Actually they chose the Evolution engine over the V4 & V6 NOVA project. Loyalists over innovation. The end.
So you were 20?
@@johnhotine5232 I was 20, looking for a new bike. Had a good budget. Saw what Harley had to offer, compared it to the Japanese bikes. The Harley dealer had nothing to offer. Bought a new Kawasaki 750 instead.
I'm a long time HD fan, a former Professional, HD-MC Test Rider. I loved your video, your style, your delivery, your truthfulness.
Harley is specializing in Trikes because most of their faithful are now AARP members.
Ive seen a couple of those Harley tricycles puttering around being mobile chicanes on the road here in NZ.
True Dat
My dad had a 1983 tour glide, I was quite young but I remember my dad working on that thing every week. He dropped oil across all of Texas lol.
Someone messed with that bike. I have had 3 Harley-Davidsons (sill own two) never once did any of my Harley-Davidsons leak any oil, not even one drop. My first H-D was my 19943 883 Sportster, yea that long ago and she never leaked oil-not a drop.
typical harley mc. as recent as 2017 they had recalls on a bunch of hd mc leaking oil.
@@PeterDad60 Maybe, I remember my dad putting a giant oil pan underneath the bike. He later got a smaller HD, that one didn´t use the pan lol.
120 year old technology that they charge extra for. What could possibly go wrong?
Yesterday's bikes at tomorrow's prices.
@@TattooedHoodlum BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I love the sarcasm :D
Harley Davidson trying to compete with Japanese bikes ,never ever .Also I heard the guy say Harleys are eyecatching ,yea ,but for all the wrong reasons
Harley should be paying royalties to sons of anarchy because every douch bag hard guy buys their junk trying to look tough! These same douch bags were getting their asses kicked daily in school!
One day they'll make wheelchairs with oversized engines!
THEY ALREADY DO!
@@johnpaulgarzaniti5065 yep. Trikes
Oversized but underpowered engines.:-)
I had one, brand new cruiser, top of the line. Never again, 900+ lbs., doesn't corner, wasn't fast, all it could do is go straight. Sold it bought a Honda!
How about yamaha?
and how did you bought it the first day with 900 lbs ??? wher were your mind ?
Maybe it didn't corner because you never learned to ride it. If you get a chance, go to a motor officer rodeo and see men and women who know how to ride. 99% of people on motorcycles don't know shit about riding a motorcycle . FACT.
@@JHV166, I have owned them all from a Honda 90 at age 14 to a Harley dresser and many in between in my 56 years of riding. You are right some people know how to operate a bike but not many out there can actually ride one. I grew up on them and still own and ride today at 70. It's more to riding than just getting on one and going through the motions it has to become a part of you.
@@williamluker9544 well Wiliam, glad to hear it. I'll be 70 in August. I have a beautiful Electra Glide Ultra Classic that I do about 20k miles a year. Have probably put close to a million miles on two wheels since I first throw a leg over...I'm lucky that I am healthy and can still enjoy the ride. I also practice EVERY TIME I RIDE. Find a parking lot and keep the skills up to date.
This video felt like I was watching the History channel. Well done.
Really? There was nothing factual nor or at least a theory on what he thought might happen. Didnt even touch on the modela that might come out.
A lot of inaccurate history...
Harley knocked it out of the park with the LiveWire. it looks cool, sounds cool, stance is badass, super easy to maintain/operate its the PERFECT bike for millennials/Zoomers, and a great way to get newer and younger riders into the brand.. UNTIL they showed the price tag. Holy hot DAMN did they screw up. how can you make such a great product to attract people to your brand and IMMEDIATLY price it out of their reach?
After riding Japanese bikes all my life at an older age I have decided to finally have an Harley. Must say I love riding the bike, but my ownership experience has already cost loads of money. I have spent more money on this Harley that I ever spent on any Japanese bike. Everything about owing an Harley is expensive.
I think it might have something to do with "saturation". Motorcycles don't make much sense anymore, at least not in the sense they did when I was a mechanic and enthusiast back in the '60s and '70s. Dealership I worked at sold so many small bikes to h.s. students and off road enthusiasts but both those venues have dwindled due to changes in liabilities and access. It's become a rich man's sport which was actually coming in view in the '80s. As a mechanic, I knew the physics favored the nimbleness of the Japanese machines as compared to the likes of H-D but I don't think many riders appreciate that during the quest for ownership.
HD means hundred dollars meaning anything with tht HD on it is at least a hundred dollars.
Could you please tell why you had to spend more money. People would like to know. Thanks
@@highvolts6620 because every Harley guy customizes his bike, and the cost of HD parts and accessories is insanely expensive. Guys will buy a 30-40k dresser and immediately start changing exhaust, intake, bars, seats, grips, pegs, and tons of other stuff its likeva sickness.
@@mikehickman3635 I’m not talking accessories, I’m talking about engine problems, cam tensioner problems, primary chain tensioner problems, excessive oil dumping into air box, you know a lot of the crap you have to deal with the twin cam and Milwaukee 8’s.
I'm a millennial. I have owned a harley for SEVEN YEARS! The same one actually. Because I want a new one but I can't afford it.
I am proud of you fellow millenial.
Same boat
What does a dog and a Harley have in common?
They both like riding in the back of a truck.
Once you ride a triumph thunderbird or speedmaster you will park that overpriced underpowered boat
@@P-nut71 doesn't make sense....
In my little country Austria🇦🇹 I saw and see more Harley Davidson Motorcycles as I saw in the USA. Every day I can hear them passing along the road near to my house. Greetings from Linz-Austria 🇦🇹🏔⛷🛶🍺🥨😎👍✌️ Europe!
Even if the present company bankrupts , someone will come in and buy the "brand" because it's got world wide recognition. #1 Harley in order to avoid their demise needs to sit down with existing owners and get feed back and react to that feedback. #2 they must address reliability issues with corrective engineering fixes and end their questionable reliability . #3 address complaints about dealers with poor reputations - a bad dealer does not promote the brand.
