Will Hogs be History?

[Byteme]

Apparently Harley Davidson will run out of cash sometime in 2009 if they continue on the downward sales spiral that started in 2008.

[giant_mtb]

Have Harleys lost their luster and following, or is this going for pretty much all motorcycle manufacturing firms?

Personally, I've never really liked Harleys, at least not modern ones.  I'm not motorcycle expert or enthusiast, but I can appreciate a nice bike...and I've never thought Harleys were anything amazing.

[SVT666]

I just did my final inspection on the new Harley-Davidson dealership here in Kelowna, and it's huge.  We're not a big city or anything (125,000 people) and this is the biggest Harley dealership I've ever seen.  I hope it's not true.  H-D bikes are cool.

[GoCougs]

Not history, but a significant bucking down. Any product or industry with little or no intrinsic value is bound to get back-handed when times get tough.

[sportyaccordy]

Do they make non-hogs... just basic street bikes?

Hogs do seem kinda corny.

[SVT666]

Do they make non-hogs... just basic street bikes?

Hogs do seem kinda corny.

WTF?  Do you know what a HOG is?  Harley Owners Group.  The bikes aren't HOGS, the owners are.  Byteme misnamed this thread.

[Cobra93]

You would think that they could survive on t-shirt and do-rag sales alone. They actually have dealerships that don't sell bikes, just paraphernalia. 

[Cobra93]

WTF?  Do you know what a HOG is?  Harley Owners Group.  The bikes aren't HOGS, the owners are.  Byteme misnamed this thread.

The bikes have been referred to as hogs for years.

[Cobra93]

Do they make non-hogs... just basic street bikes?

Hogs do seem kinda corny.

Almost all of their bikes are based on the same architecture. Large, air cooled V-twin cruisers. Their real challenge will be the EPA.

[SVT666]

The bikes have been referred to as hogs for years.

Incorrectly though.  You will never hear an H-D owner call it a HOG unless that owner bought the bike because of a mid-life crisis.

[S204STi]

Do they make non-hogs... just basic street bikes?

Check out the link in my sig.  They also have a controlling stake in Buell.

[Eye of the Tiger]

How can they run out of money when the majority of the bikes they sell are over $20k and by any means should not cost even half of that to build?

[S204STi]

How can they run out of money when the majority of the bikes they sell are over $20k and by any means should not cost even half of that to build?

wut?

[NomisR]

How can they run out of money when the majority of the bikes they sell are over $20k and by any means should not cost even half of that to build?

Don't forget they need to spend a lot of money on R$D!

[Cobra93]

Incorrectly though.  You will never hear an H-D owner call it a HOG unless that owner bought the bike because of a mid-life crisis.

There are other kinds of Harley owners?   

From Wiki:

Origin of "Hog" nickname

Beginning in 1920, a team of farm boys, including Ray Weishaar, who became known as the "hog boys," consistently won races. The group had a hog, or pig as their mascot. Following a win, they would put the pig (a real one) on their Harley and take a victory lap.[78] In 1983, the Motor Company formed a club for owners of its product taking advantage of the long-standing nickname by turning "hog" into the acronym H.O.G., for Harley Owners Group. Harley-Davidson attempted to trademark "hog", but lost a case against an independent Harley-Davidson specialist, The Hog Farm of West Seneca, NY,[79] in 1999 when the appellate panel ruled that "hog" had become a generic term for large motorcycles and was therefore unprotectable as a trademark.[80]

On August 15, 2006, Harley-Davidson Inc. had its NYSE ticker symbol changed from HDI to HOG

[Eye of the Tiger]

wut?

The damn things are waaaaaaay 'spensive for what you get. You have to assume that the profit margins on Harleys has got to be among the highest of any vehicle ever sold anywhere. If not, then the manufacturing process must be horribly inefficient and the workers at the Harley plant must be getting paid twice what they'd be worth anywhere else, and the dealerships are making a real killing. Or, a combination of all of the above.

[S204STi]

The damn things are waaaaaaay 'spensive for what you get. You have to assume that the profit margins on Harleys has got to be among the highest of any vehicle ever sold anywhere. If not, then the manufacturing process must be horribly inefficient and the workers at the Harley plant must be getting paid twice what they'd be worth anywhere else, and the dealerships are making a real killing. Or, a combination of all of the above.

Yeah they ain't cheap, but I doubt they're all going out the door at $20k.

[the Teuton]

V Rods and the customs are the most expensive bikes they make.

Most sell for well upwards of $15k, though, and they don't have half the features of a $24k Honda Goldwing.

[Raza]

I was never a big fan of Harleys.  I want a Triumph Thruxton.

[S204STi]

I like certain Harley models, like the Sportster (esp the XR1200) and that Vrod thingy.

Otherwise I am more interested in a sports/standard type of bike.

I have an attraction to Buell that I will have to satiate someday.

[Tave]

That's the only Harley I want.

[the Teuton]

A guy who used to work at the Bimmer dealer came in over the summer on one of those things, same colors, and it seemed like such an exotic to me.  I know Porsche designed the engine, but it seems like such an alien bike to me that it might as well be a Triumph.  The V Rod is a kickass bike.

[Eye of the Tiger]

That's the only Harley I want.

Oh yeah 

I like the XR1200, too:

[Eye of the Tiger]

Yeah they ain't cheap, but I doubt they're all going out the door at $20k.

I don't think you've ever been to a Harley dealership.

[S204STi]

I don't think you've ever been to a Harley dealership.

Well, maybe you're right.  I've never really shopped at one, no.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Well, maybe you're right.  I've never really shopped at one, no.

Truth is there is a wide range of models and prices, but I was at one a couple weeks ago, and I couldn't believe how many of the bikes were in the $20k price range, and that's just for a pretty typical looking Softtail. I couldn't even look at them. I had to stay in the Sportster section so I wouldn't feel so poor.

[hotrodalex]

I have an attraction to Buell that I will have to satiate someday.

I hear the new Helicon engine in the 1125R is amazing. Over the summer I'm going to have to test drive one.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

Truth is there is a wide range of models and prices, but I was at one a couple weeks ago, and I couldn't believe how many of the bikes were in the $20k price range, and that's just for a pretty typical looking Softtail. I couldn't even look at them. I had to stay in the Sportster section so I wouldn't feel so poor.

Very true! There's no way Imma pay that kind of money for a Harley and have my ass handed too me by a GSXR 600 (around 8k new).

[hotrodalex]

Very true! There's no way Imma pay that kind of money for a Harley and have my ass handed too me by a GSXR 600 (around 8k new).

But I'll hand you your ass with my $10k Buell.

(at least until we get up to ~65  )

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

But I'll hand you your ass with my $10k Buell.

(at least until we get up to ~65  )