Harley-davidson To Exit World's Biggest Bike Market

I worshiped Harley in 1976. We knew all the distinctions and models. We would look around when we heard one. They were generally rare, at least running examples. My brother in law had one, a black Sportster, XLCH. The dealers were in the bad parts of town, and had addresses like 124 1/2 Skull Alley. The parts guy had a spider tattooed on his face. Real hard core. There were older cowboys that rode FLH's across the country with their wives.

When AMF dumped Harley and the consortium picked up the pieces, I was glad. A Davidson was on the masthead, (Willy G). I could talk with Harley guys. They were a bit grubby and spoke of what they did, and where they went, instead of what they bought and how it looks. They were their own culture. They still are out there, just harder to find. However, Willy G wanted to make Harley was it is today, and they succeeded probably beyond their dreams. They took a historic brand, broken, dirty, rung dry by AMF and made it into a phenomenon. Thousands of people enjoy their product and ride hundreds of miles. Places like Daytona and Sturgis are packed with fans. I recall in 1988, a scant 7 years from takeover in June of 1981, Harley celebrated the 85 year anniversary of the brand with a homecoming to Milwaukee. The place was jammed with bikes. Long trains of bikers poured into town, beyond what they expected. It was the turning point and confirmation of the Harley life.

Then it became fashion. Suddenly the historic dealerships were drummed out in favor of bright welcoming stores. One family in Hammond, Indiana who had been in business 90 years was told the franchise was ending, because they would not move to across from the mall. It was business, and the making of a brand. Apparel and lifestyle sold more than the bikes. The hardscrabble Harley crowd that lived and breathed motorcycles was gradually replaced by comfortable middle class who had the means to buy more expensive bikes. It was the rule of the weekend warriors. When I look at work, all the individualists ride just about the same Harley. Just part of the crowd.

Harley isn’t for me. It might have been in 1981, when I started riding, but had no money. I wanted something different and by the time I could actually act on that whim, Harley was mainstream and popular. I wish all those Harley riders well and wish they would put some wadding in the straight pipes.

 

I've heard that that H-D is changing up the whole Sportster range which could explain them pulling Sporties from the European market.

 

Oooh, don't give your brother any ideas, JtC. Hopefully you two didn't make any bets on Harley's longevity.

 

While I never rode a V-Rod, I sat on a few of the models and the ergonomics of that bike were horrible for me. They put me in a total "clam shell" position. That said, if I had a chance to test ride one now I'd jump on it as I always heard good things about the engine in particular.

I just don't understand it when folks dismiss anything without trying it or knowing more about it. "Non-Harley fans dismissing it purely on the grounds that it was a Harley", as @Dozers Dad put it, is to me like the reverse of people choosing to drink a particularly well-marketed alcohol (like Bombay Sapphire which I can't stand--but have at least tried!) because it's "the thing". Or in this case, NOT the thing.

Too bad there can't be something akin to blind tastes for motorcycle test rides so people aren't so swayed by what they think they do or don't like based on the brand. But it's not really practical to put a motorcycle in a brown paper bag.

 

I agree with you, @Gyp, about the M8 Softail line. I don't own one but have test ridden seven of them and liked them tons. And I got a chance to ride a 2018 Fat Boy about 200 miles through the Texas Hill Country which was a blast.

I currently have a bike with the M8 engine but it's in the touring family. I own a Street Glide Special (2020) and had a 2017 Road Glide Special prior to that. I love that engine. And actually, unless you buy an aftermarket exhaust that aims to be loud, they really aren't all that loud. Additionally, the fit and finish of modern day Harleys (I can't speak to anything in the previous century) is exceptional, much better than most everything else out there save for perhaps some high end custom builders. Triumph is a very close second. Fit and finish is something I look at closely--practically obsess over--just ask Mr. Sandi who always says that I have to touch, sit on, and crawl under anything with two wheels. A glaring exception to H-D's usually stellar fit and finish, however, is their Street 500 and 750 line. Ugh. Lots of inattention to detail and lots of lazy design flaws related to things like foot peg placement relative to exhaust, etc.

I also agree that perhaps these days and in this market that Harley might do better spending marketing bucks on motorcycles vs. lifestyle. But the lifestyle marketing focus certainly worked for them for a good long run and it definitely left a mark on American culture making motorcycles part of the American Dream and adventure. And it certainly made them a lot of money through tee-shirt and apparel sales along the way. Not the worse way to "diversify". A friend of mine who is a H-D GM told me once that Harley buys more cotton than steel. That's a lot of tee shirts!

And where I REALLY agree with you, Gyp, is in who you ride with. Like you, I ride with the folks I ride with whoever made their bikes. Our riding buddies' bikes include Harley-Davidson, Triumph (I have a Triumph too), Indian, Kawasaki, BMW, Yamaha, Victory, and Honda. We're an equal opportunity riding group and no one disses one another's bike(s)--just maybe their riding "outfit" (like our BMW buddy's mesh "onesy"). Just because we love him, though.

 

You have a point about other manufacturers selling a lifestyle, @OldNick. They're all just different types of lifestyles. Remember Honda's slogan, "You meet the nicest people on a Honda?" I am rather late to the motorcycle game but the Harleys I've owned have been rock solid reliable. In fact, I've owned Triumphs for just one year less than Harleys in the years I've owned bikes and have had more manufacturer recalls on my Triumphs. I think I've used my manufacturers' warranty once on a Triumph and a couple of times on a Harley. All of them were pretty minor things.

