Harley goes Sparkly

[veefer800canuck]

Is it really "custom" if anyone can buy one???  

[atadaskew]

Is it really "custom" if anyone can buy one???  

Yes.
Unless it is spelled "Kustom".

[stevent]

I like them, I liked candy apple back in the 70's and I think it looks great today. I'm glad they're moving on past the Oh So Hip flat black primer look. The Shovelhead chopper I built back then was black with purple mettleflake in it, looked pretty freakin cool I'll tell ya!  

[atadaskew]

Lezbee honest here.

All the doods complaining about the hard candy Harleys, would be complaining no matter what Harley did.
They just like to biatch about Harley.

I guess if that is what keeps you entertained.
 

[sammyseaman]

Lezbee honest here.

All the doods complaining about the hard candy Harleys, would be complaining no matter what Harley did.
They just like to biatch about Harley.

I guess if that is what keeps you entertained.
 

This ^^^^

[black hills]

Lezbee honest here.

All the doods complaining about the hard candy Harleys, would be complaining no matter what Harley did.
They just like to biatch about Harley.

I guess if that is what keeps you entertained.
 

pretty much covers it, maybe it's Harley envy

[Cricket1]

pretty much covers it, maybe it's Harley envy

Yup that must be it... everyone who doesn't like a Harley must really be jealous and wants one.   
(says the typical narcissistic Harley owner... And Atadaskew
What a complete crock of &$?!   

[black hills]

Yup that must be it... everyone who doesn't like a Harley must really be jealous and wants one.   
(says the typical narcissistic Harley owner... And Atadaskew
What a complete crock of &$?!   

maybe it's in the owners manual

[Cricket1]

maybe it's in the owners manual

Nah- They don't need the owners manual to tell them to be narcissists, it just comes naturally. 

[atadaskew]

Yup that must be it... everyone who doesn't like a Harley must really be jealous and wants one.   
(says the typical narcissistic Harley owner... And Atadaskew
What a complete crock of &$?!   

Just get one already.  

Sheesh.

[DogBoy]

Just get one already.  

Sheesh.

 

[FBRR]

They may have "sparkly gas tanks", BUTThey don't spread with E10!!

[Carbonero]

Yeah, nice paint.  

Harley does have amazing marketing skills, and has soooo many fanbois drinking the Kool Aid.

It's just too bad they ONLY market to the cruiser crowd. Think how much they could advance motorcycling into say the... hmmmm.. .. late 1980's if they branched out into other segments of the market.  Yeah, I know about Buell, etc.  


Its sad to think of all the Harley owners who will never in their lives experience what its like to ride a bike that handles, brakes and accelerates better than a 1956 DeSoto.  

(And yeah, I can hear Bubbles/ Chornbe/ whatever he's called now, going on about how his Sporty can run down CBR's etc. I don't doubt for a second he is right, but how many Harleys have had that type of work done on them to perform like that??  Me thinks not too many)

They make what sells.

They will never undo what they've done, they will never change. Why? They have unmatched success doing exactly what they do. Period. End of story.

They've tried to branch out a little here and there. People want Harleys to be Harleys. Nothing else. The three XR1200s that sold and the 19 VRods that sold are loved by those 22 people, but otherwise, they're just not ever going to break into other market segments. Why?

Would you pay $25,000 for a sport bike that the Japanese can build cheaper, in higher numbers and with 20, 30, 40 years of track legacy? There's no way Harley can touch "big four" pricing, and to do so as a new entry...? Well, we see how (relatively) few Buells sold over the years and they were "loss leader" priced.

Would you pay *any* reasonable fee for a "new" line of bikes from a company who has absolutely NO track record (pun) making bikes in that market segment?

Would you pay *any* reasonable fee for a bike built with something other than the tried-n-true I4, high-revving, anemically torqued engine by a company who's spent the last 100 years making engines that maximize torque and have leave the RPM wars to the race track?

Would you pay *any* reasonable fee for a bike whose manufacturer has spent over 100 years building tube cradle-frame bikes when even the Suzuki Bandit (a steel tube cradle-frame bike) is called antiquated and sells in numbers measuring a fraction of the more "advanced" bike styles?

Would you pay *any* reasonable fee to enter the world on a "Harley-Davidson" sport bike? The stigma alone from both sides of the Orange -n- Black fence would make you sell the thing in 20 minutes.

Everyone says "Harley should...." but no one would buy it, no one would be the early adopter ("I'll buy a used one in 3 or 4 years when the prices drop") and no one would ever go to bat in the market place.

Can we just give up on this silly argument now?

Harley doesn't make what the sport bike and ST crowd wants. They don't need to. They (likely) never will. And that's A-ok. You want all the pluses that Harley offers...? Buy a Harley. You don't want a Harley? That's ok too. You don't get those pluses.

And there are pluses. Many of them.

Harley, et al, ain't dumb.

[Carbonero]

Yup that must be it... everyone who doesn't like a Harley must really be jealous and wants one.   
(says the typical narcissistic Harley owner... And Atadaskew
What a complete crock of &$?!   

No, just the people who say they don't want one and endlessly bitch about them.

Let's see... I don't want a purple tuxedo. I have never discussed how awful purple tuxedos are.
I don't want a Ferrari pickup truck. I have never complained that Ferrari doesn't make pickup trucks.
I don't want a Bob's Big Boy statue in my front yard. I have never complained that I can't just go buy a Bob's Big Boy statue.