I have been riding for nearly 40 years, most of those commuting, never owned a HD, besides not being impressed by their bikes the culture they seem to cultivate repels me.
Yes. The culture of arrogance.
Harley riders never wave unless you're in a Harley. Admit it, people, you know it's true!
Whenever I pass a Harley rider, I give a big 'ol wave. I've NEVER gotten a wave back in 15 years of riding.
I've gotten waves from EVERY other type of rider. I've been riding my metric cruiser and gotten waves from sports bikers.
Sport touring guys almost always wave.
Harley riders NEVER wave.
They're (many of them, don't wanna stereotype) arrogant. Think they're better than us. They ride dangerously, love taking up an entire highway in group rides, and as we all know, love turning fuel into sound (instead of power)
They're so loud and obnoxious. Dear lord, Harley sucks and so do most Harley riders.
They must enjoy roll play: the obviously love playing dress up in their leather pants (lol) and matching uniforms, riding 15 minutes to the local bar or "clubhouse" and drinking and wasting time for hours on end.
And yep I guarantee someone will reply saying Harley riders have the best communities and do charity rises and crap.
Typical and expected.
The main thing I think Harley needs to desperately do is drop their prices and do some innovation like liquid cooling
Harley could learn a lot about what not to do from the Gibson guitar company! Both took a legendary company and drove it straight into the ground.
You sure got that right
They need a Gibson themed Harley, Might sell lol
Does that make their Street models Epiphone?
@@chizorama I think the Street models would have to be better quality as a lot of Epiphone’s are as good as the Gibsons.
@@MrRuger1977 I don't know about the Street's quality, but all of my friends play Epiphones these days, most of them wish they kept their old Gibsons, just like most of us wished we kept our old muscle cars, but who knew?
As a life hog member They stopped giving me the things they promised. I lost my respect For them.
I drive Japanese cars, doesn't mean I like the Japanese. If the product is no good stop buying it. If the product is superior (For Harley its only superior in style) then I don't care who made it or who sold it.
@@needparalegal Yeah, I did my Harley thing back in the early Nineties. It responded well to some modest performance mods and a little customizing; a very handsome machine. The ergonomics sucked. The Ignition Module blew, and there I was, pushing my Harley, just like everyone else ... actually it was fairly reliable for a bike that vibrated so much. It was the dealerships that turned me off. Everywhere I went the dealer staff were just oily sleazes, out for merchandising. After all, the bikes weren't oozing oil anymore. Now I ride an old, reliable, beautiful, and plenty powerful Kawasaki Drifter 800. (My Harley had been a Sportster). And this Drifter is COMFORTABLE! The ergonomics are spot on. Harley Davidson is going the way of the British Bike Industry of years gone by, for the same reason. Piss Poor Management.
@@TaiChiGhost pin point on the assholes at the dealerships. I'll NEVER buy another one.
@@Kashmirknight build it. Built not bought. Its not that hard. I have a garage full of choppers I have built over the years . Import and HD.
I know the feeling exactly
FortNine did a video on this a while back, it's interesting to see that they're still struggling
Entirely expected though
Ah, the good 'ol days where, as a repairer and machine shop owner I felt like sending HD a Christmas card every year. Not only did their bikes break a lot, they were slow, and virtually anything you did to them made them perform better, resulting in a happy customer. Tweeking the performance of a top Japanese bike was a lot of hard work for a tiny gain, and forget about the repairs. I used to think, "Harley, don't ever change", and that wish seems to have been granted, there's just less of them now.
Indian has made a serious comeback. I wouldn’t buy another Harley with the current Indian lineup available.
After 2 Harleys I bought an Indian and will never go back to HD.
Ditto. I'm super stoked about the new 'Chief' lineup!
So, why are Indian doing so well whilst Harley are struggling? If Harley made a Chief clone, would it sell?
@@Mikey__R They used to, but they killed it off. It was their 'Dyna' series if I recall correctly.
Can’t get over the name, “Indian”. I’m surprised they’ve had any success bringing that back as a brand. The logo has a Native American and it’s called ‘Indian’. I’d get it if this was 1750, but that’s a line of thought and time that I personally don’t need a throwback to.
Harley's leadership is just like their customer base; Old men afraid of change and so scared of not looking tough
Were they ever? Rhetorical question, sorry.
That pretty much sums it up a bunch of old men in the 60.s pretending there 21 again because the are afraid of change thinking every ones afraid of them because the have a harley that 1950.s mentality.those days are long gone now theres doctors lawers Christian riders
And if you dont have a harley you cant ride with us.. all that is
Harley Hipe
Yhe japenese stuff is bullit proof realy fast and very popular .harley acuitly had alot less problems
When they were old school all cast iron engine itwas heavier but a lot more tougher the evolution moter eh not so hot.. engines should be cast
How are they afraid of change and do you think the world has changed for the better?
That pretty much sums up every Ducati pony tail wimp
@@thunderroad7289 not even sure if that’s a poor attempt at an insult or not...
I road Japanese bikes for years. Thought Harley owners were idiots.
Rode a Harley and fell in love with it.
NO BIKE compares to a Harley.
Lighter bikes. Smaller sized bikes. Sportster sized full dress bagger for smaller people. Retro style bikes. Support the smaller mom n pop shops instead of forcing them to close or build a Taj Mahal. Drop the arrogance of a lot of the dealers, that alone would go along way. Have the top brass and designers actually go to bike rallies of all brands and ask the riders in person what they want/need.
Hire this guy
So you're proposing something like the $1000 touring kit that kawasaki offers for the Vulcan 900c for a sportster?
I've had the same thought. At 1200cc, the sportster has the power to handle the extra gear, and those tiny gas tanks make them feel like less bike than they are.
