Harley Stock Up, Future Looks Bright
Last I looked (9:30am PDT), HD stock was up $2 to about $48.35 a share. It has been a solid performer for the last few years. Although I'm not a Harley guy, I have to congratulate them on a job well done. HD has gone from the brink of destruction to a robust, healthy company that has pulled itself up by it's bootstraps.
They have taken their market niche and expanded on it in ways no one thought possible in 1984. They have brought up the quality and performance of their bikes, wisely expanded into branded clothing, listened to their customers and stayed loyal to the cause (of cruiser bikes), all the while keeping the bike manufacturing in the USA (clothes I don't know about). Along the way they made the smart move of getting Buell as an in-house brand, capitalizing on the naked bike market and giving Erik the resources to make a better machine than the product planners at HD HQ could ever come up with.
Now they have a new bike and new motor on the horizon, a machine that, at least for HD, looks more forward than backward. I don't like the look very much personally, but the new engine does drag them into the real world of performance, at least in a straight line. I'll be interested to see what Buell comes up with.
So, congrats, Harley, from a reluctant admirer. I may not be in the market for one of your bikes, but I'll keep watch and see what you do with your bright financial future. Don't rest on your success and stock price. Now's the time to take some chances, to maybe make a mistake, in order to get the attention of non-HD riders like me all around the globe. How about a true street sport bike? A V-twin dualsport? A true sport-tour machine? Or an affordable, reliable, rideable, no-attitude machine for beginners, in the spirit of the Honda Nighthawk 750?
Let's see what you've got.
Bill R (greatoldbikes)