| Author | Message | ||
     Not_purple_s2 |
P47b, It reminds me more of  | ||
| Lemonchili_x1 |
Very cool to me that BMW are having success with it. The S1000RR is starting to show up in magazine tests and comparisons and doing very well, and it's an incredible horsepower curve  Personally, news over the last 18 months or so of the Barracuda II, the RSV4, crossplane R1 and the S1000RR has got me interested in "hypersports" bikes again - there's so much variety and technology available right now  | ||
| Redbuelljunkie |
I think this is more accurate, and more appropriate...  | ||
| Danger_dave |
You tube channel with whole series of HH http://www.youtube.com/user/999mal#p/a | ||
| Strato9r |
Tooooo bad Mr. Wandell let his feelings toward performance machinery and racing get in the way of seeing that BMW and H-D have very similar demographics as far as the average age of each company's new bike buyers, (late 40's). BMW saw a project of this type vital in attracting the attention of younger buyers, whether they actually buy the RR1000 or one of their entry level parallel twin bikes, which are sweet, affordable machines. They are also aware that their current demographic will not in the least be put off by the new machine, knowing that a world class performance flagship will be a point of pride for those faithful to the brand. Does any of this make any sense, Keith? Are you actually AWARE of the fact that BMW saw the newest versions of the Rotax powered Buells as serious competition for the RR1000 in terms of sales, AND on the track? Probably not, with you making sure everyone around you knew that Keith Wandell was the one being paid to be the alpha dick. Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday. Listen to the customer. Take pride in the accomplishments of your staff, and learn from them how to build a better product. People can tell when something is built with passion; it is one of the things we value most. I guess they didn't race potentiometers or other electronic gizmos at Johnson Controls. And I can't imagine that many of your customers cared if any of those products were built with passion. (Message edited by strato9r on April 16, 2010) | ||
| Crackhead |
I wish there was a competition to see who can keep a constant temperature in a office building. There is over a 8degree swing in my building. | ||
| Jaimec |
I think Mr. Wandell was too busy seeing which of his employees were putting in medical claims due to motorcycle accidents so he could deny them... | ||
| Geist |
Or he was too busy seeing which brand of clubs Tiger was playing with. | ||
| Jaimec |
Two American companies... Ford, and Harley Davidson. The difference is, Ford doesn't build the Model "A" anymore. Harley hasn't figured that out yet. | ||
| Fast1075 |
Crackhead brought up air conditioning and Strato9r brought up Johnson Controls...we just special ordered 20 Johnson thermostats to use in a large office building....we had to wait 5 weeks for them and another week to clear customs from Mexico. What we got are some of the most poorly finished shoddy looking controls I ever saw. Guess Mr. Wandell left a legacy there too. Oh and I/WE can fix the temp problems in any building...just fill a wheelbarrow with 50 dollar bills...and keep 'em coming until the building feels JUST right  | ||
| B00stzx3 |
@Jaimec... Ford won't bring the Focus RS either. Gotta boost my ZX3 all by myself  | ||
| Danger_dave |
>>The difference is, Ford doesn't build the Model "A" anymore. Harley hasn't figured that out yet.<< Harley have built some technologically very good, high performance motorcycles. The Street Rod eg. Didn't sell. XR1200X is a competent all-round 'standard motorcycle' I read on here it doesn't sell. A wholly owned subsidiary built outstanding sports motorcycles - 3%. Perhaps their market doesn't understand. They seem to. (Message edited by danger_dave on April 16, 2010) | ||
| Jaimec |
DD: Harley doesn't know how to market to anyone who hasn't already decided to buy a Harley beforehand. They had NO idea how to handle Buell. The fact that they INSISTED on selling them out of Harley dealerships shows right there that they had no CLUE how to reach their target market. | ||
| Nobuell |
I deal with JCI all of the time on some of our multi million dollar York chiller projects. They purchased York (makers of chilled water units) some years ago. The York people are great to work with. JCI though, has some of the most arrogant people I have ever worked with. What was simple is now very difficult. It does not surprise me that Mr. Wendell would bring that huge corporate think with him to HD. You just cannot sell valves the same way as motorcycles. | ||
| Glitch |
IT'S GOT FAT WHEELS! | ||
| Danger_dave |
