Harley Davidson is dying

[dissectingaorticaneurysm]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-struggle-sends-shares-tumbling-idUSKBN1ZR1HT

There's no coming back from this. They can't sustain a global business when they rely on selling overpriced bikes to aging boomers. Bike sales overall are down, but Harley is suffering the most because they have the oldest demographics.

The scariest part? Their sluggish sales are coming during a period of strong growth for consumer purchases. That means they'll be wiped out if and when the next recession hits.

 

[ARW]

It’s because you can’t wheelie a Harley, who the fuck wants a crotch rocket that you can’t wheelie in 2020

 

[Fluffernutter]

- Older demographic
- Still very little push within countries where motorcycles are the norm (parts of Asia)
- No planing for the future now that we are becoming a more urban populace (loud exhausts are great on the open road, annoying in urban/suburban areas)

 

[weed]

Harley Davidson
in a tough situation
how could this happen?

 

[JabToucher]

 

[Herwald]

Time for Wild Hogs 2 and Easy Rider 2.

 

[SFMMA]

Yeah, people aren't fucking dipshits that want to slowly drive around in leather for hours on death traps in North Dakota with a bunch of other old dudes and their fatass, bleach-blond old ladies with floppy dog tits any more.

 

[NoGoodNamesLeft]

Harley's enthusiast s are the biggest assholes lol

 

[GSP_37]

Good. They're too damn loud and obnoxious.

 

[Cole train]

 

[IloveTHIS]

good. I hate those annoying fucks.

I got love to REAL bikers. not these assholes that try to make as much noise as humanly possible, while only going 25mph.

 

[raty tat tat]

I'd rather have an Indian motorcycle. Better
IMO.

 

[Jesus X]

if you ever want to see who buys harleys got to sturgis,sd or laramie,wyoming those places are very poorly populated small towns big metro areas are buying every other type of bike,harley should have tried to invent some type of Japanese style crotch rocket or a Ducati style stunt bike to adapt maybe a bmw style traveling cruiser .

 

[Anung Un Rama]

I'd rather have an Indian motorcycle. Better
IMO.

Agreed. Way cooler looking.

 

[mrsenor]

Agreed. Way cooler looking.

or a honda

 

[Krixes]

My neighbor is a cool ass dude but he revs the shit out his Harley all the time. At first I thought he was always tunning it but no, he just likes revving the shit out of it, reminds me of that South Park episode. I can't complain since I own loud noisy cars.

 

[ralphc1]

Good. They're too damn loud and obnoxious.

They are very quiet in stock form but riders remove the stock exhaust to put something louder on them.

 

[raty tat tat]

Agreed. Way cooler looking.

According to this article Indian motorcycle
are up in sells.
https://www.bizjournals.com
Polaris Inc. stock is up sharply Tuesday morning after the maker of ATVs, snowmobiles and motorcycles reported better-than-expected profits for the fourth quarter, driven in part by the rollout of a new Indian motorcycle.

 

[dissectingaorticaneurysm]

if you ever want to see who buys harleys got to sturgis,sd or laramie,wyoming those places are very poorly populated small towns big metro areas are buying every other type of bike,harley shoupd have tried to invent some type of Japanese style crotch rocket or a Ducati style stunt bike to adapt maybe a bmw style traveling cruiser .

They have a couple of sportier bikes set to release this year. The problem is the price- these are going to have typical Harley price tags and be out of reach for the younger buyers they're trying to attract.

They also have the Livewire electric motorcycle, which has received praise but failed to attract customers.

 

[TheOldMan]

Haha beat me to it. This was my first thought when I read the OP.

I'd rather have an Indian motorcycle. Better
IMO.

Absolutely. I'd love to eventually have the cash to get an older one and fix it up.

As for the OP it's sad because Harley is such an American icon, but I can't say I'm surprised. All good things...