[Neal]

Not only did they make Rv's(Holiday Rambler)but a;so g0lf carts and inert bomb bodies for the military.The reason was simple....diversificationsince the motorcycle business was faltering(in 1985 they sold only 36000 bikes)

Many of you that bash HD and HD riders as fat rich guys forget(or

are too young to know)that less than 20 years ago HD was a struggling company and many of us "fat rich old guys"were struggling 30 year olds trying to keep the old scoot(usually an old TRiumph,panhead,shovelhead etc)

together and dreaming of the day we ould get a new off the showroom one.

Now that we finally raised our kids and put em through school

so we have enough scratch to buy a Harley(who cares they aint state of the art--its what weve dreamed about)the ungrateful wretches bash us for being old fat HD riders.SIIIIIIIGGGGGHHHHH!!!I dont doubt the HD market may drop

in 01 and 02 but dont count on the bottom falling out.....YET!!

2003 is the 100 anniversary...EVERY HD guy you talk to wants one

HD will sell every bike they can make..as well as every 100 year T shirt

THEN....comes 04.Thats when we find out if the efforts in the

area of racing,Buell and the new Porsche engine will bear fruit

Many of us old guys will have bought our last scoot and younger wannabees will have plenty cheap used ones to buy....thats when Hd will have to attract a younger hipper sport oriented rider(like us old guys were in

in 1968.Sorry to interrupt the mindless HD bashing with some thought

but I couldnt help it.

Neal

 

[Neal]

Re: Fat maybe, but rich ?

First of all thanks for the tone of your post.Its nice to know folks can disagree completely and still be civil.But i think you missed my point

I didnt mean that the younger hipper crowd will want Harleys as we now know them.My point is if Harley is to survive,they must develope product to attract the younger hipper crowd.This would entail ,in my opinion:replacing the VR with a competitive bike,bringing the porsche project to fruition and developing a viable line of sportbikes,sport tourers and muscle cruisers.

I too have my doubts whether they can pull it off but rather than denigrate their efforts I will root for their success.I think my 19 year, old ZX600R riding son hit it when he said that if the Buell X1 had a water cooled reliable modern engine he'd buy one...when he got a little older.His generation is HD's hope for surviving into the future not our generation 0r the 20/30 something close minded harley bashers and DEFINITELY NOT the Yuppie posers who give us old hard headed guys a bad name.

 

[Neal]

Thanks Seance,hamatsu may be right i may be dreaming but i still think there is a chance HD can pull it off.....nobody thought tyey would survive the Horror of the 70's either.By the way how much grief you think id get if I mentioned how cool I thought Guzzis are?!

Neal

 

[Neal]

Actually thats only partially true......the turnaround was already underway when the tarrifs were implemented,They just gave HD some breathing room

Also of interest is the fact that HDE requested the tariffs be lifted early

The turnaround was a result of some very gutsy financial finagling

and significant production initiatives and improvement.There is a book about the turnaround that makes good reading whether you like Harleys or not.I believe the title is "Made well in America".I believe it is still in print.

Neal

 

[Neal]

Re: Motorcycles are fun for everyone!

AMEN!!!!!!!If you ever in the southern Maryland area,lets ride!!!

 

[Neal]

Re: The XR750 in street trim is sweet too !

man you're talkin to a guy whos been around a long time and LOVES ALL bikes

Not only have I seen an Egli Vincent...Ive ridden one(about a 1/4 mile).

A friend of mine has a Sportster which he's gonna put a hybrid sportster/Xr750 motor into.Dont ask me the details...the motor is being built by Bobby Hoh who tuned for the factory when Cal Rayborn raced.

The owner of the Egli has 2 KR750's which Bobby tunes and a friend of mine races in AHRMA.I got no bucks so I have to be content to race vintage motocross with Aermacchi HD's(2 BAJA's and a Sprint and a Redline BAJA.

So Im not a newby ....been riding for a long time and love it.I'm

gonna put my son on one of the BAJA's at Daytona and race him

How many of us get to do that!!!!keep an open mind and keep the rubber side down.