Harley Went Woke?

Previous Thread Next Thread
Status
Not open for further replies.
M

masterblaster

Well-known member
May 19, 2004
1,984
1,220
113
I see all kinds of complaining on line about the present state of the motor company. Many of the faithful ones are not happy with the German CEO and his vision for the company which they consider woke. Many say they won’t buy another Harley and will consider an Indian motorcycle for their next one.

Never been a Harley guy myself but seems like nothing is sacred anymore.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: luvsdaty
vanperb

vanperb

What makes a good man?
Jul 9, 2008
1,668
2,489
113
When I was riding, Harley's were considered high maintenance by the general crowd. You basically carried a kit with you where ever you went because you just never knew where you could be stranded. Warranties made a surprising amount of sense. They've improved in reliability since then but the price point was always high for what you were getting. Harley basically sold the premium as "a man's bike". Live the American Dream, bald eagles, and open roads. With that in mind they basically had a singular audience.

Don't fall into the "woke" stigma, and there was nothing sacred to begin with. The "manly man" and "woke" concepts were both just marketing campaigns. And they switched over from one to the other because they could tell the audience was aging out and weren't being replaced. It's a business decision, not a philosophical one. Both targeted insecurities into paying a premium for a logo on a mediocre bike.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Harmony-bc, apl16, oldshark and 3 others
M

marsvolta

Well-known member
Aug 31, 2009
962
834
93
what does one mean by "woke" anyways?

used Harleys are extremely cheap. the company is in trouble because they need to appeal past the baby boomers... but it appears that millennials are not that interested in big loud, often messy, motorcycles. they're not interested in hyper testosterone biker culture. don't shoot the messenger here... just stating whats happening in the market place.
 
  • Like
Reactions: luvsdaty, VinVan and VanCityNewb
westwoody

westwoody

Well-known member
Jun 10, 2004
7,680
7,255
113
Westwood
marsvolta said:
they need to appeal past the baby boomers
Click to expand...
They shot themselves in the foot by over producing and saturating the market.
A lot of dealers have shut, a lot of beemer dealers have closed too.
We had a new dealer open here to cash in. No interest in the brand, shitty service, treated employees like shit in front of customers.

The bikes themselves are okay. I've gone on the factory tours and the workers are decent people.
But riding isn't fun anymore.
I used to ride to work and loved it.
Now the traffic is bumper to bumper and scary and the roads are shit.
If I was commuting now I'd get an adventure bike, def NOT a HD.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: vanperb
Crookedmember

Crookedmember

I Don't Member
Sep 2, 2017
1,566
2,065
113
Companies make marketing decisions all the time. Most companies believe it is more profitable to market to normal, sane, reasonable people, than it is to market to MAGAts.

Those of you who don't like that are welcome to buy all of the 'My Pillows' and 'Goya beans' you desire.
 
  • Haha
  • Like
Reactions: localguy, westwoody, luvsdaty and 1 other person
P

Pumped

Well-known member
Dec 13, 2022
568
1,351
93
masterblaster said:
I see all kinds of complaining on line about the present state of the motor company. Many of the faithful ones are not happy with the German CEO and his vision for the company which they consider woke. Many say they won’t buy another Harley and will consider an Indian motorcycle for their next one.

Never been a Harley guy myself but seems like nothing is sacred anymore.
Click to expand...
Harley got a lot of mileage out of the 'rebel' imagine that appealed to a certain kind of guy.

Fewer and fewer of those guys are around and buying Harleys.

Instead, Harley is often the bike of choice for women. Lots of women decided to get off the back and ride their own bike. Many like the style choices, bling, and low seats. Harley's are notoriously underpowered so less chance of getting in trouble quickly.

And lots of women embraced the 'rebel' image Harley was selling and made it their own.

If not for those women, Harley would be selling coffee machines. Most of which would be leaking on your counter.
 
  • Like
Reactions: vanperb
A

angry anderson

Well-known member
Nov 8, 2014
1,963
2,274
113
Read a Sonny Barger interview once where he said this....
In his autobiography, Barger revealed what seemed like heresy - he would have preferred a Japanese-made motorcycle if not for the Angels' fixation with Harleys.
 
M

masterblaster

Well-known member
May 19, 2004
1,984
1,220
113
vanperb said:
When I was riding, Harley's were considered high maintenance by the general crowd. You basically carried a kit with you where ever you went because you just never knew where you could be stranded. Warranties made a surprising amount of sense. They've improved in reliability since then but the price point was always high for what you were getting. Harley basically sold the premium as "a man's bike". Live the American Dream, bald eagles, and open roads. With that in mind they basically had a singular audience.

Don't fall into the "woke" stigma, and there was nothing sacred to begin with. The "manly man" and "woke" concepts were both just marketing campaigns. And they switched over from one to the other because they could tell the audience was aging out and weren't being replaced. It's a business decision, not a philosophical one. Both targeted insecurities into paying a premium for a logo on a mediocre bike.
Click to expand...
it used to be the faithful ones were rabid in their support of the motor company and it could do no wrong, except maybe for the Vrod which was mostly shunned by the faithful as it strayed too far from the Harley ideal.

Nowadays they seem less forgiving and are ready to abandon the entity they once worshipped en masse. I saw a video of one upset rider who used a Harley for target practice with an M134 mini gun. Such blasphemy would never have been tolerated back in the day.
 
westwoody

westwoody

Well-known member
Jun 10, 2004
7,680
7,255
113
Westwood
The vrod was my last motorcycle.
The best bike they ever made and none of their dealer knew how to service them.
I took mine in with an electrical fault. Took it in on a Monday and they said it would be done and I could pick it up on Friday.
The dealership had no clue how to track down the short. They completely dismantled the bike and started to replace the entire wiring harness. Totally fucked up my bike.
Another time they phoned my buddy to come get his Road Glide. I drive him, we get there, his bike is in the parking lot minus fairing. Handlebars, wiring harness all hanging off the front. This is AFTER they told him it was ready to be picked up.
I have a bunch of stories like that.
 
Last edited:
  • Wow
  • Like
Reactions: oldshark, Pumped and vanperb
S

sealion of bc

New member
Oct 26, 2020
27
17
3
Drjohn said:
Harley Davidson was concentrating too much on DEI and not enough on quality and customer service.

Strangely, some of their customers weren't happy about it.

It's funny that some people on here claim to not know what "woke" means.

Either they're not very smart or they're lying.
Click to expand...
And what are you
Smart ot lying
 
V

VanCityNewb

Banned
Aug 3, 2015
1,043
1,892
113
Drjohn said:
Harley Davidson was concentrating too much on DEI and not enough on quality and customer service.

Strangely, some of their customers weren't happy about it.

It's funny that some people on here claim to not know what "woke" means.

Either they're not very smart or they're lying.
Click to expand...
DEI is based on actual facts and objective numbers, the other things you mentioned are subjective opinions. Thanks for proving the point.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Previous Thread Next Thread
Vancouver Escorts
Top Bottom