@@jimbartosevich498 That's a great idea, but the Hatley snobs will berate the shit outta them, just like they do everything Sportster. That's why I never bought one, just mentioning I was looking into picking up a Sportster 1200 led to ridicule when a buddy asked me of I wanted a skirt to go with it. Not all Harley riders are arrogant assholes, but the ones that are take the fun out of ridinh.
I see Harleys on the road sometimes.. In the mirrors of my Honda VTX1800.
Dude thats some good editing and cool storytelling, cant wait to see you become big, good luck
Agree. I don't give a fuco about Harley riders since as a skinny 18 to Honda rider I was mugged for my leather jacket by a pack of Harley scrotes. It was March, a freezing ride home. But the narrator here is talented. Nice work dude
@@Ifixitagain wow that's terrible but not surprising in the least. They stole your jacket? I bet you wish you were a member of their drama club (they play dress up and make believe..so, drama club!) 🙂🙄
I don't "know" any Harley riders (as in friends with them) but I do know of many ppl who ride them.
They all have something wrong with them. They're either dumb, ignorant, stuck up, have an insecurity problem or are just an all-round a$$hole of a person.
@@endokrin7897 true, but these guys were actual Criminals, the one took my jacket showed me some kinda ID card since he just got out of prison. I was walking along an almost deserted beach boardwalk alone when he snatched it out of my hand, looked at the Honda patch on the back then put it on. He was a really big dude and I bought my jacket oversized since I had no car at the time and often rode in sub freezing temperatures and thus had to layer up. So the jacket fit him. Long story short, he stole it and the other Harley scrotes he was with enabled him.
@@endokrin7897 Almost forgot, I caught another Harley scrote actually cutting my spare helmet strap to steal it. He zoomed away when I came out of the pub and I found it cut halfway through.
Funny thing is Sportsters have been more reliable than the big twins for years lol
I Just bought a 97 883 it's a great bike my first one and i love it
but Harley die hard guys poo poo the Sportster as a girls bike. That is the thing with the Harley culture even if you ride a Harley if it isn't the right model you are still a low life
@@bultacowally Well I mean that really comes down to your personality because personally if I was riding a pink moped and I was having fun then I could give a fuck about some maggot saying "girls bike"
@@bultacowally I ran into this when I owned a 2007 Sporty, probably my first and last H-D.
My Sportster works better than any of my japanese bikes did.
Harley need to realize that there are a lot of us old guys that still want high performance!
Exactly. Loving my V-Rod. Glad they finally introduced the Revolution Max. Maybe it'll turn the corner. Can't hurt.
Bingo! I'm 70 and still love to ride a greased pig...
I'm 48 and certainly NOT dead for riding. I have 5 different bikes in my garage for different purposes. Somehow, I never had the need for a 900lb beast or a trike. I'd rather drive a convertible.
@@zf4hp24 The one thing that made that HD was something that wasnt HD...oh the irony, LOL. And it still was slower than smaller displacement bikes. Stock for stock.
47 and love my 05 Road King, bought a GSXR600 (3rd bike) when I want to a performance ride, no one bike does it all, buy more than 1 to cover it all!
The main problem with Harley is its old school customer, pretty much like what you explained. Anything that comes out that's new or different is ridiculed by Harley owners which in turn keeps new riders away from them.
I think this is a great summary...well-said
58 years old never ridden a motorcycle. Signed up to take riding lessons at the local Harley dealership along with my 23 year old daughter and 24 year old son. This was their idea. Maybe Harley can speak to generation Z?
Its the soy, GMOs, Fluoride and other chemicals that is causing low testosterone.
I started riding at 50
@@needparalegal Statements of pure ignorance...
And riding a Harley has absolutely zero to do with testosterone levels. Sounds far more likely that it is you that suffers low testosterone.
Congrats! I started riding 2 years ago (at 54), did the Harley Riding Academy, got my endorsement and bought my first motorcycle-a 2019 Iron 883.
I am loving every minute of it. Have fun learning to ride w/ your kids. Good luck!
I’m 23 and I’m on a street glide right now. I love it! I’m thinking about getting a low rider s next.
The stunt dyna crowd out of california is the scene for Harley right now.... they should have supported this movement years ago when it started. From dirt bikes to sportsters to dyna's.....
Huge stunt show in san diego harley this weekend. Gonna be dope.
That's what I see for sure. Harley Corp. isn't supporting their customers, just taking their money.
I doubt there are many actual stunt riders in the USA .. a Dilusional dream of yours.. More Trikes out there than stunt riders by far.
@@sdefiel3719 agree. Not to mention if you bought a 2021 in California, you aren't tuning the bike still. I know that falls more on CA's EPA, but wish Harley won't blacklist the bikes if we do aftermarket tuners.
