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Re: KTM AND POLARIS: A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
First one was their failure to buy the Indian name ... Could have spawned a whole new line of bikes based on the watercooled V-ROD engine ... this was the second big blunder.... Buells could have been competitive with any sportbike in the world. Oh, I'm sure they'll remain profitable for a good while yet, but their best days are behind them unless they remove their heads from their anal fundament.
First one was their failure to buy the Indian name ... Could have spawned a whole new line of bikes based on the watercooled V-ROD engine ... this was the second big blunder.... Buells could have been competitive with any sportbike in the world. Oh, I'm sure they'll remain profitable for a good while yet, but their best days are behind them unless they remove their heads from their anal fundament.
Re: KTM AND POLARIS: A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
--Do you think Harleys sell because they're excellent bikes, or because of branding? The Indian name is incredibly valuable from a branding perspective, and would be even more so in the hands of an American company. Do you think Stellican bought the Indian name because they were looking for a means to unburden themselves of extra cash? Harley should have bought the name just to keep it from biting them in the ass, which it surely will.
--Second big blunder, if you'd bothered to read my screed, was the failure to partner with KTM to develop an engine for Buell. Erik Buell is a technological genius hamstrung with an engine from 1957.
As for their future, the headlines are less than sanguine: "Motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson Inc. said Wednesday its second-quarter profit fell by 4 percent because of a planned production cut that has triggered lawsuits and a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation." Thus begins the great unraveling.
There are also an awful lot of people gunning for a piece of the pie. Yamaha's new Star line is going to do well. Triumph and Polaris are also experiencing robust cruiser sales that are only going to grow. BMW has new cruisers in the works. None of these amount to a hill of beans today, but even slow and steady growth, coupled with equally slow yet steady decline on Harley's part, will eventually create a new world of seven thousand dollar Wide Glides.
--Do you think Harleys sell because they're excellent bikes, or because of branding? The Indian name is incredibly valuable from a branding perspective, and would be even more so in the hands of an American company. Do you think Stellican bought the Indian name because they were looking for a means to unburden themselves of extra cash? Harley should have bought the name just to keep it from biting them in the ass, which it surely will.
--Second big blunder, if you'd bothered to read my screed, was the failure to partner with KTM to develop an engine for Buell. Erik Buell is a technological genius hamstrung with an engine from 1957.
As for their future, the headlines are less than sanguine: "Motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson Inc. said Wednesday its second-quarter profit fell by 4 percent because of a planned production cut that has triggered lawsuits and a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation." Thus begins the great unraveling.
There are also an awful lot of people gunning for a piece of the pie. Yamaha's new Star line is going to do well. Triumph and Polaris are also experiencing robust cruiser sales that are only going to grow. BMW has new cruisers in the works. None of these amount to a hill of beans today, but even slow and steady growth, coupled with equally slow yet steady decline on Harley's part, will eventually create a new world of seven thousand dollar Wide Glides.
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