What I don't understand is why Harley is making an adventure bike in the Pan-American.....and BMW is making a cruiser in the R18??!! As much as I love my Harleys, if I were going to get an adventure bike it wouldn't be the Pan-American. Well, although based on a previous comment I made I should ride one first. I'd be looking at a Tiger first and foremost and then I'd probably compare that with a GS. Triumph and BMW know adventure bikes. And Harley knows cruisers.

 

@Hobnail, thanks for your thoughtful post and for the cool images you included, too Have you been to the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee? If not, I suspect you would really enjoy it and I believe you're in Iowa if I remember correctly so not that far away (at least compared to lots of forum members!)

I posted a thread that includes a lot of photos and stories about Milwaukee and the H-D Museum from our trip there last October. It's an incredible museum and far exceed my expectations--even as the Harley "enthusiast" that I am. And it exceeded my hubby's expectations too even though he can be a bit jaded.

https://www.thetriumphforum.com/threads/brew-city-and-bikes-milwaukee-the-h-d-museum.21566/

Jim Fricke, the museum's curator, is an interesting guy. Here's a good article about him. Prior to curating the H-D Museum he spent 12 years in Seattle helping lead the Experience Music Project (EMP) contemporary pop culture museum.

https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/mketalksjimfricke

 

At least you didn't say "ALL the obnoxious Harley riders", @JtC! I chafe at being thrown in with a group that's being stereotyped--as do most of us, I'd guess. I've never once told another rider that his or her bike was crap. Never even thought it--well, in all honesty maybe I've thought it once or twice when a bike truly was a POC--but never because of the brand itself.

In my ten years of riding Triumphs, I've never once had anyone say something negative about my non-Harley Triumph no matter where I've been--bike nights, H-D and other dealership, local restaurants. And neither did Mr. Sandi when he owned a Street Triple RS for awhile. In fact, it has been much the reverse. I've had a tremendous number of compliments about my Triumphs by bikers aboard all manner of bikes. Many of the Harley riders that have admired my Triumph(s) over the years have also smilingly told me stories about the Triumphs they owned and loved back in the '60's and '70's.

I'll not touch the "twice as reliable -not to mention faster, smoother, more comfortable" quote in your post since in past posts we've agreed to disagree on particular topics.

 

Yikes, I knew I shouldn't have opened up this H-D related thread! Especially late at night. And I guess I should have started off by posting this before I really got on a roll. As a warning......

 

Thanks for the link @Sandi T. I visited Milwaukee in 1984 and lurked about the HD headquarters on Juneau Street. Got an picture of Beal's car with a plate that read "HD 1". I considered a Super Glide then and rode them in comparison to a BMW and my final choice Laverda. The FXE felt like it was forged from a single slab of steel, seating was like a lazy-boy recliner, and the pace was unhurried. I was too much of a boy-racer to enjoy it, and returned to the dealer in Valparaiso in time to help him carry his groceries into the house next to the store. He was arrested a year later for dealing cocaine and lost the store, among other things. It was just that way.

 

It was just a jab. Heck, I think HDs are nice and if I could afford an 8th or 9th bike, one of them would definitely be a Harley.

 

Thanks, JtC. I sorta figured. Heck, I wish I could afford another 3rd bike again! Lately I'm having second thoughts about going down to two. That empty garage spot just calls to me.

 

You would get along great with my daughter, Sandi!

And yeah, it's a good thing I have a small garage.

 

Thanks for sharing all that, @Privateer. I found it really interesting to read your comments about riding with the 1%ers and your interactions with them. I've talked with guys from a few of the 1% clubs while at various rallies I've attended and they been nothing but polite to me and interested in talking bikes--mine and theirs--and riding.

I found this fun photo from the Laughlin River Run several years back. A friend who was new to riding pillion--and to the rally scene--saw this highly customized bagger as we were walking back to our hotel after a concert. Not really knowing the etiquette of sitting on others' bikes or anything about "clubs", she walked right up to this bike, oohed and aahed over it, and asked the guy if she could sit on it. The rest of us found ourselves somewhat taken aback at her boldness. And all he asked of her was to please be careful of the paint while swinging her boot over the back. So of course I asked if I could sit on it, too, since she'd opened that door. And Mr. Sandi snapped this pic when I did. I still remember this moment well because the guy cranked up the bike's exceptional sound system and Eric Clapton was belting out "Cocaine". I do wish the bike was more visible in this photo. It was stunning.

 

I'd love to meet her--and you--some day, JtC! Stranger things have happened and it's a small world. Yeah, we say that about our garage, too. Mr. Sandi's truck won't even fit in it as it's too long. So his truck is in the driveway and my Mustang and our three bikes are in the garage. So there's that one lonely space left right now.....

 

Priorities -that truck will survive the Arizona sun . . .

 

Yep, priorities! It's not like I'm gonna park my Mustang Bullitt in the driveway--or the motorcycles!

I grew up on a farm and trucks were, well, farm trucks--beaters--back then. Even now I don't quite get the $50,000-$70,000 trucks that are used just "around town". That said, Mr. Sandi LOOOOVE his truck! And I'm lucky and glad that he's ok with parking it in the driveway.

 

He is apparently a good dude.

 

Harley Davidson MT350 and MT500 for the British Army late 1990's