Crack in the dam?

The boom has been over for a while. Hell, how many more years can they keep having record years? Personally, I hope lots of people who were going to buy motorcycles find some other hobby.

Be optimistic. Ever since the Ruin was a big flop I figure that there is some hope for the future. I shudder what to think if that abortion had been popular.

Especially since the administrator has decided that Kook should be quiet for a while. (Huge sigh of relief)

I stop in at the Harley dealers here from time to time, and besides financing, I don't really see any deals on the bikes. They are still selling well here, so I guess they don't have to discount them much. I hope the whole market collapses, so I can add a couple more bikes to my collection.

I respectfully disagree, Mr. Longride. Personally, the more people riding around on motorbikes, the better I like it. My reasons are primarily that I think it makes things safer for all of us because there are more people aware of bikes: the new rider's family, friends, etc. Also, the more riders there are, the more leverage we have with the government and other "agencies."

About the only downside I can think of is when newbies buy bikes they can't handle and creating news "events" by splattering themselves on telephone poles. Having more "stunta" dorks can't be good either. However, the vast majority of new riders I know or know of aren't these guys; they ride responsibly and represent the motorcycling community well. their positive contribution to the sport outweighs the negatives, don't you think?

Besides, what could possibly be wrong with 300,000 rugged individualists riding the same bike, wearing the same clothes, all arriving at Sturgis the same week?

THIS JUST IN: Honda drops tender offer for HD stock because of weak market. In related news, Harley-Davidson announced a new vehicle division planned to produce minivans, sedans, and pickup trucks with "all the style and heritage our buyers have come to expect from Harley-Davidson," according to HD VP of Styling, Willie "Dadgum G" Davidson.

I think women are going to save the Harley market. In another news link it said women make up 10% of the new bike market, but 12% of Harley's new bike market. I think you could come up with an accurate but misleading sounding statistic that women are 20% more likely to buy Harley's than other bikes.

Only if they aren't wearing helmets.

The more motorcyclists we have, the more the 'gov' will want to control and regulate. With only a few, we are under the radar. With more high profile 100 mph crashes, and more drunken boomers offing themselves, the more likely we will get knee-jerk government regulations to 'protect us from ourselves'. Well, maybe you want more regulation, but I don't. We don't need any political clout if we aren't worth bothering with. Look up how many AMA members there are compared to how many motorcycles there are registered. Sorry, but I could do without the rugged individualists and the stunters and hope they find another way to off themselves.

Honda was never going to buy Harley. Whoever started that rumor sure put it over on some saps that would believe it.

I dropped off the Glide for new tires yesterday and talked with my friend that owns an independent shop for a while. He thinks the bobber thing is already over.

What he did mention (and this is great) is that what he sees is younger people buying Geezer glides. Not old farts but guys in their 20s-30s want bikes that they can ride a long distance rather than a chopper/bobber.

He said, "people seem to want to ride more now." Imagine that.

Yeah, imagine buying a motorcycle and actually riding more than 5 miles to the bar! What a concept! The next thing you know there will 50,000 at the IronButt every year elbowing sachiwilson at the starting line and throwing a few sexist epithets her way. I can't wait. :-D

Motorcycling came out from under the radar back in the 90's, and I seriously doubt it will ever go back under. Even if the market growth flattens, it's a matter of slower growth of an already larger base. Given that fact, I suspect it's better to deal with it rather than hope it goes away.

I suppose we will HAVE to deal with it, but can't I hope is goes away? I see so many dopes out there that are not interested in riding, or learning to ride, but are into it for the 'lifestyle' or to 'pick up chicks'. I guess it's wishful thinking to make them go back to whatever they were doing before 'discovering' motorcycling.

Well, be optimistic. The son of a friend of mine got really hot for a bike last year. He bought an R6 and read all the mags and rode all over the place. This year he sold it and went off to something else. That's how it is with most of the youngsters.

I keep pretending that I'm doing it to pick up chicks, but I'm not fooling anyone. I think I ride purely to keep myself sane, or whatever this state is that I'm attempting to pass off as sane.

I love this line from the article:
"A merger between Harley and Honda would be highly unlikely for regulatory reasons, since combined the two companies would capture 65% of the heavyweight motorcycle market."

My new favorite classification of Harleys: "Heavyweight motorcycles."

Kreb_Cycle said:

My new favorite classification of Harleys: "Heavyweight motorcycles."

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Boy, that's an understatement if there ever was one!

longride said:

Boy, that's an understatement if there ever was one!

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The irony is that the Japanese equivalent cruisers (90"+) all weight more. Comparatively, a plain FXSuperglide is positively svelt and agile.

seruzawa said:

The irony is that the Japanese equivalent cruisers (90"+) all weight more. Comparatively, a plain FXSuperglide is positively svelt and agile.

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Road hugging weight. You can't beat it! What really amazes me is how Triumph could make a Bonnie 100 lbs heavier than the original. With modern tech and metals, couldn't they make it lighter for less money? Every bike being made today is heavier than the one that preceded it, superbikes excepting. Don't know how they do it.

I stopped by a local HD shop here in Napa yesterday and was amazed that not one of the four '03 & '04 consignment bikes had more than 3000 miles. One had 1200 and one had 1500 miles and they are pushing 4 years old.