@@mikeskidmore6754 You dont have to be a stunt rider to set up your bike based on current stunt performance trends, to be a fan of hooligan style racing and stunt riding.. from groms to people in their 50's. Not everyone who owns a dirtbike or bmx bike is an X Games contestant.... think this through
I've had 4 Harleys over the last 35 years. When I was riding English, European and Japanese bikes I viewed Harleys with contempt, as overweight and underpowered. Then I rode one and fell for the very different and more relaxed riding experience. That suits my riding requirements, living in regional South Australia where the distances are long and the curves gentle. It is a lot easier to keep one's license on a Harley without falling asleep through boredom. At a time when overhead cams that require shimming became common, I was attracted to the low maintenance requirements of a simple pushrod engine with hydraulic lifters, electronic ignition and belt drive. My first Harley was an 83 Shovelhead Lowrider. It had some problems that I fixed. There is a point here that was not mentioned in the video - the challenge Harley faced meeting emission and noise regulations with an old engine design. They reduced valve guide clearance and fitted seals, apparently to reduce oil consumption. The rear exhaust valve seized and split the valve guide. Once the valve guides were reamed for sensible clearance, the exhaust valve seals omitted and free flowing intake and exhaust components fitted, I had a great bike that never let me down in 11 years of ownership. It was the first bike I owned that I did not destroy through thrashing and youthful ignorance. The 400km rides to the city at speeds as fast as the thing would go had killed all my other bikes. On the Harley I backed-off before long, because hanging-on into the wind got the better of me over 140km/hr. The next Harley was an 85 Lowrider. With a few suspension mods the handling was surprising good for anyone who can tolerate a bit of benign frame flex. That Evolution engine went hard but solid mounting to the frame made vibration severe. At full throttle it blurred my vision. Harley's solution was rubber mounting. That was never a great idea on a motorcycle. I learned that the hard way in 1976 when my Norton Commando went into a tank slapper, somersaulted and spat me onto the bitumen. A few years ago I gave-in to my resistance to flexible mounting and bought an 07 Dyna Lowrider. It looked gorgeous, was economical to run but handled like a bucket of pigswill and the brakes were woeful. Sputhe stabilisers and soft brake pads made a big improvement and I enjoyed the bike. However it never gave me confidence to push hard in bumpy corners. I recently took delivery of a Softail Lowrider S. I am delighted with it so far. Balance shafts cancel most of the vibration while the performance, fuel efficiency, handling, suspension and brakes are perfect for me. I only hope that there have not been corners cut for cost saving that will ruin the long term reliability and the ownership experience. This is my first brand new bike and I expect, my last. Just in time to see the end of ICE powered bikes Harley have finally produced the bike I wished my other Harleys had been. I think HD are missing an opportunity in the marketplace. They have a "take it or leave it" attitude to their customers. With benefit of computerised ordering and production it should be possible to build bikes cost effectively with the factory options the buyer wants. Then we would not have to spend extra thousands buying options and discarding the perfectly good bits that don't suit our requirements. I have no solution to the reality that we Harley lovers are aging and will eventually replace our bikes with gophers. Perhaps HD should explore that business!
Sounds easy to "lose your license" in Australia. Nanny state? 🤔
I bought a 2020 streetglide special it's a nice bike I really do enjoy it. the ride is comfortable decent power but with the upgrades I made it was honestly more money than my Truck that's a lot to ask from most people. I have friends with other bikes that basically have everything I have for much less money. But I still love my bike
@Peter Alexander I love my bike but I think people should ride whatever makes them happy and doesn't put them in debt.
Lower their G damm price and make sportsters cool for entry level people, create a cool lowered sportster frame then expand that line and make the livewire affordable
If someone can't get on an 883 they might have bigger issues than that.
They just did? Softail standard with Milwaukee-Eight 107 for 13k is pretty cheap for the softail lineup that has usually started at 20k
I rode a 1978 AMF FXE Harley for 3 years. I got sick of the breakdowns and got myself a 1986 FXR and 38 years later I desire nothing else.
Nice video! It is now generally understood that AMF helped keep the brand afloat, albeit with its own manufacturing woes. Arguably, the SuperGlide in itself resurrected the brand as it created a whole new segment of bikes: the middleweight cruiser. But it seems to me that the people in power now truly have no clue what they are doing. I'm Gen X and just got into bikes a few years ago. I could've bought any brand new bike I wanted but ended up with a Sportster and a Dyna, two families Harley has or will cancel. Those were the bikes that spoke to me, not the new Softails with no chrome or paint options, no vibrations, and no soul, and definitely not the ugly touring bikes. No, the segment that AMF created is what I like, and many of my generation.
And there is a yuuuuge market for Dynas still. Look at Indian's new Chief family - Dyna clone. And the M8 is no gem either. I really don't think I'll ever consider a new Harley ever again since where they are going is not at all what I would buy. Maybe the Boomers will keep them afloat with the Touring line for a while, which is where all of Harley's focus is right now, and maybe the Millennials will buy the Pan Am, but Gen X has very little options. We are the next demographic to buy the big $$ bikes, but if they alienate us now (like they have), who's gonna buy them?
So... A Street Bob, as single example, which sports plenty of vibrations since it’s now rigid mounted (unlike the Dyna versions) with more color options, significantly better handling, and now w/ an ABS option is worse to you? In what way, other than two visible shocks and a name? The 2010 Street Bob came in black, black, black, and red; 2021 comes in black, white, orange, and green. Oh, and the base MSRP has risen < $2000 since 2006.
@@nicklabrie Bwahah what... The M8 is dual counter balanced, twice what the TC ever saw, it has zero vibes at idle or riding, the tank shrunk from 4.7 to 3.5, the gauges disappeared (unless you consider 1980s Timex a gauge), four drab colors compared to everything from tri-tone flames to custom candy flake, and there's zero chrome at all. Tell me again how the current Street Bob is in anyway like the Dyna. I'll wait. . . .
I did tell you, you just didn’t listen. I’ll tell you what though, you can come ride my 2010 and my 2021. And while you’re at it, I’ll let you ride my 2020 Fatboy and compare it to my 2008. I’ll follow you on my FZ10.
And the twin cam was never counterbalanced on a Dyna… come on man.
The used program is the smartest thing they have done, and it is kind of like 2nd grade thinking. Erik Buell could have been a contender
They should has stuck with Buell as a brand. Basically you start with a Buell and eventually move to a Harley. Triumph seems to have no problem with it's retro bikes, and street bikes and adventure bikes.
@Marcel Cristiano Not once person gives a crap dude. Grow up , you must be a 12yr old.
@Kasen Henry , another 12yr old. GTFO
Seeing the Marcel/Kasen act all over the place...
@@legalpitbull3623 it’s a bot.
