[glhadiator]

Enjoying my coffee this morning and I came across this article;

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/motorcycles/harley-davidson-is-still-screwed/ar-BBLi0Hd?ocid=spartandhp


Harley Davidson is lying on the curb bleeding to death. This guy has his fingers on their neck and reading their pulse pretty accurately (IMHO).

I found myself sinking into a sad melancholic mood while reading this article. I believe he is correct in his saying that the Cruiser lifestyle is dying. Not just in the Harley Davidson world either.

HD has ruled the biker world for a long time. But...even Kings die.

HD played their hand quite well. However, they let their bet ride for too long. I agree with the author, "They should have made this move long ago."

This was my favorite paragraph from the article:

The problem with having a brand built on the image of “rebellion” that only sells really expensive stuff is that the above-described situation was inevitable. The Harley-Davidson brand has been hijacked by posers, partially because even the cheapest new Harley is way too expensive for actual rebels. That’s become so obvious that even the wannabes want to stay away. But at this point it wouldn’t matter that the Harley ridin’ rebel look has been co-opted by real estate agents and middle managers, because chain wallets and MOM tattoos aren’t exactly edgy anymore no matter who’s wearing them.

Not to worry. I'll still be out there in my sleeveless leather riding my Cruiser...Kawasaki Vulcan Cruiser.

 

[DaPreacha]

I plan on riding until I can't stand on my own two feet anymore. I am proud to be different and ride a Nomad when everyone around me is riding their Harley. I never cared about being in the "club". I have found that most people are just plain afraid of riding anymore. They want everything to be nice and safe, even as they text and drive! You can't live until you are ready to die!!

 

[glhadiator]

@DaPreacha,

While enjoying a family dinner the other night I got told, "You don't act your age!"

Nope! Sixty years old. I still; Ride, Ski, Snowboard, Backpack, Climb, Lift weights, Golf, Competition shooting, Dive, Snorkel and Bojitsu. I'll quit when I can no longer physically do those things! No nice and safe for me!

 

[andyvh1959]

ME TOO!! I'll be 61 this November, been riding since I was 15. Street bikes, some track time, dirt bike, ice bike, still downhill ski, perform on stage, do most all my own work on the house (plumbing, electrical, framing, concrete, etc), do most all my own work on my own bikes. Luckily no back/hip/knee issues I can't live with to date. So I don't plan to quit riding anytime soon, and certainly no three wheelers as long as I can avoid it. IF that day comes I'll get a hot little two seater car or street rod versus a trike. I have ridden all the various three wheelers and I don't care for any of them.

If someone said to me, "You don't act your age" I take it as a huge compliment and not a derision.

"I didn't give up motorcycles because I got too old, I got old because I gave up motorcycles."

 

[cheezyridr]

I have found that most people are just plain afraid of riding anymore. They want everything to be nice and safe, even as they text and drive! You can't live until you are ready to die!!

amen, brother!

@DaPreacha,

Bojitsu.

i was going to make a napolean dynamite joke, but it's just too cool for me to make a joke about. i would love to learn kendo, and someday i plan to learn shamisen. i can speak & understand a tiny bit of japanese, and i've been studying the history from the muromachi period up to the meiji era for years now.








more on topic, i don't think it's just harley that's got a shaky future. i think motorcycles in general, and especially cruisers. i think dapreacha nailed it for the reasons why. the article, otoh said something that i really think was accurate, and important to consider:

From where I’m sitting, it looks more like the company just identified what’s popular and is trying to jump on multiple bandwagons as cheaply and efficiently as possible.

of course that's exactly what they did. they are a marketing juggernaut. that's exactly how any company of that type would behave. any of you out there who also play guitar will immediately see parallels with gibson's 2015 debacle, and current financial troubles. i'm not judging harley for being that way. i don't judge vanilla ice cream for not being as enjoyable as chocolate is to me. it is what it is. harley doesn't get it, and people there are getting a little panicky.

that said, the streetfighter is cool looking, imo. if it were priced well, i would find it VERY attractive. but let's be honest.. we all know their aint a snowball's chance in hell of that happening.

no way on god's green earth would i trust harley enough to buy an electric bike. if i was going to do that (not interested yet due to limited range and high costs) i would go honda before anyone else.

harley makes some cool bikes, i don't really have anything against them. they're just outside of my acceptable range for what i am willing to spend on a bike. if they were more reasonably priced, and the dealers treated you as well as the japanse dealers do, i would give them more consideration. the branding part of ownership doesn't do anything for me, but i totally get it that for some people it does. i do own a les paul, after all.

 

[glhadiator]

@cheezyridr,

I couldn't agree more. The Cruiser lifestyle is dying on that curb with HD. "All good things must eventually come to an end as time marches on."

I'm not really concerned about it. This will come about after I leave this world.

Harley does make some cool bikes. But man, they are so overpriced! I'm too much of a realist to be pulled into that just for the 'club'. I think the new HD Street Fighter is very cool. I could definitely see myself riding one...but not at that price!

Besides, unless something changes I'm riding the bike I'll probably ride into the sunset one day. Not planning on checking out anytime soon. However, I love what I'm riding. She turns heads everywhere she goes. Runs like a kitten purring. Hell, I built her a personal garage! No, my current bike isn't going anywhere.

...and i've been studying the history from the muromachi period up to the meiji era for years now.

I've always been fascinated with the ancient Japanese Warrior culture. Especially the Samurai. The western world never understood the honor code the Japanese people lived by during WWII. They were just viewed as fanatics. If I could go back in time I would definitely be a Samurai Warrior!

And the women! Oh my!

 

[cheezyridr]

@cheezyridr,





I've always been fascinated with the ancient Japanese Warrior culture. Especially the Samurai. The western world never understood the honor code the Japanese people lived by during WWII. They were just viewed as fanatics. If I could go back in time I would definitely be a Samurai Warrior!

And the women! Oh my!

not me, no sir! the movies make samurai culture seem very noble and grand, but the truth is, it wasn't. for all but a very few, samurai lived very impoverished, difficult lives. even "bushido code" is largely a myth that wasn't even a thing until the meiji era began to be born. some it was written into laws during the tokugawa period, but only low level samurai were actually held to it. various daimyo and others of high rank behaved largely as they saw fit. for a good idea of what samurai life was like for those of lower rank, watch a film called "when the last sword is drawn". have a box of kleenex on hand, as it is one of the saddest films you'll ever see.
as for the women, well, as a wise old man once said to me on the subject of different types, "they're all sisters when you turn them upside down". :devil2:
the woman i just escaped from was japanese. the hardest thing to get used to was the pixelation. before that' i thought it was a camera effect. :grin2:
seriously though, i have studied geisha quite a bit, and i find their culture easily as fascinating as samurai. one of my dreams is to go to gion someday, just to see one with my own eyes. being an unknown, and a white guy, i would never be allowed into an ochaya unless i was a guest of someone japanese and well respected. (not that i could afford a geisha party anyway, you wouldn't believe what it costs)
their culture and their ways are so beautiful to me. geisha represent a level of refinement that is beyond anything else i am aware of.
sorry for the long and off topic post, but these are some of my favorite topics

 

[Synycalwon]

I have to admit that Streetfighter bike looks good, reminds me of a Ducati Diavel. But that rear exhaust pipe placement is horrible! It's right under and inside your leg, better be some serious heat shielding there or that's gonna be a problem. Either way I'm sure it will be overpriced like all their bikes so it won't matter.