[fkystreet]

Harley Davidson own nearly half of the heavy motorcycle market for people under the age of 35. They are the best selling brand in America for ages 18-34.

But its the lighter bikes market that they haven't appealed to. At least not in something that is as affordable as the HD Street. The Iron 883 is the closest but it sells for $7,999.

HD seems to be marketing the Street towards the youth who find the 833 too expensive.

Is that true though?

Is the market really youth who can't afford the 883? The street 750 is only $500 from the Iron 883.

So why not buy the Iron 883?

What are your thoughts?

 

[Yusef]

I think you have to think of people who would be reaching to pay for the 750, instead of people who can afford the 750. It should be good to get people into the brand who couldn't afford it before.

I didn't realize that HD was the best selling brand in America for 18-35 year olds. I would have expected it to be Honda.

 

[Livin On]

I think its more for an older crowd that is getting tired of the burly 1000+ cruisers. Or its for the guy who owns a 1000+ cruiser but wants something smaller for during the week.

 

[stude]

From what I have read on some HD forums is that the "tried and true" HDers are ****-bent on Harleys being traditional air cooled behemoths. Many even give Sportster riders a hard time and call them girl's bikes. Even some of the Sportster riders share the same air cooled attitude as the aforementioned BT riders. They absolutely hated the VRod when it came out, and they don't consider the new liquid cooled Street model any differently. Not "true" Harleys according to them.

Harley is not after the older diehard Harley fans, they already have them. The way I see it is that Harley is after a new market that they have never had a part of, and that is the metric bike loyalists, at least in the cruiser market. I have looked at similar Metric bikes, and HD has them priced competitively with the Hondas and Yamahas that I looked at. For Americans, this is good, because now we can buy an American made bike in a smaller displacement, at prices equal to the Metrics. Not everyone wants a $20-30k geezer glide or road couch. Some want a good all around bike that gets good fuel mileage. Until now, the only other HD options were a Sportster 883 or 1200.
Some riders don't want an "antiquated" air cooled engine, but prefer newer liquid cooled technology. Then there is the vibration of the air cooled engines... some live for it, some hate it. I would venture to guess that the Revolution engines are smoother running than the traditional HD air cooled counterparts. My Sporty is anything but smooth, but I like it.

 

[Testiphony]

I think that Harley fans are quite loyal. Harleys are not cheap though and they don't come in a crazy amount of variety. The Street, as a lower displacement and cheaper option, will aim to bring in people who are a bit younger and a bit poorer. The idea is to get people into the brand earlier so that they will be Harley customers for life. And the Street will be more attainable to people in India and other foreign markets who have less cash and generally prefer lower displacement bikes.

 

[harleyhoonigan]

I think that Harley fans are quite loyal. Harleys are not cheap though and they don't come in a crazy amount of variety. The Street, as a lower displacement and cheaper option, will aim to bring in people who are a bit younger and a bit poorer. The idea is to get people into the brand earlier so that they will be Harley customers for life. And the Street will be more attainable to people in India and other foreign markets who have less cash and generally prefer lower displacement bikes.

this is true. it is for the new folks to the brand that just want a starter harley. im sure the guys with the bigger higher output harleys will look down on street 500 and street 750 owners tho

 

[fkystreet]

From what I have read on some HD forums is that the "tried and true" HDers are ****-bent on Harleys being traditional air cooled behemoths. Many even give Sportster riders a hard time and call them girl's bikes. Even some of the Sportster riders share the same air cooled attitude as the aforementioned BT riders. They absolutely hated the VRod when it came out, and they don't consider the new liquid cooled Street model any differently. Not "true" Harleys according to them.

Harley is not after the older diehard Harley fans, they already have them. The way I see it is that Harley is after a new market that they have never had a part of, and that is the metric bike loyalists, at least in the cruiser market. I have looked at similar Metric bikes, and HD has them priced competitively with the Hondas and Yamahas that I looked at. For Americans, this is good, because now we can buy an American made bike in a smaller displacement, at prices equal to the Metrics. Not everyone wants a $20-30k geezer glide or road couch. Some want a good all around bike that gets good fuel mileage. Until now, the only other HD options were a Sportster 883 or 1200.
Some riders don't want an "antiquated" air cooled engine, but prefer newer liquid cooled technology. Then there is the vibration of the air cooled engines... some live for it, some hate it. I would venture to guess that the Revolution engines are smoother running than the traditional HD air cooled counterparts. My Sporty is anything but smooth, but I like it.

The old hard Harley fans who ride nothing but older Harleys are dying out

And those customers don't even buy new Harleys. The company has to move with the times.

And even though they don't like the newer Harleys... I think the Street and the Sportster, Street Bob.

The **** with them. I like how the V Rod looks. I like how the Night Rod looks too. The softail isnt the only dam Harley Davidson...

One thing I think Harley should really do though is lessen the amount of models they sell. I personally think they sell way too many models.

 

[harleyhoonigan]

because of a new HD culture coming in, i can see HD changing things up and even doing very modern things, even doing things to keep it ahead of the times. Not something the old timers would like but it's whats best for the brand.

 

[Yusef]

People who are against the newer Harley bikes are just resisting change. I don't see why anyone would be upset in the older crowd. They might not like the bike but it is not for them. I don't think it negatively affects the rest of the bikes in Harley's stable either.

 

[stude]

People who are against the newer Harley bikes are just resisting change. I don't see why anyone would be upset in the older crowd. They might not like the bike but it is not for them. I don't think it negatively affects the rest of the bikes in Harley's stable either.

You are right. They are actually rejecting change, and some seem quite bitter about it. I don't know why, because its not like Harley is REPLACING the traditional air-cooled models, but rather adding the new models to the lineup.

 

[Livin On]

I would love if they did a sport model and they made the steering rake more straight up

 

[fkystreet]

Does anyone have access to the best selling models for the HD brand in 2013?

This info is not easy to find online

I figure the best selling models are still the classic models. These newer lighter models are only taking up a part of the HD sales.