Harley-Davidson announced that it will manufacture 14,000 fewer motorcycles in 2007, the consequence of the 3 weeks strike at the plant in York, PA. A lot has been written about the reason of the strike, the consequences for vendors, workers and shareholders. If I write this post it is because today at lunch some friends were reminding me the time when to get a new Harley you had to go on a waiting list, and wait and wait. Lucky you if you were able to get yours in the color you wanted. Dealers were charging well over the MSRP price and bidding wars were raging in some dealerships. Harleys became hot commodities and I personally knew quite a few people speculating with them, meaning buying a handful of brand new ones for immediate resale at a profit. In the mid 90’s scarcity of Harleys available in showrooms had nothing to do with strike. But today, what will happen with 14,000 fewer units available (about the equivalent of a one-month production?) Personally, I think not much in terms of wait or price. But I hear others saying otherwise. Do you want to open the debate about the possible consequence of this Harley-Davidson strike ? Start commenting now.
I actually look for a glut of Harleys on the market, and starting soon. As the Baby Boomers (who were largely responsible for the price run-ups, and long waits of the 90’s) begin to pass the age of 60 by the thousands, we’ll see a lot of them “stuffing the pipe” (so to say) with bikes they don’t ride anymore. That’ll put used Harleys (and therfore, new ones too) back in the price range of the “common man” and the younger folks who just can’t drop $20k on a bike.
Word on the street is that a combination of factors had dealers building up some serious inventory, and factory was on the verge of flooding the market, and causing some serious pain to their dealers. So in the short term, the strike may increase prices for in-demand models like Dressers, but others like XLs and VRods will probably be lucky to hold their ground.
Between government regulations and softening demand, it’s an interesting time to be in the business.
Harleys are flooding the market…used Harleys are dirt cheap….shop and compare or you are an idiot…..Don’t buy in Daytona during Bikeweek as after Bikeweek prices will drop dramaticlly.
A lot of people are without jobs. Here in Florida with property taxes on the rise and people faced with 29% increases in their Homeowners Windstorm insurance the Sunday paper is full of Harley’s for sale. Nearly every place that has a bullitin board has cards with pictures of their bike for sale. Times are tough. Not as bad as the Hoover years but people are having to spend their money elsewhere. I noticed that my Harley Stock has fell in value. I agree with Billy Bartels on the V-Rods.
Harley woes come from every area mentioned above plus the emergence of new American companies like Victory and OCC, who is among several companies that recently released production models. The shift in the market has so many facets that Harley-Davidson will have to re-evaluate their marketing strategies of the past and evaluate what the buyers of tomorrow will afford, require, and ride.
The strike (just 3 weeks) will be of little consequence in the big picture. For those that ride bikes because they love motorcycles, Harley has problems. For those that ride Harleys because they’re Harleys, there will always be Harley customers. The real question is where will Harley-Davidson fit into the market of the next 10 years.
Good question Lee. I was looking in the local newspaper at the classified ads and was amazed at how many Harley’s were for sale and most stated they had low mileage. I commented on it to my husband and he seems to think a lot of people bought Harley’s to be cool and because their friends were buying them. He siad it was like keeping up with the Jones’s. Then he said a lot of people buy them and realize that riding is really not for them and they wish they had bought a boat instead. Several ads were for people to just take over payments. HD is right…do not buy in Daytona. Bike prices will go down after Bike Week and one should check ou the newspaper as well. There were good deals for first time buyers and several ads I saw still had factory warranty.
Michigan is flooded with HD’s. It is a buyers market.
Buyers market in the Chicago area as well. Figures I’m trying to sell mine which is shown on my Blog Site for anyone interested. Very fast runs like a champ!!!
http://garagegoons.blogspot.com/
IT IS A VERY STRANGE SITUATION IN THE VTWIN MARKET. HARLEYS ARE SELLING WELL AND THE AFTERMARKET BIKES ARE SEVERLY DOWN. I FOUND IT ODD THAT THE HARLEY UNION MEMBERS FEEL AS IF THE MOTORCYCLE MARKET IS AS TEFLON COATED AS THE PAST DAYS OF AUTOS. IM AFRAID THEY ARE IN FOR A ROCKY EMPLOYMENT RIDE
I THINK THAT WE ALL NEED TO BUY A TIMELESS 1910 MOTORCYCLE FOR INVESTMENT SAKE. IM SURE THAT THIS EFFORT WILL WILL CURE EVERYTHING INCLUDING GLOBAL WARMING.
http://WWW.TIMELESSMOTORCOMPANY.COM
I think many people are in for a rocky road down the employment area. Today, in the FLORIDA TODAY newspaper. This paper covers Brevard County, Florida. Brevard County includes Melbourne, Cocoa Beach, Titusville, and many more cities. Front page headline was “6500 homes in foreclosure. It is getting to be a scary situation. Nobody can sell their homes because of how high taxes and hurricane insurance has become. Sad for the young people coming up. I don’t know what if anything will help Global Warming. There a lot of things going on that are not good.