Harley 114 | FerrariChat

Harley 114

Discussion in 'Motorcycles & Boats' started by msdesignltd, Aug 24, 2018.

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  1. msdesignltd

    msdesignltd F1 World Champ
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    Michael
    Now We have to worry if it is politically correct???

     
  2. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Texas!
    Damn, dat is ugly.
     
  3. Etcetera

    Etcetera Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Competing with Tupperware for cheap plastic? Intake box is dumb...and cheap. Exhaust is ridiculous. It looks like one of those cheap Chinese motorcycles. I have to give them some praise. They are entering the 19th century with that suspension!
     
    Texas Forever likes this.
  4. boxerman

    boxerman F1 World Champ
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    Sean
    I dont get it, its old style harley with a few modernish bits grafted on
    and its not light either.

    If you look at the Harley exceuive theyre all professional MBA type managers who seemed to take up riding once with the company.
    Cool motorcycles are the product of passion and inspiration, not analysis.
     
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  5. Jon Von Bon

    Jon Von Bon Formula 3
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    Your last sentence is so right.
    Harley is in a tough spot and to differentiate themselves from the “copycats” while staying true to the soul of Harley is a delicate dance. It is not impossible, but it is a tall order and it will require genuine artistic and engineering “Je ne se quois” and genius. The new Fatboy has a hint of it. If they have bought Ducati then I think that the pressure to change Harley is less in that Ducati will give them more diversity and flexibility options to expand markets. And Harley can stay Harley.
     
  6. boxerman

    boxerman F1 World Champ
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    I dont hear they have bought Ducati, at one stage they owned MV..
    But ducati is a good example of a company that knew it s market, got bought by wall street types yet kept its mojo.

    Harley did own MV but had zero clue what do do with it and how, MV could have been another ducati.
    Harley has been run product wise and stylisticaly to a set temeplate as laid down by Vaughn Beals. The professional management did an excellent job of making those harleys, but the game has moved on. To a certain extent they understood that the game was moving on, thats why they bought Buel and MV. the problem is they have zero clue, so if theyre not follwing an established template they're lost. Its not so differtent to what Gm was in the 70's-2k, except credit to harley management for not cheapening the product as Gm did..

    More so than cars though Motorcycles (in developed economies) are passion products and thats a porblem if its being run by MBA's who are great at being analytical and good managers but dont have the rest.

    One simply has to admire Polaris/Indian. They have classic american motorcycle kudos but have imbued their product with passion and modernity. Just look at the Scout and new FTR, modern bikes that perform and work great which also reinterpret and evolve the american bike idiom without being slaves to the past.
    The new mooted Harleys for 2020, sort of me too copies of what the euros are doing, probably will be well engineered but why harley, and the current lineup of new bikes are bikes searching for something but they know not what. It reminds me of modern day cadillac.

    If harley management had it going on, they could have developed buell into somethign, or Mv. Theyre great marketers, and they have a great classic product, but beyond that its really just a big corpopration.
     

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