India is not an obvious market for H-D bikes to sell in any numbers. The 2 wheeler market may be huge but it is more ghee than lard.
Somehow I never could picture a citizen of India riding around on a Harley. Entering the market in India is another in a long line of dumb moves H-D management has made. I would not put any investment capital in that venture ...J.D.
I’m surprised HD even bothered with India in the first place. An expensive, heavy, complicated behemoth is not quite the tool for the Indian market at the moment. They will probably sell as many units in India even without local support. Developing markets with roads to match need cheap, lightweight, simple motorcycles. By all means use the leverage of big sexy bikes to sell the small ones. Their time may come in the future but in the short term the market belongs to the more functional bikes and by that I also wouldn’t include Triumph. Maybe they should have stuck to what they do best, selling T shirts?
They INSIST on building that old "steam era" junk in an world that passed them by long ago. They have the factories. They have the business infrastructure. Hire some new people and move on, or get left behind. Those days are long gone ! ...J.D.
Poor planning and execution by Harley. Selling 27,000 in ten years, while RE sells that many in one month. Hammered to death on poor roads, these fashion queens reportedly broke down a lot. Getting parts was difficult. So.. Your opinion? How about a heavy, unreliable, bike for astronomical price instead of a swell RE that is fixable, fun, and finance friendly? No need of a rocket scientist to figure this out. They also had no partners in India, deciding to go it alone. Seems to have been a bad idea from the beginning. You wonder who dreams up these plans? Should have left five years ago.
I am supposed to be in thier target demographic. I am a 75 yr. old white male. Well Harley, give me a reason to buy ANYTHING you make. Back before the last recession (2009-2012) my neighborhood was just crawling with Harleys. The economy crashed. 20% of the homes around here went vacant for a couple of years. Most of the Harley riders are gone. And they took thier noise makers with them (actually, they were probably picked up by the repo man). ...J.D.
My brother and I had a long debate about how much longer Harley will last as a motorcycle company. I told him I think they'll fold eventually if they keep down the current path. He told me they would be around after I'm dead and gone. I told him that would be nothing to brag about.
A few years back I thought H-D had seen the light. They worked in conjunction with Porsche to develop a water cooled V-Twin. It was called the V-Rod. Another fail. Forward controls combined with low bars folded the rider in a wierd position. I do not know why they did not redesign a new frame for the project and save it but it died ! Whole bunch of development money paid out for nothing. I have seen maybe two or three of them. ...J.D.
I fellow rider from work has a Harley Street 750 that he likes a lot. However, it broke down and he has been waiting for parts for over a month now. The local dealer somehow was baffled over the water cooled bike. Really disappointing. Another failed attempt at diversification. The electric "Livewire" seems to be a decent attempt, but at $30K, a bridge too far. Harley has lived well for many years on the bad boy V Twin image. Their entire business plan depends on it. Perhaps the fat boy days are over and they will shrink back into the company they were in 1980. Then again, I tend to see a lot of 40-somethings riding Hogs, so that following may keep them solvent and booming for a while.
I think it's somewhat of a shame for HD at the moment as the M8 Softail is a good motorcycle, not just good for a Harley. The bikes runs well out of the crate, so don't need all the Stage 1 nonsense to remove all the features needed to allow it pass noise regs. The braking, handling and suspension are good (as long as you avoid the ones with daft rear tyres), and the build quality seems pretty much spot on. In a world where full on sports bikes are falling out of favour and being replaced by bikes suited to a more comfortable and restrained pace of life, the bikes seem like a good fit. Price-wise, with careful shopping, they are on a par with the likes of BMW and Triumph (when I was looking, a Harley Street Bob could be had for the same price out the door as a Triumph Bobber). I suspect the image of the existing customer base isn't helping them much (unless you're an "outlaw" or an "accountant" and love obnoxiously loud pipes it's not the bike for you), and Harley are big on "lifestyle" which, whilst likely helping their merchandise sales, feels like it segregates HD from mainstream motorcycling. I ride with the folks I ride with whoever made their bikes. I could be way off the mark, but I think that Harley would do a lot better if they started selling their products as motorcycles rather than as a lifestyle.
". . . I think that Harley would do a lot better if they started selling their products as motorcycles rather than as a lifestyle." Bingo!!!
India is a rich country with supposedly many more millionaires than in the British Isles. Granted the average Indian has a lower earning capacity but it doesn't change the fact there are an awful lot of people in India who can afford a Harley. They just don't want one, it's just not on their culture radar.
I have heard the line "oh you are just jealous because you cannot AFFORD a Harley". NO...I do not WANT one ! I have a bit of an engineering background. You look at that stuff and you kind of have to laugh. I once saw one of thier "loyalists" riding around, no shirt. He had a Harley eagle tatooed across his back...shoulder to shoulder ¿ ? ... Why I stay away from Harley people. ...J.D.
Possibly a naive question but I have to ask why Harleys appear to attract so much negativity especially in the US? I get the lifestyle thing but all bike manufacturers have been ‘selling a lifestyle’ for years and years, I sort of get the lack of quality angle but that looks like it’s been resolved (been looking at the Softail range recently and all get great reviews!!), not sure I agree with lack of engineering diversity, Harley ARE V Twin cruisers, everyone else is copying them!! Why would anyone change that?? I like Harleys and if I go for a cruiser in the future it’ll probably be a Harley (I’ll get me tin ‘at now)
I think the negativity against Harley's is created by the obnoxious Harley riders that tell you your bike is crap in spite of it costing half as much and being twice as reliable -not to mention faster, smoother, more comfortable . . . They are pretty, I'll give them that.
Aha penny dropping mate, it’s the riders rather than the bikes? I can empathise with that, most people on Harleys over here are leather joy boys but hey each to their own However the actual bikes seem pretty good at the moment the M8 engine seems to have resolved some of the ‘agricultural’ issues of the past, quality appears better too Do Indian attract similar reactions? I would love the irony if Indian opened an Indian factory in India
