This video delivers a lot of good facts and detailed information about Harley-Davidson motorcycle sales.
Harleys have a NASTY reputation for being UNRELIABLE! Every single person I know that has a Harley, spends more time taking it to the shop than they do riding.The parts for them are extremely expensive too. While I am on the subject of price, Harleys are INSANELY over priced! Your average younger person now wants something that just works. Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Yamaha know that. That’s why they sell tons and tons of bikes. They are constantly cramming the latest tech into their bikes, and again, at a fraction of the price of a Harley.
Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Problems
Harley-Davidson motorcycles
Harleys are not competitive whatsoever with Japanese bikes bang for buck wise. You can buy a Japanese bike thats WAY faster, WAY more fuel efficient, handles WAY better, WAY more reliable, WAY more features, and in my opinion looks better, for a lot less money. The closest thing that Harley has to a “sporty” bike is the street rod 750, which only comes with a trip and speedometer. A Honda grom, which costs less then half of that bike, comes with a speedo, tripometer, tachometer, fuel gauge, clock, turn signal indicators, high beam indicator, and a neutral position indicator. Again, on a bike that costs less then half of the harley. That right there is why no one in the younger generations wants a Harley…. they are not competitive bang for buck wise whatsoever.
The cruiser market is in the same place the car market was, back in the day! Import cars were cheap but viewed as low standard and inferior to American vehicles … nobody view them as a threat. Then the big three got complacent and stopped innovating making crap lemons while charging top dollar.
Imports quietly crept up improving, quality, power, looks, and reliability and surpassed them. Then American cars were viewed as inferior. They are making a comeback slowly. I see Harley-Davidson going throught the exact same thing. These import cruisers are serious contenders. Harley still has the name, but consumers are getting smarter. Plus, other import brands catch loyal customers a lot younger by naked bikes, sportbikes, starter bikes, sumos, groms ect. The exact demographics HD does not appeal to anymore.
For more information about Harley-Davidson motorcycles, check out Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
It has nothing to do with power engine power or speed. Younger people just tend to ride a useable bike or a crazy technical supersport. I’ve never ridden a HD but a Honda Shadow. I was shocked that I had the pegs scraping on the tarmac when making a turn or driving through a roundabout – little bit more lean angle and I would scrape my exhaust or saddle bags. So, I looked at HDs because Honda sure just messed up – nope, HDs are worse. Less ground clearance and you have ridiclious wide engine sticking out to one side so even if you had no peripherals stopping you from cornering normally: there’s an engine. And you’re gonna scrape that. They’re terrible expensive bikes which are absolutely useless in Europe. They might work in the US with little to no curves and bends, but even there you can get a comfortale touring bike or standard to ride – and I want that standard because cruiser suspension is shockingly uncomfortable and I feel like my spine wants to exit my body after every little bump. Then there’s the angle of your legs, so you can’t stand up at all to avoid your spine being wrecked. Also: have fun riding that at a little over 70mph and you’re gonna enjoy how your legs feel even the next day. Engine design? V2 with one cylinder getting cooled just fine and the other one roasting away your legs. HDs are a very specific taste and impractical at best. If someone gave me a HD for free I’d sell it without even thinking about it. They look nice and sound cool and they might be useable in some parts of the US, but the overall design is incredibly impractical. I can have everything but the brand name and looks from a bike 1/4 of the price and even outperform the HD on that with better MPG. Why would I want one?
Harley’s are just not cool anymore, young people don’t buy them, old men do. They need to make sport bikes, which is why they are probably trying to buy Ducati right now.
The problem with Harley is the same problem with the country music industry and Hollywood. They’ve lost touch with their clientele.
It has nothing to do with power engine power or speed. Younger people just tend to ride a useable bike or a crazy technical supersport. I’ve never ridden a HD but a Honda Shadow. I was shocked that I had the pegs scraping on the tarmac when making a turn or driving through a roundabout – little bit more lean angle and I would scrape my exhaust or saddle bags. So, I looked at HDs because Honda sure just messed up – nope, HDs are worse. Less ground clearance and you have ridiclious wide engine sticking out to one side so even if you had no peripherals stopping you from cornering normally: there’s an engine. And you’re gonna scrape that. They’re terrible expensive bikes which are absolutely useless in Europe. They might work in the US with little to no curves and bends, but even there you can get a comfortale touring bike or standard to ride – and I want that standard because cruiser suspension is shockingly uncomfortable and I feel like my spine wants to exit my body after every little bump. Then there’s the angle of your legs, so you can’t stand up at all to avoid your spine being wrecked. Also: have fun riding that at a little over 70mph and you’re gonna enjoy how your legs feel even the next day. Engine design? V2 with one cylinder getting cooled just fine and the other one roasting away your legs. HDs are a very specific taste and impractical at best. If someone gave me a HD for free I’d sell it without even thinking about it. They look nice and sound cool and they might be useable in some parts of the US, but the overall design is incredibly impractical. I can have everything but the brand name and looks from a bike 1/4 of the price and even outperform the HD on that with better MPG. Why would I want one?
Harley’s are just not cool anymore, young people don’t buy them, old men do. They need to make sport bikes, which is why they are probably trying to buy Ducati right now.
Lower the price !! I’m 39 and want a Harley but think I’m joking to get a jap bike do to the price . I could buy two for the price of one Harley