Harley, You?re Not Getting Any Younger Harley In The News Discuss Harley, You?re Not Getting Any Younger in the Other Topics forums; With its sales down and its core audience graying, Harley-Davidson, once a revered American brand, may need to redefine itself. More......

[ManFriday]

With its sales down and its core audience graying, Harley-Davidson, once a revered American brand, may need to redefine itself.

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[sgtcowboyusmc]

I agree to a certain degree. I think that is what the "Dark Customs" are trying to do (Lure in a new/younger fan base). HD like all companies will have to adapt to survive and reading the history of the Motor Company there have been extremely dark times in the past and changes were made to survive. Management today seems to know that and is aggressively making changes to weather the financial storms and try to attract a younger audience. I think the current Management Team is more adaptable than in the past. HD knows that the Air cooled engine is on it's way out but they are smart enough to see that the HD buying public of today wants air cooled bikes. As demographics change I think HD will change to meet the wants of the buying public. They know if they don't then HD will not survive.

BTW great topic!

[monckywrench]

Harley had this same problem once before, with many buyers being either ancient or outlaw bikers. It copied what the custom bike builders were doing (including buying the Softail name and frame design) and courted a younger audience.

The trouble with courting old folks with spare cash is that it while it may breed lifetime customers, there isn't much life left.
There is always a younger demographic available who would like a Hog, but the Motor Company ceased to care about those people outside of trying to sell Sportsters. Build a stripped, spartan big twin and lower the price. That tactic has repeatedly worked with Sportsters, but they are getting long in the tooth and are obsolete from a performance standpoint.

Harleys are not sophisticated machines and the tooling should be paid for by now. Pump out some loss-leaders to keep the lines humming and hook customers. The people who buy them for jewelry have plenty of other options.

"reading the history of the Motor Company there have been extremely dark times in the past and changes were made to survive."

Many of those times were self-induced, and the foot-shooting was public and visible. Ceding market after market works until you are at your final market. I'd like to see Harley-Davidson remember that their company succeeded because their machines were popular with working folks, and the Malcolm Forbes leather posers came along much later.