Street Rod wouldn't sell or the FXDX even. They got the by the front door treatment. 90% of their customers WANT (2 can play THAT game) a traditional hog. They are/have been catering to and fostering demand. We all know the movement of that demand to Nursing Homes is the problem. But you can only blame so much on the marketing too. I understand the importance of it - but the target market is pretty well informed these days. Plenty of printed material, blogs, Social media, brand fan sites etc. The real reason Buells didn't sell better is they aren't as fast as their competitors. I think they are better, because of how they corner, but that isn't the main criteria for the average schmuck. PS - the cruel irony is that the 103hp engine is becoming more sensible with every advancement in Police speed detection apparatus. I find bikes like this OP BMW a PITA on the road now - you have to keep one eye on the speedo virtually all the time. A millimeter of throttle is the difference between 40mph and 70mph and there feels like hardly any difference doing it. (Message edited by danger_dave on April 16, 2010) | ||
| P47b |
Dave, the average schmuck is a Squid.   | ||
| Danger_dave |
They want to connect with Rossi or Stoner or Stewart or their hero. I wanted to be like the Fonz and bought a Bonneville at 21. | ||
| Jaimec |
And the reason Buells were "so slow" is because Harley wouldn't let them use anything but that stupid Sportster engine for so long. Do you really think Erik didn't know that he needed to make a faster bike?? It wasn't Buell's idea to build a modern sportbike frame around an antique engine. That doomed it to be a niche product from the get-go! It was all he was ALLOWED to do. Again: Because Harley is too damned myopic in seeing anything beyond what they understand. Now that Erik is free of those MORONS next year I'm hoping we'll see what he is REALLY capable of. The 1190RR is only a hint. | ||
| Danger_dave |
>>Do you really think Erik didn't know that he needed to make a faster bike?? << No. I DON'T think THAT at ALL. | ||
| Midknyte |
We all know the movement of that demand to Nursing Homes is the problem. This argument really does not hold a whole lot of water. We are all dying and being replaced in a consistent and constant fashion. As someone dies, another enters their midlife. Crisis follows, and another HD, ahem, rider, takes their place. Call it a finite customer base. Call it a stagnant demographic. But how can we call it a dying one other than in the respect that they are litterally dying. P. T. Barnum has this one covered... | ||
| Danger_dave |
>>This argument really does not hold a whole lot of water. << I think it does. Culturally and statistically. The generation that is heading for the Nursing home are the Easy Rider generation. The Harley and Triumph Marques were icons of the age. The Bikers were Rebels. Nissan Skylines and Mitsi Lancers are my those of my son's and the Drifters are the cool. The average age stats of H-D owners has been getting slightly older as long as I have been noting them. | ||
| Danger_dave |
You also might factor 'The Baby Boomer Bubble' into the argument: "According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the overall labour force will grow by 12 percent by 2012. But the percentage of workers aged 55 and older will increase by 49.3 percent over the same period.' Source: http://www.management-issues.com/2006/8/24/researc h/what-happens-when-the-baby-boom-bubble-bursts.as p The market that finds those 'days of yore' aspirational is also about to shrink - or grow - depending on the rest home I guess. :-) | ||
| Midknyte |
I think the baby boomer bubble accounts for the apparent dwindling of numbers as well. Were just starting to see the tail end of them is all. My thought above was in relation to the entire time line of the company, spanning 100 years. Pan out. Over that span, if their riders were truly dying off, it'd have happened by now. | ||
| Danger_dave |
Yeah - that makes sense too. I was also wondering if the surge 'golden handshakes' and retirement packages, superannuation etc might lead to some sort of sales recovery. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
HD just brought the trike production in house. Up until this year, that production was farmed out to one of the carriage companies. HD sought to have more control over the process. Trikes are an attempt to keep older riders riding longer. They are the last or next to last Harley most of these folks will ever buy. | ||
| Cyclonedon |
HD just brought the trike production in house that was a smart move on Harley's part because if they don't start making motorcycles that appeal to the younger crowd, they are going to have to manufacture something to sell to the old geezers. | ||
| Jayvee |
Maybe they need to add a H-D CASKET to their Genuine Accessories line? | ||
| Drkside79 |
Too Late http://www.eaglecaskets.com/ | ||
| Pso |
Danger dave-Don't forget the Wild One and Along Came Bronson. |
