[longride]

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.

 

[longride]

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.

 

[longride]

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.

 

[longride]

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

 

[longride]

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

 

[longride]

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.

 

[longride]

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

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

 

[longride]

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

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.

 

[longride]

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.

Let's see 1500 miles / 5 miles to the bar / 4 years = 75 trips to the bar every year! Who says those guys didn't ride??

 

[longride]

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.

Who wants the Harley market 'saved' besides Harley? I don't.