L learned to ride on a '48 EL, hand shift foot clutch. Not every lesson but partially, It was my brothers. He did things like ride a W from Denver to LA in November, and vice versa, run flat out from here to the springs at all of 75 or 80 on the old 2 lane. That said, you could get seriously hurt on one of those things in traffic. I think the decline in he men came with electric starters.
As for HD being put out of business, they will do it themselves by not adapting to the market. Why did they scrdap Buell? There are a lot of us who can see past the end of the 4 lane pavement so want something Like the KLR, V strom, or what have you.
Another thing to consider is the expendable income of younger people.