There were two companies interested in buying Harley-Davidson AMF and Bangor punta Bangor puenta was famous for buying famous companies demolishing the factory taking a tax write-off and then keeping the name and trademark. The family told the court they wanted AMF to buy Harley-Davidson. The Harley-Davidson was in bad shape all the production Machinery was left over from the 30s and 40s and worn out completely just like Indians was. The workforce was all on the verge of retirement. AMF bought Harley-Davidson and put 7 to 10 million into the company when that was a lot of money they established the motor plant and made it easier to produce more motorcycles. They had aramachi under their wing so they had a source of little motorcycles and dirt bikes and scooters to bring other people into the dealership but once they got there they found the dealership was not interested in selling anything but a Sportster or a big twin. AMF suffered a lot of employee sabotage just like General Motors did during the same period just like BSA. Employees thought sabotaging their employees products would be a good way of getting back into company but in bsa's case it ran the company into the ground and they lost all their jobs and they were replaced by anything. If Bangor Punta had succeeded in buying Harley-Davidson we would not have Harley-Davidson today except for mugs and jackets and shirts and knick knacks but no motorcycles. AMF had the family dealers that truly liked the brand. AMF never went after independent shops because they had Harley in their name or the bar and shield on a t-shirt. They spent seven years developing the Evolution motor to offset the problems the shovelhead motor encountered by being pushed harder and harder to make more horsepower just like a Sportster was. Both for being pushed beyond their limits. AMF made a business decision to sell Harley-Davidson just like they did when they bought Harley-Davidson. General Mills bought Lionel trains and all the old guys considered 1969 the dividing Mark just like the Harley guys have before AMF and after AMF but if it wasn't for General Mills buying Lionel trains we would not have Lionel trains today even if the bastards makes them in China. The new Lionel company brought out new locomotives and other things that kept the line fresh as well as the old favorites. Every corporate decision at Harley-Davidson has made since the decision to discontinue the Evolution Big twin has been a hellacious mistake. Cheapening of the motor of the twin cam ruins their reputation. The Milwaukee 8 has severe problems that have been mitigated but never completely eliminated. The same goes for the new Revolution match which is turning off customers left right and Center. If I wanted a liquid-cooled V-Twin I would buy a Honda or a Kawasaki I would never buy a Harley. Before anybody says anything I have a 1999 xlh 883 with 400,000 miles on it still on the original engine. Harley just continued to Sportster which was their best selling and most reliable bike in this age that they made. They overpriced by kill sales so they could close the Kansas City plant. The Kansas City plant made Sportsters and used to make the V-Rod and both of them are better than anything hardly makes nowadays I wish somebody would buy the company and put those 800 people back to work. But this is not in America where people get rich by putting Americans to work this is an America where you get rich by putting Americans out of work.
In august 2020 I bought a brand new Road Glide Limited. After riding it for less than a year I just traded it on a 2021 BMW K1600B. I didn’t like that it was overweight and underpowered, the BMW is such a far superior bike in every way and considerably cheaper
Thats kinda what I was thinkin also just not any performance in the Harleys unless you spend alot on up grades .
They are dead in the water with the new, just announced, tariffs in Europe. RIP Harley!
well to be fair fucking europe is kiling the car and motorcycle industry with their bullshit environment policies and taxes. its like they pretend motor-vehicles to run on water or air.
They need to come out with new sportsters. The sportster line was something that changed harley forever when it first released. By now it’s become a shell of its former self. Redesigning the sportster lineup (which is probably the model Harley the younger crowd likes the most) and lowering prices would bring them in at least more than they are now
I'm saying this as a long time Harley rider who is an elder Millenial, we don't want Jason Momoa lol. He's not doing the brand much favors.
Dude I literally said the same thing lol. Read above
Same born in 82 own a street 500 he does nothing for me if anything he puts me off the brand
Just bought my first Harley after years of Metric bikes. I just hated that they did not try to sell me the bike, they expected me to buy it. The sales Manager at the first dealership was a real ass hat
You are going to love their service policies then.
@@JR-bj3uf LMAO , luckily I do all my own maintenance on the bikes and my cars. I'm installing the Thundermax fan for the oil cooler, let's see if they will be dicks about flashing the ECM to turn on the fan circuit.
@@easyglider1307 I worked at a H-D dealer. I brought my Buell rear wheel with a new, Shinko, tire to ask if they would mount and balance it. The shop was empty. The service guys were standing around. I knew and worked with these people and the service writer said "I'll have to charge you one hour shop time ($125). It's company policy. I went down the street to the Kawasaki shop. They did it for $40, and acted like they actually wanted my business. In answer to your question "Yes, they will probably be dicks."
@@JR-bj3uf i did the same thing. I asked harley if they would mount two tires for me and they said they would charge me double the labor since i didnt buy the tires from them. Went somewhere else and had both tires mounted for under $100. Because of that ill never take my bike to harley ever. Ill never have any kind of sympathy for a company with those types of business practices.
@@michaelbillstrom170 Their business philosophy is not to be a help to their customers but to squeeze as much money as they can out of them. It is the one thing I think of when I consider the purchase of a Harley and it turns my stomach every time.
I'll put my two cents in. I recently was in the market for a brand new bike.. I would LOVE a big bagger, but for 25k+? No thanks. So I narrowed it down to a BMW F900R completely loaded for about the same price as an Iron 883. One came with keyless everything, electronically adjustable suspension, cruise control, heated grips, etc etc, incredible technology, amazing safety features, and an awesome warranty.. can you guess what I took? Yes. Not the iron 883 which only offered an old analog speedo.
@Carl Skaggs thanks for the reply, actually that's incorrect. They are made in Berlin, Germany. Some engines are manufactured in Austria, China, and Taiwan.
@Carl Skaggs Thanks for all the info, not sure how your comment argues in any way why I would purchase zero technology analog over everything offered from BMW though besides being made in China? The sad fact is no matter how hard you try multiple things you own are made in China.
This video is extremely well-made
Except who the fuck are Harley Davinson?
Momoa is a tool they give a new bike and he takes a spray can to it. Million Dollar Bogan would be a way better rep for the brand
MDB is awesome, great channel!
Getting older, I was considering downsizing to a street 750, but then I learned that HD discontinued the line. The fact that they were built overseas didn’t help.
