Opinion: Harley-Davidson, ready to commit-not to conform
“I like what I saw”, says creator and host of the Creative Riding Motorcycle Podcast.
We had a chance to sit down with the most opinionated, yet least knowledgeable person in the podcast-o-sphere to discuss the recent YouTube video that appeared on Harley-Davidson’s website this morning. ‘Junky Turdman’ (probably not his real first name) offered his thoughts on the iconic brand’s groundshaking reveal. When asked what he liked about the video, the camera-shy and contumelious host offered these thoughts:
CR: So, what do you think of the video that Harley-Davidson released this morning?
JT: Well, what can I say? I love it. I like what I saw. I think it’s about time that the most iconic American brand proves that they are able to not only keep up with the times, but offer products to more than one type of rider.
CR: What do you mean by that?
JT: Lets just say that if it wasn’t for Hooligans and Drag Racers, you might as well have had Harley-Davidson and Indian combine forces. In fact, they could have started a conglomerate called American Motorcycle Company and every manufacturer in the U.S.A. from American Iron to Thug could have been subsidized by them. They all look the damn same. The only American motorcycle brands that are making fun, agile non-cruisers are the electric motorcycle companies. Even Arch’s bikes look like a Harley-Davidson screwed a Ducati while it was drunk and incapacitated. American sport riders got their hopes smashed when Buell was shuttered in 2010.
CR: What was your first reaction to the video and the motorcycles shown?
JT: I probably had the same reaction as Erik Buell! Like, “What!? Now those assholes are gonna make a damn sport bike!?!” I think Buell was obviously 15 years ahead of his time. It’s also proof that H-D needs (and needed) to be thinking of this shift in demographics a few years ago. Reacting to the market is no way to run a company. I think their biggest obstacle is the idiots who actually buy Harley-Davidson motorcycles. They are so close-minded and opposed to change that H-D has almost painted itself into a corner trying to keep upgrading a 50-year-old looking product for them. If you want to stick around, you can’t add a bitchen stereo to something that looks like it’s from the ’60s. Can you imagine how hard it would be to sell a 1968 Impala Station Wagon just because it had ABS and a bluetooth sound system? Hell no! Kids wanna buy a Ford Focus RS like Ken Block’s… not some 5000lb tuna boat that hasn’t changed a whole lot, save for mandatory safety updates and a new motor every 5 years. They want to drift around parking lots and jump over trash cans. People quit cruising ‘the boulevard’ at 5mph decades ago.
CR: So, do you think that the Motor Company is aiming for the right marks with the bikes that debuted in the YouTube video?
JT: Let me put it this way, Riding. May I call you Creative?
CR: Sure
JT: Ok, Creative. Let me put it this way: I think that it’s going to be a hard change and could be for any company, but now is the time to make it. The markets that they are entering have been long-established and dominated by other brands. Don’t you think that, in hindsight, it would have been pretty smart to keep the Buell Ulysses around instead of shit-canning it and introducing a clunky Indian-built motorcycle that makes the old V-Strom look beautiful? Hell, it makes the Honda Bull Dog concept look like a downright piece of art.
CR: Is the Pan American slated to be built in India?
JT: I don’t know. I’m just talking out my ass at this point. I imagine that it will be based on the markets that it’s probably going to be sold in. No Harley-Davidson rider in the U.S. of A. is going to lay an ass cheek on that thing. Plus, it looks a hell-of-a-lot like the 750 Stealth concept that debuted at the 2016 Bangkok Motor show. (check out link here. -ed)
CR: So, you don’t think that they are seeking the right customers? Maybe they stick to the loyalty of cruiser lovers and see what happens?
JT: C’mon… now you’re putting words in my mouth. I didn’t say that they were going for the wrong markets. I simply said that it would be a challenge for any company. You’ve got people trying to put Milwaukee’s spin on a segment (ADV) that isn’t even kind to it’s own constituents. Think of how many people criticize the “beak” bikes, or the “non-beak” bikes. Even the Africa Twin Adventure Sports model looks absolutely fabulous! But, buy the DCT version and, wow.. get ready to hear about it in the online world that we live in these days.
