Can Harley Davidson survive another decade with its declining sales?
Last Updated: 30.06.2025 18:42
And for those diaper wearing diehard 1%’rs? “You can have my Harley when you pry it from my cold dead hands”
The only way that I could see HD surviving is if they innovate their way out of the death spiral.
But I always wished that they would be more innovative and progress a little more. They did half assed attempts with buying Buell and the V Rod. But it didn’t seem a genuine attempt. It seemed like they just tried to throw something at certain market and see what happens. They were fat and happy at the time.
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Especially when the customers that brought HD roaring back to life in the 80’s and 90’s are mostly living in retirement villages now.
I liked HD and I owned one.
Big fat rear tire, chrome, nice fit and finish. Big fat hairy old school HD combined with a modern look and modern tech. Water cooled. A better handling frame. It didn’t have to leave a quarter mile long strip of rubber on the pavement like a vMax. Just something fun and cool to run around on. Something that you could take on the winding roads and mountains and have some fun. And something someone could get excited about.
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Are you ready? Think electric. Think nostalgia.
Do it. Before Polaris/Indian sees this and steals your lunch money (again)
Put the HD name on this. Stop hiding your electric bikes behind some silly name, like serial1. Really?? No. Say ~ this is HD, MF’rs!! Say it loud and say it proud. Put one of these in every sun room in central Florida. Strap one on the back of every motor home tooling down i~77 southbound in October. Offer some crazy over priced accessories. Bags, baskets, elegant fasteners for oxygen tanks. Nav system with heart monitoring, health , whatever, etc. Give Tim Cook a call. Team up and put 2 of the worlds most recognizable brands together. Use it or lose it.
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BUTT. It didn’t happen.And Instead, we got this.
My little wokies at HD marketing. Now is your time. And central Florida is the place. And today is the state of mind. This is right under your nose. Probably in your desk. Open up that HD history book to around the year 1925.
Maybe something like this (excuse the rough AI renderings, it’s just a way to get it out of my head and in a pic)
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This is your chance to shine. If you pull this off, no one will care that your name is Chad and you wear a dress. No one will care that you couldn’t hack law school and you opted for a marketing degree instead. No one will care that you were hired at HD to fill DEI numbers. You will be like Freddy Mercury in full drag ~ on stage in front of 20,000 outlaw bikers , screaming “WE will WE will rock you”. Or Rob Halford screaming “hell bent! hell bent for leather! They will cheer you. They will bear hug you. They might even kiss you. On the lips.
Ok, not bad. I guess . But nothing jaw dropping. Nothing that inspired a lot of people to say ~ “gotta have it!”
Or this
Boom. You just gave them an out.
Think this.
Oh yeah, and that nostalgia thing. There’s a time and place for it.
But imagine how cool a Harley would have been if they got into the naked superbike thing when they were strong. And if they put a little love into it. A blend of that signature HD fit and finish and thump into something new and exciting. They could keep their nostalgia thing going (more on that later) on a few models, and then spoon feed some enticing new tech to their customers. They didn’t necessarily have to compete head to head with the Japanese crotch rockets. Just something fun and radically new. A hybrid super bike cruiser thing. Borrow from that crazy radical V max. Add some a that beefy Harley flair.
Or this