HD focusing on their big cruisers and trikes is suicidal. It focuses the company on a major segment of it’s market that is dying (literally). But let’s face it, CEO’s don’t really care. They have their “Golden Parachutes” so any strategy that keeps the company staggering along for a few more years is just fine with them.
Harley relied on nostalgia for years, that don't work with the younger crowd
doesn´t even work with me anymore (in fact, hasn´t for a while now) ... and I´m in my 40s...
I'm 45 on Saturday April 17th & I want the Bronx we were promised = I'm not a boomer & not a millenial but I don't want a current HD... Guess I'll keep my Buell on the road for many more years to come...
Happy early birthday!
I'm with you on the Bronx. Super pissed. My dealership had agreed to allow me to trade in 2 late '90s Thunderbirds as a presale down payment. Man, my heart broke the day I got the "We are sorry to inform you. .." letter. I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that the Bronx would have outsold that Pan America by huge margins
@@jofree233 I fully agree!
I bought a 2008 Nightster last year. Achieved my childhood dream of owning a Harley.
After a few improvement, the Nightster now ride great. I have fun riding it more than my previous Kawasaki Versys.
Will I upgrade to another Harley? Well that is a hard question to answer... as a fan of Harley... I should answer the question without any hesitation but after looking at other alternatives price vs performance... a Harley currently is not my 1st choice for new upgrade.
As a rider since 1977 and owner of many metric bikes over the years, I have never been compelled to buy or even test ride a HD. They have been overpriced junk and on the brink of bankruptcy for decades. They make more noise than power. If they finally fail, no loss.
@Peter Alexander He should try an 2022 Indian Chief, better than Harley
You nailed it. This video should be required viewing for all the Harley leadership.
This is one of the better examples on the Harley story imo and is in line with my life experience in australia.
My father had the AMF superglide boat tail in red white and blue. It was lovely bike but he did have reliability issues and the CB750's were going mad out here while the Harley imports where rare and people were changing carby's and trying to make them start and run better. A few years later the kwaka 900 put Harley outve action for most of the 70's and early 80's. But it picked up after that and has grown into these corporate sales office dealers in flashy shiny premises with all things dirty and mechanical hidden from view, that we have today..
Nice one mate 👍
YOUR VOICE GOLDEN!!! U SHOULD BE A HARLEY SALESMAN LOL
or a crack head on I-71 @ the Hudson exit.
I was waiting expectantly for that electric dirt bike at under 7k. New CEO killed the whole EV line except maybe the livewire. I kinda want one of those as well, but at 30k? Nope.
I bought leather boots in a Harley store last year. The cost was over $200. It is the double-zipper model. The left side zipper got detached from the leather on the left boot after about 9 months of use. This is how the store handled it:
1. They sent the boots to HD factory for inspection.
2. Two or three weeks later they offered me options:
- Get $100 store credit and boots destroyed.
- Get the boots back to have them fixed somewhere else.
Take a wild guess whether or not I will ever buy anything in a Harley store ever again. Especially after I learned that they went woke.
I remember walking into a Harley dealer here in Los Angeles and not one salesman came up to me to offer any help. The sale personnel were in a room shooting the shit oblivious to the customers outside.
You're a man who can't speak up for himself and grab a salesman? Maybe it was an impromptu sales meeting, who knows, just go grab someone.
@@johnbrooklyn8829 Harley has an anti cuck sales policy, lol... Normally if someone does not want my business I go elsewhere, but for a Harley I will put up with what I would not for any other purchase.
Heck thats better then what its like at a car dealership your not even out of your car and they got ya by the hand pushin ya right into the take it for a drive if your trading your s in they will have a deal for you to drive it home same day to much pressure I like to take notes drive a few go home and think about it all for about a week if still interested my questions on my notes iI o in ask a salesmen if he can answer them and go from there.
@@needparalegal If I was to walk into a shop with a pocket full of cash and was not even greeted by someone asking me if they could help me, I would walk out of the door with my pocket full of cash too! I do not like the high pressure sales pitch either but it would be nice to at least have your presence acknowledged. Even if it was a service tech! Witch by the way is an answer to your impromptu sales meeting.
@@Steven1Cicero Actually that is standard at used car lots. I made the mistake of saying I was paying cash, they told me they didn't have any cars for sale.
The problem is they cater to the old guard, and the old guard is only doing one thing, getting old
Their current branding/lifestyle image cuts both ways (it's a matter of taste, but ultimately unsustainable), plus, overall fewer people can afford big bikes and they're more difficult to service yourself.
Without change, they'll just end up in a small niche, like Urals, and Royal Enfields.
Harley wasn't always pidgeon holed into the big cruiser type bikes. They used to even make a 125cc dirt bike...
This has been going on for years. This is not the end of HD. Great video though.
This is the end of Harley and about time.
@@markdezuba we can still buy Chinese made while Harley branded tshirts though…
I did my business capstone on this and they are definitely right in keeping the premium brand classic look going, they should divest the adventure bike (it just adds competition) or at least not put it at the epicentre of their diversification campaign, they should keep slow but steady investment in the electric field, they should create a wholly owned subsidiary located overseas to make small, cheap commuters of all types including nacked with the "Harley touch" and to support financially that branch they should take out some of their repetitive models and instead sell more add-on features to add to their basic and classic models. This way they can keep their US brand intact, their classics premium, but also start acquiring the larger customer base i.e. commuters, women and learner riders.
I bought one HD in my life. A brand new 883 iron. It was like riding a bag of spanners down a cobbled road. And sooooo slow !!
I sold it after less than 600 miles and bought an R6.... ah, thats better :-)
Im in the same boat man. Just spent 13 on an 883, and im already planning on selling it next fall to get an Mt-09 or Mt-10
Some of us are not spped freaks.
