This had to happen sometime

[taxfree4]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ha...-idUSKBN1A3126

Those slim hipped hipsters aren't going for the HOGS as they like those cafe racer sort of bikes that you can lane split with. Over confident, lazy top down business mentality will always result in missing the pulse of the market. Tastes and preferences change at light speed these days and you MUST be able to adapt or succumb to your own ignorance. The business model of "We'll build it and they will buy it regardless" is over as brand loyalty means about as much these days as air cooled engines.

[Walcrow]

They have discovered that texting, shooting selfies, and riding are really difficult to do at the same time, so they stick with the first two....

[willtill]

Harley Davidson will die a slow death; like Sears, Roebuck and Co.

I STILL do not have (nor ever had) an inkling to own a Harley. The closest I've ever come to one... is a Big Dog chopper... though it ain't no Harley per say... but it sounds like one. Potato-potato...

[bob109]

Harley has always been about Image! Doo Rags, glistening chrome parts and loud pipes with that unmistakable "rattling", "air cooled" V-Twin has been a mantra for those wanting to be "cool". The marketing ploy for Harley has been written in stone for so long that it will eventually turn into a "headstone"! Any attempts by HD to improve its engines has been EPA driven. True innovation in engine technology isn't within the grasp of management/engineering! The reality of trying to sell the "same old", "same old" time and again is finally taking its toll on the "bottom line". Attempts by HD to enter the 20th Century, i.e. V-Rod, have come and gone! HD's Obituary is in the making by its own accord. The once baby boomer's market is on the decline, taking with it a mentality of "image above all"

[Old Ryder]

Harley has always been about Image! Doo Rags, glistening chrome parts and loud pipes with that unmistakable "rattling", "air cooled" V-Twin has been a mantra for those wanting to be "cool". The marketing ploy for Harley has been written in stone for so long that it will eventually turn into a "headstone"! Any attempts by HD to improve its engines has been EPA driven. True innovation in engine technology isn't within the grasp of management/engineering! The reality of trying to sell the "same old", "same old" time and again is finally taking its toll on the "bottom line". Attempts by HD to enter the 20th Century, i.e. V-Rod, have come and gone! HD's Obituary is in the making by its own accord. The once baby boomer's market is on the decline, taking with it a mentality of "image above all"

Yep.

They created a market targeted to s single group and now that they are dying off, all of the other doors have closed. I do still own a Softail Springer, but it is more of a novelty than a motorcycle but I love it anyway-- 01 with a carb and one of the better years for a Harley. Got it so cheap, I could not believe it. P paid less than the accessories cost----then sold off about $600 in extras that came with the bike that I will never use (windshield, extra seats, grips, etc).

That would never have happened just a few years ago. The demand is drying up for a certainty.

BTW---I test rode a few in Daytona in March. The new bikes are cushy and soft. It is about as different from my 01 as a bike can be and still have the same logo on the tank.