Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Millineals may kill off Harley Davidson

I will say the last time I was in the Smokies, I saw a huge number of a dual sport bikes being ridden around by the younger set.

An interesting comparison is looking at a 1967 camero ss 396 vs. a 2017 camero 1ss $3250 vs $40,000. Price is 12 times higher and major improvements in fit, finish, ride quality, reliability and safety. Just comparing engines the 2017 has 5% less displacement, produces 20% more hp at the rear wheels than the 1967 did at the crank and fuel economy is 50% better.

Comparing electra glides, 1967 $1600, 2017 $25,000, price has jumped 15 times. I have no doubt advances have been made in ride quality and reliability, but the 2017 engine displacement has been increased by 45% and fuel economy is the same or possibly worse with current bike.

Around here the dirt bike/motocross races do well and any who would think they are Pajama Boys should try and keep up. On the road, track or sack.

You have pictured the birth of today's Progressive Left: Anti-war protesters and Counter Culture hippies. That was the spawn of the Green Movement, Social Permissivism, and the all out attack on the Right. Yep, you nailed it and never knew what you were on to.

Yeah, right...

Buy a 2-3 year old used bike with under 15K on the odometer and save about 10 grand. LMAO.. Not around here you can't.. You might be able to buy 5-8A for that, tops.....and probably only if it was swamp or forest..

Yep; had a bored out 350 Kawa- in the early seventies that you had to hang on to or it would leap out from under you.

Just got a used Yama- V-Star 650 Classic after forty years of four sedentary wheels. It's some kind of sublime to hit 65 on a lonesome, hot summer day, back road.

Oh I'm well aware what they spawned.

I will say that as much as I respect the "greatest generation" I sadly have to say that they not only sired but tilled the soil that created the "self absorbed rather than self sacrificing" generation. I completely understand why a generation that grew up in the great depression and went through sacrifice and suffering of WWII would want to protect their children from the pain and suffering they experienced. The trouble is you remove the conditions necessary for the development of character in a human, and you breed ungrateful malcontents.

Not my thing. My Dad always had a Harley but you couldn't give me one. I just don't have any interest. Only guys where I work that have them all have white hair. The few young guys that ride a motorcycle have some sort of Japanese bike. I agree waaaaaaaaay overpriced and they they charge you $30 for a t-shirt and have 500% mark up on Harley branded accessories. My buddy used to own 2 and I told him he was a damn fool for paying what they wanted for this little chrome rack for the back of the bike. They had about $5 in that thing and it was like $120.

Here, forest will cost you 1K per acre. With Deer it will go up. With mineral rights 35K will get you two or three.

I see lots of millennials riding bikes. Bikes that don't cost $24k and don't leave them stranded or need to be trailered. Yeah, trailered. Can't count the times I've watched Harleys headed to Sturgis or headed south in a trailer.

Dual Sport does seem to be the current "thing" with young riders. The crotch rockets are still popular. Young people don't generally have the time to cruise on a Goldwing, but they still ride. Harley likes to make people think they have a sporty model, but no....

I can't fault someone for wanting something that works and costs less at the same time.

nothing like that is going to 'kill off Harley", but they might have to get used to smaller sales volume.

I can only speak to my area, and immediate group of friends (ages 45-55). Most of us have ridden, or still ride dirt bikes. A few have HD's, one an Indian (nifty bike), and quite a few have the "adventure" bikes. I see a LOT of bmw's on the roads these days. And even a fair spattering of Triumphs. That said, the younger crowd (less than 30) "seem" to be more on crotch rockets, or scooters. Not much in between, and rarely ever on a cruiser type bike.

And for what it is worth. I spend my time on a triumph speed triple.

Nice.

I've wanted an adventure (tiger series) triumph for quite a few years. Some day.

There are so many variations of the tiger currently, it's almost too much to choose from.

Millennials have no balls and want everything for free.

Maybe some, somewhere. But none that I know. In fact, I don't know any of the obscenely strange people like TV, movies and fake news would have me believe the world is full of.

My eyes were opened when I got my "first" bike after 40 years, a Honda CB500X. I was talking about it to one of the early 20-something waitresses at a local burger joint and she mentioned a motorcycle one of the owners had recently bought, and in trying to describe it she said it "wasn't an old man motorcycle" - meaning a Harley cruiser.

My first vehicle was a Harly TX125 endure. It vibrated so bad, it lost it's own oil plug. Had a top speed of 62mph if I was laying down on the tank. It's what I learned to ride with, but ever again. In a few months, I should have the funds to start looking for a bike, again.
(I was a motorcycle courier in California. Among other jobs.)

I don't think you know much about the newer Harleys.......................except maybe the price.

MM

I know a bunch of millenials here that would out ride, out work, out play and generally out do all you old chest pounding "hard chargers" on your best day.

Sickening, isn't it?