Harley-Davison's New Association with MotoGP

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I've long said HD needs to transition to building legitimate sport bikes. Baggers might sell to the older folks, but they are aging out/dying out slowly.

Young people buy HD's but they aren't buying them in the sort of numbers needed to sustain long-term sales IMO.

They need a legitimate sport bike line that doesn't rely on the V-Twin but that's also a sizeable investment that frankly I am not sure they are willing to make at this point. They had a naked bike in the pipeline at one point a couple of years ago and wound up ....-canning it. Was a nice looking V-Twin Streetfighter that I bet would have sold well with the younger crowd.
 
JPSLotus said:
I've long said HD needs to transition to building legitimate sport bikes. Baggers might sell to the older folks, but they are aging out/dying out slowly.

Young people buy HD's but they aren't buying them in the sort of numbers needed to sustain long-term sales IMO.

They need a legitimate sport bike line that doesn't rely on the V-Twin but that's also a sizeable investment that frankly I am not sure they are willing to make at this point. They had a naked bike in the pipeline at one point a couple of years ago and wound up ....-canning it. Was a nice looking V-Twin Streetfighter that I bet would have sold well with the younger crowd.
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That naked v-twin was exceptional looking.
 
The sport bike segment is such a tiny part of motorcycle market that it wouldn't be worth it for harley. They do have a good modern platform in the new sportsters (DOHC, liquid cooled, VVT and fuel injection), however they have priced them too high to attract younger buyers. Young people buy cheap, KTM RC390s, BMW G310, Yamaha R3, stuff like that. To contrast that, most of the 1000cc sport bikes I sell go to middle aged men.

What I think Harley should do is offer a bike that is similar to the bikes being raced in the King of the Baggers series, with the tricked out suspension and brakes, racing bars, and lots of carbon fiber.
 
mikesbytes said:
Harley’s long term problem is that electric bikes make the wrong sound
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Despite many people talking about electric cars being set up to make ICE sounds, which would be easy to do. It would even be easy to fake gear-changes and engine braking if there is regenerative generation. But, it never seems to happen. The Porsche Taycan has a 'fake engine sound', but it sounds like the vacuum cleaner from hell to me. Surely Harley could add a V-twin sound to an electric motorcycle.

I'm not famiiar with the culture of those bikes or the racing series. So, it doesn't mean very much to me. The day already seems quite full for MotoGP, and I wonder if the baggers would run later on a Sunday or sometime on a Saturday. If it happens, and I maintain my motogp.com subscription, then I think I would watch the series and then it would mean more to me.

Will Harley-Davidson create a 125cc scooter for the Asian market?
 
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mikesbytes said:
Harley’s long term problem is that electric bikes make the wrong sound
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Harley already has an electric bike the Live Wire, I have ridden a couple, they ride good, you do feel the weight but you also feel the torque. They do make a sound, so they are not completely quiet. Down side is they only get about an hours worth of ride time, and thats if you are riding conservative. They are also $16K which is more then most young riders can afford.
 
mikesbytes said:
They have tried things like that before
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I had a google and found the Topper.

1960-harley-davidson-topper


But, it seems that they're looking at modern electric scooters too.

Screenshot 2024-11-19 144733.jpeg
 

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Hollywood said:
Harley already has an electric bike the Live Wire, I have ridden a couple, they ride good, you do feel the weight but you also feel the torque. They do make a sound, so they are not completely quiet. Down side is they only get about an hours worth of ride time, and thats if you are riding conservative. They are also $16K which is more then most young riders can afford.
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The last Harley I bought was almost 10 years ago, which when inflation adjusted was just over $20K. I bit the bullet at the time because I loved the look of the Wide Glide. Since they axed the Dyna line, I have no reason to go back to HD ever again. Ridden their baggers, they are nice for what they are, extremely comfortable I will admit so I do see the appeal of them if you are going to be doing a lot of distance riding. The Sportster S with the Revolution 1250cc engine looks like it might be a fun bike to ride locally, but the price is just too much. Plus I had to stop riding for other reasons, so even were I in the market for a bike, HD would be so far down the list at this point of considerations due to pricing points that I'd never get involved with buying their stuff again.
 
As a dealer I get to ride just about every bike, and in my own personal collection I have Harleys, Ducatis and everything in between. There is a motorcycle out there for what ever type of riding you want to do. However, Harley is the only manufacture offers a social aspect with their product, and that is appealing to certain people. Now I'm not saying you need a Harley to go to a biker bar or rally, but it is an easy conversation starter at those places.
 
I'm not surprised Harley is trying to get King of the Baggers onto the world stage. The bikes are quite entertaining, and they turn lap times similar to FIM Supersport bikes.

Regarding participation by an American manufacturer, I still think Ilmor is the only legitimate possibility, now that it's owned by Penske and they have a European base of operation. I don't think Penske has any desire to go racing in MotoGP, though.
 
In Sydney the majority of new Harleys are brought by older males that have corporate jobs and ride them on the occasional Sunday. The problem that Harley has is that the average age of a Harley purchaser is getting older every year and eventually they will be to old to buy another Harley, the company is aware of this and is trying various things to correct that decline, perhaps its involvement in MotoGP will be another attempt to correct this aging customer trend.
 
Barbedwirebikerr said:
I see em all the time. Shiny new Harley's. Brand new leather jackets, got the tshirt and Boots. All the gear, no idea.
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I know its dangerous to over-generalize but but given personal experience over decades of street riding and attending huge Sunday morning bike meetups in the Tri-State area I can safely opine, that the great majority of Harley riders are aging right-wing throw-backs with romantic ideas of the whole lone wolf tough guy Hell’s Angels. And largely, the balance are weekend warrior insurance adjusters, aluminum siding salesmen, and cologne-wearing, cigar-smoking Wall Street .........s who trade in their silk suits on the weekend for leather costumes that emulate that whole ‘60s outlaw biker archetype. They go around bristling with all that agro, dangerous-guy energy, but for the most part they’re what a Texan friend of mine used to say, “All hat and no cattle.”. There are out there, some forward thinking, progressive guys who ride Harleys. But the ones I’ve met have been few and far between.
 
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I have been in the motorcycle business for 25 years now, and have heard the saying that Harley riders are getting older and soon they wont ride anymore as long as I have been in business, yet people are still buying them. I dont get a lot of harleys in, maybe 40-50 a year, but they do sell quickly.
 
Hollywood said:
I have been in the motorcycle business for 25 years now, and have heard the saying that Harley riders are getting older and soon they wont ride anymore as long as I have been in business, yet people are still buying them. I dont get a lot of harleys in, maybe 40-50 a year, but they do sell quickly.
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Absolutely. Didn't mean to imply it was only boomers riding Harleys. Getting dressed up on weekends in Hell's Angels lookalike get-ups is even more popular than suburbanite dads who wear Stetsons and expensive cowboy boots. Seriously tho, I still love to go to flat-track races when I do, the parking lot is always filled to brimming with chopper style bikes. That .... ain't going away anytime soon.
 

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