CR: So what can Milwaukee’s finest do to make the transition more smooth and reach more customers?
JT: They can make these new bikes, and then wait. They need to give them a chance. Do you know how they sold over 21 million Volkswagen Beetles in the course of 65 years? They just made them and waited. Slight upgrades here and there. Just like a Harley-Davidson. However, do you know who just won (and set a new record) at Pike’s Peak IHC this year? Volkswagen – with an electric car.
So, you can make that old “VW Bug” of a bike and keep selling it, or you can do that AND you can develop the world’s best, fastest, coolest bike while your “Bug” is holding down the fort for people in other countries.
CR: So, with that in mind, are there enough customers, in your opinion, to make these bikes successful?
JT: Of course. It’s Harley-Davidson. If nothing else, they’ve shown us that they have staying power. They have heritage, legacy, and brand loyalty on their side. They are one of the first brands to use social media to create stories way before BMW and Ducati did. Right before Project Rushmore they had lots of stories from Harley-Davidson owners south of the USA/Mexico Border. There were stories about ‘Independent’ women riders. They also embraced the Hooligan thing harder than any other factory brand (excluding indie builders/design companies). They have all that going for them, and that’s just in the ‘States. If they can take that around the globe and manage to hit a price point that supports these new bikes, then they’ve got something.
CR: Speaking of price points and the globe, what do you think of the timing of this release?
JT: I think there’s no time like the present. I worried for about 5 seconds there when the 97th report in a row comes out talking about H-D’s sliding profit margins. So you have the bikes, you have a goal…start nocking your arrows. Don’t wait for the game to walk up to you, and if you’re hungry, don’t wait for the perfect specimen. You’re not going to mount the thing in your den, you’re going to eat it. I’m not trying to compare market timing to hunting elk,..
CR: You just did.
JT: Yeah, I literally did, didn’t I?
CR: Yes.
An awkward silence filled the studio. Shortly thereafter, we each stopped to hydrate, stretched, and then resumed the interview.
CR: Going back to the timing, what’s your take on the announcement being made now?
JT: Well, the point that I was trying to make is that there is a common idiom: “strike while the iron is hot”. To me, the iron is always hot. It may seem like H-D’s iron started to cool way back in 2014 when the first signs of slippage began to occur. Since then it’s been a pretty quick ride downhill as far as the media has shown. If they waited until the iron was “hot”, then we’d all be dead by the time these bikes were coming out. Fortunately, they are moving and shaking in a time when critics have had countless tons of fodder laid at their feet.
CR: There has been a lot of media attention lately, whether it’s stocks on a financial website or being targeted by The Trump via Twitter.
JT: Absolutely. From brake recalls to EPA fines, they’ve definitely had a rough patch. I feel like the Milwaukee Eight didn’t receive the high praises that they hoped it would. It’s a solid engine and will earn its place, I guess. I also think the 2018 bikes and the “death of the Dyna” really got some people butt-hurt. You shouldn’t overlook performance by the new mono-shock rear and relevant rigidity of the new chassis. But there’s also Indian – smearing the racetracks with H-D for 2 years straight has put fans, old and new alike, into a bit of a rut. With Mees pulling a Shumacher-Loeb-style season out of his leathers this year, racing has not made fans hopeful or confident in the water-cooled ‘little’ bike motors from the Motor Co.
What people need to focus on is Harley-Davidson’s strategy, and the fact that they are moving in the right direction, albeit a little after the fact. I can’t wait to see and ride some of these new bikes in person.
CR: Agreed! Well, thank you for your time. We can’t wait to have you back to hear you follow up with your uneducated viewpoint and your non-sequitur analogies.
JT: You’re so kind. Thank you so much. I loved your green tea.
CR: We don’t have any green tea
-This has been a Creative-Riding editorial opinion. Thanks for reading. -Cheers