Indian folks treats the youtubers real nice,cool place,food etc..and a test ride with their new products... youtubers are influential...thats how you market motorcycles, some of the new buyers are going to youtube for ideas and insights of the motorcycles...
Je suis d'accord avec vous mais Indian est en train de faire la même erreur que HD concernant les tarifs à tous les niveaux qui sont exhorbitants !
Their bikes are also just plain good. The FTR is like one of the most fun and intense bikes out there.
Lets not forget how HD treated Milliondollarbogan, that was certainly a brand loyalty hit.
I know a few people that have bought Harley recently, None of them were new and none of them were from a HD dealership. But they also said that HD is buying up all the used from dealerships and selling them at new prices or near them to force people to buy new.
Harley's biggest competitor is Harley. There really is no reason to buy a new one off the showroom as long as craigslist and facebook marketplace are around
Harley did the same thing in the 50's after Indian went out of business in 53. They bought up all the used Indians they could or took them in trade and then scrapped them so they were gone off the market.
melt them down and start over
Yeah HD is selling used bikes at near new pricing it doesn't make sense to buy used at dealership
They make glorified compressors that make more noise than power. I have owned a 250 that used to blow Harley's off the map. That says it all for me.
I have no desire to own a new Harley, they really lost me when they redesigned the Softail line and made them look like mid 90's metric bikes. I'll stick with my 1980 Superglide Fatbob, at least it looks and sounds like a Harley.
I don't know man our local dealership is selling a lot of HDs . meanwhile our local indian dealer got the axe. I think their new strategy of marketing used bikes is working....at least here in Fla
Where in Fla. are u at?..the opposite is happening where I live..
You can win battles but still loss the war. You just have to lose more battles than you win. Some places will have more Harley riders than others.
@@tmar0075 tallahassee
…because there’s real life and then there’s virtual life. Spend enough time, and believe everything you read, and virtual life starts to feel real.
@@harryhowell5644 Orlando here
After riding reliable race rockets I was trying to slow down and decided to buy an Street Bob back in 2014, was nice but sooner or later problems started, I went to their service department and lies started. They made me buy a new battery, was ok, at the end it never started when I most needed the bike so I decide to fix it later and bought sportster 48...another peace of garbage, later trade the street Bob and the sportster 48 for a 2019 Road King special. They paid me nothing for the street Bob and nothing for the sportster... later my friend the mechanic told me the main problem the Street Bob had was a bad harness from the battery.. they could really fix that under the warranty but they only lied to me and rip me of.. later the Road King special had a bad clutch due to a recall that Harley never told me..traded again for Street Glide Special, another piece of garbage.. after making my payments on time the tranny went bad due to a transfer fluid problem and I am still begging for them to use my warranty but all I get is just excuses and they don't want to help me... I really wish they go under, Harley Davidson is the worst motorcycle brand in the world. I feel sorry for their good employees. But karma will get them.asholes..
HD needs to expand on the “new” motor and build more bikes with that motor design. Personally, I’d like to see the current bikes offered with the air cooled and the water cooled motor. Side by Side. Let the people tell you what is the better bike.
The smog people are killing off the air cooled versions. When you start leaning out to the magic 14:1 air/fuel, stuff gets hot so ya' have to have some better cooling than cylinder fins..
Let the reliability of the liquid cooled engine speak for itself
When HD led their hype for the PanAm with how much hp it had...knew right then they had no idea how to sell to the ADV market
Actually KTM , Triumph and BMW all have this much HP in their 1200 CC bikes too ..
As a millennial with a 48 it’s kinda fun riding onto campus with my bike because it’s counter culture. Some ppl have sport bikes but my bobber with ape hangers and drag pipes is more fun and just feels like that old school ftw do what I want vibe and I love it
If they were to sell a Springer again - I’d buy one tomorrow.
It seems like they make a lot of decisions... none of them good.
Good luck 🍀
I have a springer and will never let it go. I wish they would tempt me with a new version. The parts are ridiculously expensive and rare. The springers are also coveted in Asia and Europe.
@@Rob-lj1jl You can still find them but most of the springers are going up in price or at the least hold their value. If you are patient you will find what your looking for.
@@jfabs8796 I had a bone stock 96 Bad Boy. Posted it on Ebay about two years ago and some dude in Japan bought it at asking price in the first day.
@@Rob-lj1jl Rob, I have a 2001 H-D Heritage springer softail and it rides super smooth for being a 20 year old bike. I treat her well and she’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Good luck in your search.
HD needs to bring back the DYNA line! It is where big engine and entry level meet.
They got the fxbb street bob, shits on the dyna in every way. It’s a softail dyna with a better frame more power, less vibrations. Just an all around better bike.
Except it looks like a turd compared to the Dyna and lacks soul.
I am in Canada I have to pay $1600 per year for insurance (that is after 25%discount) and I get to Ride it only for 4 to 41/2 months.
I'm in Flint, Michigan, I don't own a bike here. I'm moving back to Las Vegas where I can ride all year round.
Ok we need to address the elephant in the room, how in the hell do you only have 375 subs? (I just subbed). Excellent video, I rarely watch beginning to end but did with this. I'll add my 2 pennies FWIW. Just got back from a 4 day trip in and around Moab, UT. Beautiful scenery, roads, awesome trip to start the year. In every instance, just like in my 20+ years of riding, the HD riders made themselves known be it in a gas station parking lot, in the National Park, on the road. Folks who can barely ride a bike well to save their lives, obnoxiously loud pipes which they rev to say "look at me and this oil tanker I almost tipped over 10 x" while blasting loud music to also announce their presence. I'm not saying the sportbikes who do standup wheelies down the highway are any better / worse but it's been my experience HD's are just super cringe worthy. The bikes themselves pretty much don't do anything well performance wise (go fast from 0 - 45?) and from my personal experience if you want to watch someone slowing down 18 wheelers through corners for lack of riding ability...follow a group of HD's. Look if riding one of those things makes someone happy more power to them but 30-40 grand for a chrome turd seems like a stretch. Great vid man and your editing is fantastic, really well presented.