See how it works...?

No, no... don't thank me. I solve problems for a living.

[greywolf]

 I've always had a soft spot for Metal flake , it would look silly  on on a Sport Touring bike , but fit's HD's as they are inherently retro styled

[JReazor]

No, just the people who say they don't want one and endlessly bitch about them.

Let's see... I don't want a purple tuxedo. I have never discussed how awful purple tuxedos are.
I don't want a Ferrari pickup truck. I have never complained that Ferrari doesn't make pickup trucks.
I don't want a Bob's Big Boy statue in my front yard. I have never complained that I can't just go buy a Bob's Big Boy statue.

See how it works...?

No, no... don't thank me. I solve problems for a living.

A Ferrari pickup would be pretty bad ass.

[Cricket1]

They make what sells.

They will never undo what they've done, they will never change. Why? They have unmatched success doing exactly what they do. Period. End of story.

They've tried to branch out a little here and there. People want Harleys to be Harleys. Nothing else. The three XR1200s that sold and the 19 VRods that sold are loved by those 22 people, but otherwise, they're just not ever going to break into other market segments. Why?

Would you pay $25,000 for a sport bike that the Japanese can build cheaper, in higher numbers and with 20, 30, 40 years of track legacy? There's no way Harley can touch "big four" pricing, and to do so as a new entry...? Well, we see how (relatively) few Buells sold over the years and they were "loss leader" priced.

Would you pay *any* reasonable fee for a "new" line of bikes from a company who has absolutely NO track record (pun) making bikes in that market segment?

Would you pay *any* reasonable fee for a bike built with something other than the tried-n-true I4, high-revving, anemically torqued engine by a company who's spent the last 100 years making engines that maximize torque and have leave the RPM wars to the race track?

Would you pay *any* reasonable fee for a bike whose manufacturer has spent over 100 years building tube cradle-frame bikes when even the Suzuki Bandit (a steel tube cradle-frame bike) is called antiquated and sells in numbers measuring a fraction of the more "advanced" bike styles?

Would you pay *any* reasonable fee to enter the world on a "Harley-Davidson" sport bike? The stigma alone from both sides of the Orange -n- Black fence would make you sell the thing in 20 minutes.

Everyone says "Harley should...." but no one would buy it, no one would be the early adopter ("I'll buy a used one in 3 or 4 years when the prices drop") and no one would ever go to bat in the market place.

Can we just give up on this silly argument now?

Harley doesn't make what the sport bike and ST crowd wants. They don't need to. They (likely) never will. And that's A-ok. You want all the pluses that Harley offers...? Buy a Harley. You don't want a Harley? That's ok too. You don't get those pluses.

And there are pluses. Many of them.

Harley, et al, ain't dumb.

I guess you misunderstood what I was saying.  From a financial and marketing viewpoint, you are absolutely correct Harley does a fantastic job and more than likely, will never stray from the cruiser market.  What I was saying is that it would be great if they DID offer bikes that handled and accelerated better. IF they did, and "opened the eyes" of some of the "faithful", think how much better all of their bikes could become.

To me its sad that their own marketing has straight jacketed them sooooo much, that innovation is sneered at by the faithful.  (Yes, I know they make a ton of money doing what they do, they don't have to do any else, blah, blah, blah. )  Is everything ALLWAYS 110% about the money?  Or is there some excitement about true improvement over time?

[Cricket1]

No, just the people who say they don't want one and endlessly bitch about them.

Let's see... I don't want a purple tuxedo. I have never discussed how awful purple tuxedos are.
I don't want a Ferrari pickup truck. I have never complained that Ferrari doesn't make pickup trucks.
I don't want a Bob's Big Boy statue in my front yard. I have never complained that I can't just go buy a Bob's Big Boy statue.

See how it works...?

No, no... don't thank me. I solve problems for a living.

So, I guess you've never owned a "pretend" bike?  And been asked over and over again about when you are going to get a "real" bike??

Really?

Or when the Harley guys ask about my Triumph- calling it a rice grinder. 

It was funny how guys riding $15,000+ Harleys would get smoked when trying to keep up with my previous bike. A 1985 Yamaha Maxim 700. Purchased in 1999 for $1,700.  I guess they didn't have the metal flake paint??  

[atadaskew]

So, I guess you've never owned a "pretend" bike?  And been asked over and over again about when you are going to get a "real" bike??

Really?

Or when the Harley guys ask about my Triumph- calling it a rice grinder. 

It was funny how guys riding $15,000+ Harleys would get smoked when trying to keep up with my previous bike. A 1985 Yamaha Maxim 700. Purchased in 1999 for $1,700.  I guess they didn't have the metal flake paint??  

So the pain comes out.

We are here to listen.

[black hills]

Or when the Harley guys ask about my Triumph- calling it a rice grinder. 

I get that on the KTM as well, I tell them it is Austrian and they just look at me like I invented a new country??

I rode back to my hometown with 3 HD guys, one of them asked if my 990 would run 80mph? I tild him I didn't know??  one of the others offered to switch bikes (he has a '10 CVO streetglide) when we stopped to switch back he told the other guy "no way our HD'a will keep up with that thing!"    I liked the HD on the highway, probably not so much in the twisties.