With all these positives, what can be bad? Indian and Harley-Davidson.
World wide sales in the retro type cruiser are again starting to go down. Sales seem only to be strong in the USA. Indian Motorcycle has closed up shop, yet again, due to slow sales of the cruiser models. Harley-Davidson is still ignoring a huge market (younger crowd) and is still continuing to design models that appeal to fewer each year at prices even fewer can afford. With HD's 2004 "major" updates really being a "minor" change, has HD missed its mark again? Will Harley-Davidson be the next to go? (Sorry Harley riders)
Honda is now selling the Honda Rune, a style that is very impressive to see with your own eyes. This is a bike that looks like Harley-Davidson will make 20 years from now. Not only is the Honda Rune a big problem for HD, but the Vulcan 2000, Triumph Rocket III and even the Kawasaki/Suzuki Mean Streak are as well in the future design department. It used to be everyone copied HDs style, it was "the" cruiser look. Now you can have a sea of HD bikes, and if one of the above bikes shows up, it just gets noticed more.
So, what is Harley gonna do? They made the V-Rod. Beautiful lines, great engine, fuel injected, sporty looking... But... it doesn't sound like a Harley, doesn't look like a Harley, infact, it looks like a "Japanese" bike! The V-Rod as much an"outsider" to the HD community as a Buell, horrible shame that is too...
So, does Harley-Davidson keep making retro looking cruisers with very old and outdated technology so they have the look and sound? OR do they gamble on newer designs like the V-Rod? With an average consumer age of 46+, and thus you see the problems facing Harley-Davidson's future today.
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