I'm a millennial former gsxr boy. Found a 1993 sportster 1200 for $2k. I'm going to ride the poop out of it. It's sleek and the rumble feels great, and I might keep my license longer
@@markstreich2709 If it puts a a smile on your face I'm all for it bro. Congrats, my opinion notwithstanding.
I've been a a diehard Harley guy my whole life, as were my father and grandfather before me. That being said, I think we're witnessing the death throes of The Motor Company. Why? Well, you hit it pretty much on the head. They have, for too long, been selling nothing more than an image. And it has bitten them square in the ass. The younger generation has shown them what anyone with a brain already knew: if you're into motorcycling for the sake of motorcycling, why would you buy 1936 technology for twice the price? I've ridden all kinds of different bikes. I own 3 Harleys, a Triumph and a BMW. More often than not, the HDs just sit around collecting dust. Why? Well, because of what the youngsters have been trying to tell HD for years. My BMW K1600GT is far more comfortable than my '07 Softail Custom, my '15 Road King or the '47 Knucklehead chopper I built in my younger days, it goes like a Saturn V rocket, is smooth, comfortable, and waaaayyyy more powerful than anything HD ever built for, what, 10-15K cheaper? The BMW is, at least to me, just an all around better motorcycle than anything HD has or probably will build. So do I blame or make fun of the youngsters for riding something else? Hell no, I wouldn't go buy a new HD and I can afford it. I may have been and elitist in my teens and 20s, but at the prices they command Harley should be a BETTER motorcycle than the other offerings, and they are most assuredly not. Prime example is the new electric bikes (which if you haven't test ridden you should, they are fun). Zero motorcycles are basically the benchmark there right now, and for good reason. The Livewire is a nifty gizmo, but at the price they want you could buy two Zeros with change left over, and the only thing it offers is having the Harley name in it. So for me it boils down to nostalgia, riding something that vibrates like hell, is obnoxiously loud and sounds a certain way, remembering the days going to Sturgis, Daytona, Laughlin, etc with Dad back in the 90s. I'll probably always keep at least one Harley around for that reason. I'd sell the Softail and the chopper, but nobody's really interested in a 15 year old machine that are a dime a dozen. The chopper is "old school cool", but the only people who care about that sort of thing and would be willing to overlook the fact that it handles like shit, is not even remotely comfortable, difficult to start (kick only) and nothing to write home about performance wise once you do, well, they're either middle aged guys like me or old timers, and all of our knees start hurting just looking at that kicker. But anyway. I think HD is circling the drain and honestly, they kind of deserve it for the way they've operated for the last 20 years or so. Maybe they'll pull it out of the toilet like they did back in the 80s, but I have my doubts......
How do you ride that pieces of crap? Biggest junk on two wheels ever built. True then and true now.
I bought a brand new2014 FXDL -DYNA LOW RIDER . I have had alot of fun on this 103 cu.in. 6 speed bike . However the quality of parts / materials are sub par to say the least . Before 10,000 mile mark I had motor mount recall, fork seal failure , front master cyl failure (causing brake lamp to stay illuminated) neck bearing failure all of which was warrantied. By 18,000 miles front master cyl failure again (same issue) rectifier failure , battery failure, vss failure (vehicle speed sensor) causing no speedo readout , coil failure kick stand spring broke while on interstate and drive belt broke when I put it in 1st gear before attempting departure ,rear wheel bearing failure...All that was on my dime. I replaced all but drive belt which I had local small reputable shop perform to the tune of $600 parts & labor ... Which is roughly half of the price of HD stealership. All seemed well until just before 30,000 miles ... the 2 into 1 exhaust literally split at the cat ...rendering a purchase of a set of drag pipes . That 2in1 was just getting broke in and sounding good ! And then the big one..,Ah yes slippage under acceleration... Clutches you say.... But ONLY in 3rd gear?? Hmmm ,... Try the dogs on third gear in trans were rounded off causing disengagement ., Oh so nice... I had a local bike shop replace the trap door/ gear set for $1,700. Then the clutch cable broke .Again all at my expense. So do I love my Lowrider? Sure I do ...it provides a feeling like no other when in the wind ...Is it a piece of shit... absolutely.,.will I buy another HD M/C? I highly doubt it. That being said good luck and ride safe my brother
Harley has an image but when you can get the same experience for half the price with a Yamaha, why bother.
Exactly, but some people are brand loyalists, telling you that you haven't riden a Harley, yet never road a Yami...
I've witnessed a huge influx of new riders with the new lineup. The Roadster Sporty, Street Bob, and specially the Low Rider S are selling really well. The LRS "club style" is getting extremely popular these days (Too much SAMCRO
Influence I guess? Haha) and every time I visit a Harley dealership here in the LA area, those places are packed. I think they are doing some things right, for the first time in decades. Only in my group of friends, more than 4 have decided to buy a HD for the first time, switching over from Hondas and Triumphs. They are doing a good job at marketing the new models, and launching different products like the Pan America (Pretty rad bike), the electric Livewire and the new Softails. Their cruiser lineup is good where it is, in my opinion. Expensive? Yeah. Fun? Hell yeah. Every time I ride another brand (might be placebo) but I feel it lacks "soul". Oh noooo, I'm turning into a Harley dude!!
Harley davidson needs to get their act together. I will never buy another one .big, heavy bulky won't run won't stop acceleration is a bad joke
Well, I was born in 1970 and every guy in the family had a Harley all my life, and I was never old enough to have one. I'm now 50 and could afford one, but I still don't feel old enough to have one yet. Maybe in a few more years.
That makes absolutely no sense , I’m 38 and have owned multiple harleys since mid 20s
Thats just dumb.
If you're not of the generation that got picked on, bullied, and beat-up by the guys from the 50's it doesn't make any sense does it?