Harley in big financial trouble - Page 2
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Thread: Harley in big financial trouble

  1. #11
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    Not to turn this into a political thread, but at 79 years old, I have seen this great country go from bad to worse and in my opinion, we are headed for a very uncertain future with these "radical left wing idiots" who don't know their ass from a "hot rock". If socialism is such a great idea to them they should all move to corrupt countries that are under this "bullshit" and see how well it does not work!!....Regards

  2. #12
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    This time we have a president who will do something to stop the socialist movement.
    Thats why they are going nuts. They had a free ride till now.
    They have been brain washing our kids for 40 years. And we just sat back and let them.
    A lot of our generational stuff will fall by the way side. But hopefully new tech will replace it.
    I want a hover bike.
    The F6Hb !!
    ITS ALL GOOD

  3. #13
    Senior Member F6Dave's Avatar
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    This has been coming for years. Since the late 60s, the motorcycle industry's fortunes have depended heavily on the baby boomer generation. Business in the 70s was great, then cooled in the 80s as boomers had families. Harley didn't fare well in those days because affordable, faster bikes from Japan were so popular.

    When the boomers reentered the market, they bought bikes aimed at older riders, so Harley and BMW saw sales numbers like they'd never seen before. But now these old riders are retiring, riding less, or not at all. Harley sales are falling, and I'm sure others will too. When I go to a rally and a guy pushing 40 gets the 'youngest rider' award, I know the industry has big problems ahead! I'm pleasantly surprised we still have so many great bikes to choose from, but we may someday look back on these days as a 'golden age'.

  4. #14
    Senior Member Travelor's Avatar
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    I know Harley has financial issues, but BMW had a very good year in 2018. Sales are up already this year. My local Honda dealer is pushing me hard to trade up to the new "F6B", he has 2018 models on the floor with a 2,000 (I think) factory incentive. I think Honda miscalculated with the new Wing - there was a lot of pent up demand that didn't materialize into sales when the new model was introduced. Just doesn't live up to the expectations.
    Last edited by Travelor; 01-29-2019 at 06:51 PM.

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  6. #16
    Senior Member F6Dave's Avatar
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    Aging Riders

    These numbers tell a lot of the story. The median age of motorcycle riders in the USA:

    1990: 32
    2009: 40
    2017: 47

    Median age of Sturgis attendees in 2012: 58!

  7. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by F6Dave View Post
    These numbers tell a lot of the story. The median age of motorcycle riders in the USA:

    1990: 32
    2009: 40
    2017: 47

    Median age of Sturgis attendees in 2012: 58!
    Good observation and most likely one of the main factors of the reduced sales of larger bikes...Also, in my opinion, bikes as well as cars, have become so "0ver Priced" in an effort to keep CEO's salaries at ridiculous levels and the Board of Directors happy that younger and older folks are spending money on other things...Regards

  8. #18
    Senior Member SimonTemplar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by olegoat345 View Post
    ......Dad said, "are you coming or going?" "Coming" I said. Dad said, "Pack your stuff, you're leaving!"...… I was gone when they got back from church. Moved back in a few years later, for 3-4 months after my hitch in the Army. Been on my own since. That was a long, long time ago.

    Yes...my father threw me out of the house when I was 19, too. I had been in Canada (on my nice shiny 1970 Triumph, actually) for four weeks and when I got home, my father said "Where the hell have you been for the past month?"

    Now, you have to realise that I'd spoken to him the day that I left and had told him where I was headed. He said it sounded like fun and had even given me two hundred dollars for gas/food money 'just in case'. Of course....he was drunk off his ass at the time. (But then, he often was in those days.) Now, four weeks later, apparently after one of his famous cold turkey dry-outs....he was stone cold sober and had compleatly forgotten everything and didn't even remember talking to me that day.

    And on top of it, as he'd come up short a couple hundred bucks about that time, he had decided I had stolen it from his wallet when he wasn't looking. Therefore....if I was going to steal money from him and disappear with it for weeks on end without a word.....then I didn't need to be living there any longer.

    That was over 40 years ago. I haven't lived there since. (To be fair, he passed away a bit more than 10 years later. So, that made it easier.)




    ....sT
    Last edited by SimonTemplar; 02-01-2019 at 03:48 AM.
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  9. #19
    Senior Member VStarRider's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by opas ride View Post
    Good observation and most likely one of the main factors of the reduced sales of larger bikes...Also, in my opinion, bikes as well as cars, have become so "0ver Priced" in an effort to keep CEO's salaries at ridiculous levels and the Board of Directors happy that younger and older folks are spending money on other things...Regards
    ...but, are they? Let's use the number $25,000 in 2019 as the price one pays for a new Wing. Accounting for inflation, that's equivalent to $11,800 in 1988. What did a new Wing cost in 1988?
    Last edited by VStarRider; 02-03-2019 at 06:17 PM.
    Former Ride:
    2013 F6B Standard, black; sold 7/2019
    Latest Addition:
    2016 Gold Wing Level 3, red; SCT transmission stuck in manual mode
    2019 Miles:
    7,900 as of 10/6

  10. #20
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    The new generation, the "entitlement" generation, thinks that after being taught in most all schools, that everything should be handed to them, they think it's a "right", to graduate with no college debt, and have a new house, with new furniture, a new car for each house member, free health care, etc. Then, all of a sudden, they find out that they have to pay for that stuff. Well, no $$$ for motorcycles. I have no pity for them.

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