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Harley has a new image?

G

Greenman

Lifer
This little blurb popped in my news feed, I found it a bit surprising.

In 2015, for the eighth straight year, Harley was the No. 1 seller of new highway motorcycles in the United States to adults ages 18 to 34. It was also the top seller of those bikes to women, African Americans, and Hispanics, as well as Caucasian men ages 35-plus, according to motorcycle registration data.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/cars/20160605_A_Hog_with_millennials.html#ARBGPaYGpQsSJi5u.99

Like most, I thought Harley was the brand for middle aged, pot bellied, white guys. That Harley is number the number one seller with millennials is hard for me to believe. That millennials would actually get on a motorcycle fly's right in the face of the stereotypes I hold so dear.
I wonder how such a thing could happen?
 
number one seller of bikes to people that have no business owning bikes is how I read that.

two kinds of bike owners -> those that have crashed and those that will.

at least if I crash in my car, I have a cage around me to protect me 😉
 
If five millennials buy motorcycles, and three of those sales are Harleys, they have a majority share, but low absolute numbers.
 
deathBOB said:
What's a "highway motorcycle"?
Click to expand...

One of these...

south-park-harley.jpg
 
Harley is the number one growing segment for stunting too. I don't understand why - it's incredibly expensive and they're not very good for it. I guess people are just flocking to own a Harley for the name.

The company I work for is the exclusive NA distributor of one of the highest quality Italian exhaust companies. They've only done dirt and sport exhausts until last year. They decided to get into the Harley market because it's huge and enormously profitable. The existing players don't innovate because most Harley riders don't actually care about performance... until the last ~5 years. It's kind of cool to see - I'd love to see Harley become a more performance oriented brand (at least some of their stuff)

deathBOB said:
What's a "highway motorcycle"?
Click to expand...

It's a street legal motorcycle with at least 250cc displacement. (250cc is the minimum to ride on the highway.)

Zivic said:
two kinds of bike owners -> those that have crashed and those that will.

at least if I crash in my car, I have a cage around me to protect me 😉
Click to expand...
Cool story, bro
 
jdoggg12 said:
Harley is the number one growing segment for stunting too. I don't understand why - it's incredibly expensive and they're not very good for it. I guess people are just flocking to own a Harley for the name.

The company I work for is the exclusive NA distributor of one of the highest quality Italian exhaust companies. They've only done dirt and sport exhausts until last year. They decided to get into the Harley market because it's huge and enormously profitable. The existing players don't innovate because most Harley riders don't actually care about performance... until the last ~5 years. It's kind of cool to see - I'd love to see Harley become a more performance oriented brand (at least some of their stuff)



It's a street legal motorcycle with at least 250cc displacement. (250cc is the minimum to ride on the highway.)


Cool story, bro
Click to expand...

The guys who ride the air cooled Harley's are generally far more concerned with the sound than the performance. It's understandable as Harley isn't a high performance machine. What they do want is low end grunt, torque in other words. They'll pay plenty for that.
The only nod Harley has made toward performance bikes is the V-Rod. While it's pretty quick for a Harley, just about any 600cc sport bike will out perform it in acceleration, and a greyhound bus with a good driver can out corner it. It's a pretty small market, and the guys looking for real horsepower all run a "spinner" exhaust (turbo charger). Everyone else just wants it loud.
 
who? said:
Racing style bikes aren't good for long rides because of the weight on the wrists. Highway bikes are like sitting on a dining chair with footpegs and a handlebar. Highway bikes are for people who would feel silly on this 600cc scooter;http://moto.zombdrive.com/image-model/3155-honda-silver-wing-600-4.jpg.html.
Click to expand...

Never had an issue with weight on the wrists.
Riding my CBR, usually its neck and knees that start to bother me first. I HATE taking it on the highway because I don't like wasting tire tread on boring roads.

I'd take me my old ZX-11 with a set of helibars and corbin over just about any cruiser if I needed a highway bike. Rides like a buick and has gets 250 miles per tankful.
Otherwise I'd invest in a proper touring\sport touring bike.
 
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