That was an interesting and sobering article. Man oh man, I remember Harley stock trading in the high $20's and low $30's back in the mid to late '90s. You are 100% right regarding the Taj Mahal reference. I remember our local dealer in little ol' Lakeland Florida. Don Huffman had been a loyal (and struggling) Harley dealer for some 30 years back in the 90's and HD gave him the ultimatum to either build a Harley Hilton or they'd go to one of the local car dealer guys to do it. Although the new mega store was a hit with all the white collar yuppie biker scum ( ) it had lost all the feel and fellowship we enjoyed with the little store. I suspect those dealers made their nut enjoying the Harley wave since the 90's, but most have a pretty lavish lifestyle and might be sweating pretty heavy these days.
The most poignant aspect of that article is all the subprime lending that went on same as with housing. All the 0% down deals with 10 year or more financing and all the folks who shouldn't have spent $25k on a bike are now defaulting or flooding the market with resales. I suspect as with housing, there's some real deals out there and one would be hard pressed to plunk down the big bucks for a new one. Bad days ahead for HD for sure.
I fear Harley has been going south for several years. I remember having to order them and not even being told when they would be delivered and not even being told the delivery price! The showrooms are now full...not of people but bikes! I went into my local Harley dealer today (a Taj Mahal) just to browse the accessories and was the only person there. They were offering 15% discounts on everything.
These bikes are bought with expendable income which is drying up. Europe and Asia are also in bad financial times so I see no short term bright outlook for the company.
Add to the problem excellent "Cruisers" from all the Japanese companies at 1/2 the price with excellent performance and reliability and you have a toxic set of events.
The brand has also lost it's exclusivity because there are now so many on the road, ridden by orthodontists and engineers in black leather, that the WOW factor is gone. Tell someone you ride a Harley now and it's a ho-hum response. You are no longer a "rebel" or particularly cool which was probably responsible for the majority of sales.
Sell your stock and cut your losses....Joe
) it had lost all the feel and fellowship we enjoyed with the little store. I suspect those dealers made their nut enjoying the Harley wave since the 90's, but most have a pretty lavish lifestyle and might be sweating pretty heavy these days.
