HARLEY SALES DOWN - LAYING OFF WORK FORCE

[SimonTemplar]

None of this is terribly surprising.

When the MSRP of a CVO Ultra is deep into the $40K's...and the technology and reliability of that bike is deep into the 1970's....and the entire used HD market is as totally saturated as it presently is (and will be far into the foreseeable future)....Why would anyone spend the money for new?

HD has brought this upon themselves. They thought they could get by and just coast on the HD name without investing in product improvements. On top of it, they turned away from their traditional customer base, nearly tripled their prices, and pandered to the affluent white-collar buyers instead. Now it has all come home to bite them on the ass.

Not only did they voluntarily shoot themselves in the foot....they used a 12-gauge shotgun to do it.



Nope...I harbour no sympathies for them. H-D has become the Edsel of the motorcycling world. Their day is done.




....sT

[opas ride]

[QUOTE=SimonTemplar;137586]None of this is terribly surprising.

When the MSRP of a CVO Ultra is deep into the $40K's...and the technology and reliability of that bike is deep into the 1970's....and the entire used HD market is as totally saturated as it presently is (and will be far into the foreseeable future)....Why would anyone spend the money for new?

HD has brought this upon themselves. They thought they could get by and just coast on the HD name without investing in product improvements. On top of it, they turned away from their traditional customer base, nearly tripled their prices, and pandered to the affluent white-collar buyers instead. Now it has all come home to bite them on the ass.

Not only did they voluntarily shoot themselves in the foot....they used a 12-gauge shotgun to do it.



Nope...I harbour no sympathies for them. H-D has become the Edsel of the motorcycling world. Their day is done.
I totally agree my friend!!...I have tried to convince myself for over 30 years that I wanted to buy a HD just to have the experience...Thank God I never became that "stupid"....Ego, Greed and self-centeredness with get you every time.....

[Retired Army]

I am wondering if Harley should apply for a Federal Firearms License to bolster sales? There's always a crowd at the neighborhood gun shop.

[adventurous1]

Do you remember in the not-too-distant past that Harley attitude of no deals, no discounts.... and God forbid you ask for a test ride before spending 20 to 30 K. Lol lol lol. Oh, and if we allow you to purchase one of our bikes, we may give you $500 gift certificate towards our clothing that is made in China.

And, when their financing department was in monstrous trouble (during the Great Recession) for giving loans like candy to anyone who brought into their marketing for waaaaay over priced bikes, HD was able to convince Congress that HD financial was a really a "banking institution". Believe HD received about $1 billion of our money to safe their A$$$$ from going BK.

Believe that's the same time HD introduced a two-tier wage for new employees on their manufacturing/assembly line.

[bubbasparks]

Last year at a victory demo ride there was a lot of guys trading in for victorys and some traded in for goldwings. A lot of them we're stating that they were tired of getting so hot from sitting in traffic at Sturgis Ect. One guy even said if they put the v-rod motor in a bagger, they would improve sales and move into the future lol. I've never understood why they have never went water cooled on all of their bikes.

[SimonTemplar]

Do you remember in the not-too-distant past that Harley attitude of no deals, no discounts...........

No need to remember that. My local dealership is still trying to do business that way yet today. I know a woman who went in, with checkbook in hand, prepared to write a check for the full MSRP (as per the HD website) price of a RoadGlide. They refused to sell it to her for that...instead demanding significantly more for the bike. When she asked why they would not accept the price the company spec'd...they told her she was stupid to think she could buy one for that price.


Smart girl.....she walked. Purchased it a county away the following day.




.....sT

[ReserveBum]

Yesterday I had a conversation with my dealer who is pretty knowledgeable. I asked about our F6 not on Honda's 2017 line up and he said he wasnt surprised. But he said sometimes Honda releases more models later in the year. He said the whole industry is down. Said Yamaha has dropped some models also. His dealership is Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and also sell ATV's and snowmobiles and have laid off one of their salesmen. Also said they picked up CFMoto and Kymco ATV's and that has helped them stay afloat

[opas ride]

Yesterday I had a conversation with my dealer who is pretty knowledgeable. I asked about our F6 not on Honda's 2017 line up and he said he wasnt surprised. But he said sometimes Honda releases more models later in the year. He said the whole industry is down. Said Yamaha has dropped some models also. His dealership is Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and also sell ATV's and snowmobiles and have laid off one of their salesmen. Also said they picked up CFMoto and Kymco ATV's and that has helped them stay afloat

Pretty much what I am hearing and seeing around here in SE Michigan area...My Honda dealer has not sold a GW or F6B in weeks and is one of the largest Honda dealers in Michigan. They also sell Yamaha's which are also not moving off the floor...GM said they only sold 3 F6B's so far this year and they were leftover models.. Hopefully things will get better next year, but they also have nothing new on any of the 2017 model line up as yet....Doubt the F6B will be around any longer although.....Ride safe

[VStarRider]

Okay, this is making me nervous...big picture:

-Harley is laying off employees due to slow sales
-Ford has suspended production of the F-150, Mustang and Taurus due to excessive inventory
-We have had 87 months of economic growth, one of the longest stretches in between recessions

Economists say that the auto market always precedes the full economy and use it as an indicator. Harley sales are dropping (I actually hope it is just from an overpriced and outdated lineup), and according to Opas Ride, his dealer is facing slow sales for all brands. I was at my snowmobile dealer yesterday and the place was a ghost town (though his business has been winding down for years).

I wonder if we are on the cusp of an economic slowdown. How is the RV market doing? That's another major indicator.

Wages and median income were up 5% last quarter so maybe these outcomes are indicative of something else smaller than the economy as a whole.

[Maddoggie501]

I'd be curious if the H-D market is fully saturated, or if Indian cut into their sales?

I believe if you do some research you will find the entire motorcycle industry is in a slump