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Court
| | Posted on Thursday, November 19, 2009 - 10:44 pm: | 
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I could not have said it better.
Everyone who is serious and committed to helping should read the above 3 times.
It distills the situation, the strategy and the means to their essence.
In addition . . and I confess to some disappointment . . but I always TRY to follow this sign above my desk . . .
quote:"Nice People Always Are"
--B. C. Forbes
We need to stay focused, professional and . . . well . . RELENTLESS. |
Charlie_zulu
| | Posted on Thursday, November 19, 2009 - 10:45 pm: |
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Dale franks blog,... Wow that really pisses me off. If there's a way to create a well organized protest/backlash whatever you want to call it, I'm in. Let's expose these yutz's for what they are.
I like the T-shirt idea... I have a few friends who are harley riders and I explained it this way."I don't have a problem with harley bikes or the people who build them/ride them but as far as upper managment is cocerned @#%@$! They all agree.
(Message edited by charlie_zulu on November 19, 2009) |
Rpm4x4
| | Posted on Thursday, November 19, 2009 - 11:11 pm: |
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. . . and one more thing, and I personally think this is very important. Let's be very careful to be respectful to Harley riders and try to get them on our side whenever possible.
I agree %100. I have several friends that ride HD and are just as upset about this as I am. I have been kind of embarrassed to show them posts from Badweb because of all the HD bashing going on. You could see the shame on their face. It kinda bummed me out because its not at all their fault. Harley the motorcycle, and Harley the rider, are not the problem. |
Greg_e
| | Posted on Thursday, November 19, 2009 - 11:11 pm: |
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What is it they say about history and those that do not learn it?
Three letters AMF
Wasn't AMF run by a bunch of MBA's who really cared less about motorcycles and really cared about dollars and cents? Didn't it take motorcycle enthusiasts to rescue HD from certain closure?
There are enough places willing to mail order parts to people to stem the tide of supply issues while a dealer network can be built, warranty will be a little harder but they could always pay HD dealers for that work until a proper network can be built, just like the MoCo pays the dealers for every other warranty repair they make. We already know that many HD dealers have opted to continue the support and would probably elect to be a part of the new dealer network so I really don't think it would be an insurmountable problem to separate Buell from HD. The hardest part might be getting the manufacturing building from HD, but I bet the new company could get major tax breaks to build a new sleek manufacturing/office building, just like they were planning last Spring.
This entanglement with HD is purely crap, all it takes is some thought and time to get deals worked out. |
Tpoppa
| | Posted on Thursday, November 19, 2009 - 11:39 pm: |
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Very well written article. It's objective and asks some very relevant questions. I'm guessing HDI would prefer if it never saw the light of day. I hope some of this content finds it way into the next shareholders meeting. |
Cityxslicker
| | Posted on Thursday, November 19, 2009 - 11:50 pm: |
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Its like the last scene in Animal Farm, where you couldnt tell the Pigs from the Farmers, and the Farmers from the Stealers.
Too Much MBA, too much outside non riding 'experts' leveraged branding and stretched licensing. Too much belief in their own huba baloo.
(Your first clue that it was going bad was when Harley made Ken and Barbi 'action' riding dolls) |
Slaughter
| | Posted on Friday, November 20, 2009 - 12:00 am: |
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American Machine and Foundry actually moved H-D out of their self-inflicted primitive status... and into a more modern way of operation. YES, they resisted but they WERE modernized over their objections and the objections of the "purists."
HOWEVER - they did suffer a bit in image.
They recovered because they WERE purchased by enthusiasts (Family and others) who were ALSO able to "inherit" a much improved manufacturing operation. |
Jammin_joules
| | Posted on Friday, November 20, 2009 - 07:35 pm: |
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March 2009:
"The big problem in all this for Harley is that these older riders are not being replaced by a fresh batch of younger riders. ... Compounding the problem, traditionally millenials (20-30 year olds) have shown a desire to differentiate themselves from their parents…meaning, the liklihood of them purchasing a big Harley cruiser when they’re 30 or 40 isn’t too good. Harley is getting great reoccurring sales from its current customers, but isn’t gaining any new customers. ... Looking at Harley’s portfolio of brands, there’s really only three avenues for new rider to be indoctrinated into the H-D house of brands: Harley-Davidson choppers, Buell sportbikes, and MV Agusta premium sportbikes. Oops .. and now there are two, err.. one
...attempts like the V-Rod have shown that these efforts don’t seem have the traction necessary to bring younger riders into the fold. MV Agusta, has a similar problem. The premium sportbike is a luxury item for the rich and successful, to market it towards a younger crowd would be a departure from its core demographic as well, and would ruin the historic Italian name. This leaves Buell, the bastard-child of the sportbike segment.
Buell has marketed itself as the Harley-Davidson of the sportbike segment, employing air-cooled motors and American themes in its marketing campaigns. For its efforts, Buell dealers have had a tough time selling their bikes, and as one dealer told us “couldn’t give a bike away if they wanted to.” It would take a radical departure from the current Buell image and marketing campaigns to compete against the Big Japanese 4.
This leaves Harley three choices: create a new brand that targets what the younger audience ACTUALLY wants, re-invent how Buell is positioned in the market, or collapse in on itself like a dying star. The market has clearly asked for an American sportbike, and no one has yet to get it right, despite the work of Buell, Fischer, and now Roehr. With creditors eager to get their money out of their investments, we have no doubt some boardroom discussions are getting interesting in Milwaukee right now.
Hmmmmm.....} |
Swampy
| | Posted on Friday, November 20, 2009 - 10:19 pm: |
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I personally like the old air cooled lump, I also love th Rotax engine with its well thought out packaging. There must be a compromise in there somewhere.
When I was on the factory tour, the parts did not come from Harley-Davidson, they came from outside suppliers. The components were assembled in East Troy. I simply do not see the problem with continuing the orders from the outside suppliers. I did not see any Harley-Davidson parts in East Troy.
As far as not having a dealer network....yet....There are plenty of people "Out there" willing to take it on, especially the previous Buell dealers that performed so well and are continuing parts and service now.
I think that it would be beneficial for a smaller company with smaller production to start out with a smaller dealer network that was great, as compared to the "Old Way" where there was a Buell in EVERY Harley-Davidson dealership (we know how well that works)
Warranty and service is a simple problem to solve in comparison to the supply problems. |
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