is harley about to die?

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billinom8s
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is harley about to die?

Post by billinom8s »

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Jug
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Re: is harley about to die?

Post by Jug »

Nah, we'll all grow into one eventually.
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menzies3032
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Re: is harley about to die?

Post by menzies3032 »

This is a really interesting video and have to say paints quite a true picture of the brand in Europe. I am actively looking for my next bike. I know i don't want a sports bike and I want a street bike. I have looked at Triumph, Kawasaki, MV, KTM, BMW, Honda, Suzuki and many more. Not once have I even considered a Harley .

When somebody says Harley i think about a cruiser bike, poor handling, crap brakes, loud engines something great to ride on route 66 in USA but not even in consideration for me as I want a bike I can ride not just sit on to get from A to B
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Scotty
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Re: is harley about to die?

Post by Scotty »

There are a number of threads (and heaps of reader comments as it’s US-based) in the Adventure Rider Site on the H-D question.
Rob mate, Orange is the new Black. I bought a 990 SuperDuke in 2015 after 30 years on sports bikes, trading up to a 1290 SDR two years ago and I’ve honestly never enjoyed road riding as much as I do now. It’s the way forward, blag a demo ride and see for yourself when they’re possible again. Sports bikes are pants on the road, where a 190mph top end is utterly pointless and cramped ergonomics and crap mirrors, plus abysmal pillion accommodation and luggage space just make life harder than it needs to be. Go on, give it a go....
EDIT: Chicky asked why I hadn’t mentioned that I’m selling a 990, which I am, but in truth it never occurred to me to do so - honestly it wasn’t the reason behind the post.
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Streetmann
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Re: is harley about to die?

Post by Streetmann »

My father in law always wanted a good old American Harley so he bought the 48 when it was released only to get it home to see made in Taiwan stamped on the frame sais it all
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Jug
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Re: is harley about to die?

Post by Jug »

menzies3032 wrote: May 20th, '20, 15:41 I am actively looking for my next bike. I know i don't want a sports bike and I want a street bike. I have looked at Triumph, Kawasaki, MV, KTM, BMW, Honda, Suzuki and many more. Not once have I even considered a Harley .
In view of your comments on riding the 990 Supeduke I think you should consider the 790 Duke.
It has some good reviews and feedback from owners and there are some bargains to be had right now due to the new 890 Duke that has just come out.
Unlike the 990.., the 790 is super smooth but still fun.
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Jug
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Re: is harley about to die?

Post by Jug »

I was chatting to a sales guy in Fowlers a couple of years back. I was eyeing up several used 1190 Adventure's they had in and we got on to the subject of what bike you have and what that leads too.
Basically if you've grown out of a sports bike (IL4) like the S1000RR but aren't ready to calm down that much you'd get something like the S1000XR.. had a Panigale then you'd likely get a Multistrada 1200... and so on.

Then I asked what he rides and he took a pause and almost looked embarrassed... he said a Harley...

In my progression through bikes I've came to realise that peak horse power is not what it's really about, hence I'm now on V-twins. Maybe in 10 years or so a Harley (or more likely Triumph Rocket or metric cruiser) will make perfect sense to me.

But as brand I think Harley is over priced so destined to fail, at least outside of the US.
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Scotty
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Re: is harley about to die?

Post by Scotty »

The aforementioned Adventure Rider forum have a thread based around the video clip in Simon's original post, and a heap of reader comments following it...

https://advrider.com/harley-davidson-vi ... 05_20_2020
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Re: is harley about to die?

Post by Red5 »

Interesting... The old, America is the greatest attitude.
They never really gave Buell the free licence they should've had to design and make bikes people would've wanted.
Kind of want them to survive but as a brand, really not appealing to buy into...
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