Marketing, Brand Loyalty and Cult Like Status. Show me a brand in the powersports industry (or any industry for that matter) with better marketing, brand loyalty or a cult like status than Harley-Davidson. Apple computers comes close in some regards as their logo is extremely well known throughout most of the world.
Clearly the H-D crowd doesn't care about H-D products being made off shore. The Motor Company makes more money from it's clothing and accessories lines than they do the actual motorcycles themselves. I'd guess a very small percentage of those accessories or clothing items are Made In The USA. It doesn't stop their growth or market domination in the segments they compete in at all. Even while many of the heard stand on their "American" brand.
How many non Harley-Davidson owners have a item or items in their homes that say Harley-Davidson on it? Now compare that percentage of the population to Honda, Victory, Kawasaki, Yamaha etc. How many of those same companies do and have borrowed heavily from H-D designs only to fall short in the sales arena. Their products have simply become known as Harley clones. That's why I appreciate many of the Victory models so much. They're not trying to emulate H-D, they truly built a better design in many cases. Different in form and function.
I read where the 500cc is a product made in India for that market. But don't think for a minute that bike, or something similar to it isn't destined for the North American market at some point. I agree that all of the other motorcycle manufacturers build and design some superior product compared to Harley-Davidson. It doesn't seem to matter as much as you'd think it should because look at the sales figures. The technilogical advantages of other brands doesn't stop the loyal H-D customers from staying with them. Yes, I know, many Victory owners were once H-D owners.
The bailout. Sure, it was a mess and kept H-D from going under. They were being run by poor management. Prior to that and since then, they've mostly been a motorcycle and marketing comapny run by motorcyclists and marketing people. Sounds so easy and common sensical but it's more rare than you'd think.
Look, I've only one H-D and kept it a short time. I'm no expert on The Motor Company. I don't even have a business degree. But I've been on a motorcycle since I was about 5 years old and have paid attention to the market since then. I'm not the H-D cheer leading section of The Vog. But I can't and won't deny Harley-Davidson their clear leadership status in the area of brand loyalty and responding to their customer base. Many of my friends have Harley's. The same or similar items they poke at other brands at are completely ignored by them and their own motorcycle. H-D owners, for the most part, not 100% of course, give H-D a pass on most things while holding other brands to a much higher level of scrutiny.
Anyway, like I said, I'm no business, marketing or manufacturing expert. But I can read a business plan and sales results clearly. Enough to recognize and appreciate a company that knows what they're doing.
Have an awesome day.
But yes, that is part of the point. I've heard a lot of internet chatter of the faithful criticizing Polaris for touting Indian's heritage when it hasn't been "continuous" for 110 years like Harley. But Harley got government contracts, government favors (taxing the sh*t out of the competition above), government loans when no one else would loan to them. AMF also came to the rescue as did the investment group that bought it after AMF had enough. Their foray into non-bikes was a failure, their foray into sport bikes was a failure, their foray into mergers and acquisitions was a failure. Just because I'm not a fan doesn't make me a hater though. I do wish them well, hope they sell a ton of bikes and hire new workers and give their old ones raises. If that pipe dream became reality (not under this CEO but in the future it could happen) it would be good for all of us. So yes, I do wish them well and I do like bikes, all bikes. My eyes just kind of roll into the back of my head a little when I see H-D put up on a pedestal as some kind of pinnacle of American business acumen and dominance when the thing they seem to do best is luck their way out of repeated failures.
