yes , I said that out loud
Getting To The Root Of The Problems at Harley ?
This is the time of year when Harley and Indian unveil their new models for the 12-months and years ahead . As has been the case in recent years , Harley has opted for a two part unveil strategy again . The first part sees Harley running home to the paint booth it calls ' Mama ' in an attempt to camouflage the paucity of its offer with pretty colors . I hope I am wrong , but from what I have been hearing for the past few months , Part Deux , slated for later in January , will just be fine-tuning of the present offer . Tinkering at the margins . That early January news was mostly of returning models and paint jobs , which in theory leaves the field clear for a second stage of Harley ' s staggered model year announcement to ' wow ' us all . But as far as I have been hearing it will mostly involve mods to existing platforms . It does not appear that it will involve entirely and fully new model concepts - just variations on existing themes - and certainly no new platform . The irony is that Harley does have new platforms relatively readily available to them . As discussed last month their Chinese and Indian-made models are excellent ' for the money ', they hit-the-sweet-spot of where the market ' s zeitgeist is at present , and they are outstanding doorswing bait . The most recent news from Hero MotoCorp in India is of a second model on the X440 platform that , as expected would be the case , starts to make it look like an evolving portfolio - following the BMR R nineT and Ducati Scrambler playbooks in strategic terms at least . The Nightster X440 is a single of course , but it looks convincing and even with tariffs , imported into America would give the Royal Enfields , Triumphs , Hondas , Benellis , CFMoto and now , Indian Scout Sixty offerings of this world something to worry about in price-point and brand buyin terms . Which brings me onto my primary ' compare and contrast '. In contrast to what Harley appears to be doing , the new unit vacuum that Harley ' s dealers have in terms of an offer below $ 15k bears no comparison with what Indian Motorcycle has just dropped . Indian ' s re-imagined three model Scout Sixty lineup is absolutely the right product at the right time and being able to offer such Made-in-America design and build value is a lesson that Harley appears utterly immune to . It would appear that Harley is deaf to the message that the market is sending . Starting at just $ 10k , the level of sophistication , ergonomics , electronics , creature comforts and technology these Scout Sixties are equipped with - as standard - is just off-the-scale . Bear in mind that in terms of affordability , $ 10,000 isn ' t what it was even as recently as just four years ago . In real terms an equivalent to that price-point now might have been around $ 9,000 ( at most ) in 2022 or 2023 , and although it didn ' t exist back then , the equivalent spec is comparable to bikes that would have cost twice as much . Of course , I ' d love the whole world to be buying and riding zillions of lovely big fat V-twins at hugely inflated prices , then seeing their owners spending as much again on them in the first three years of ownership . But despite the 21st Century having dawned as a ' bright and shiny ' thing 25
yes , I said that out loud
years ago , full of ' vim and vigour ' with a horizon populated by the promise of ever-increasing sales , ever-increasing profits and an ever-increasing and everincreasingly fun motorcycle industry to be a part of , the world neither feels or looks like that right now . Manufacturers like Harley , especially , need to get real . Arrogance has been at the root of KTM ' s problems , fuelling an imperious sense of self-worth and a deluded motorcycle industry world view . Sad to say , Harley has now fallen back into much the same mindset that trapped it in the ' noughties '. Even if , in its case , reducing unit numbers was seen as the solution - whereas KTM ' s assumption was that if they made them , the people would come . Two very different ' orange and black ' stories but , alarmingly , two very similar potential outcomes . The details maybe different , and the motorcycles of both are great , to be fair , but both are in trouble regardless . In 1998 Harley and KTM came within 48 hours or merging , or of KTM being bought out by Harley ( depending on whose version of history you buy into ) and now , fast forward little more than 25 years and you have two motorcycle businesses that could indeed end up on the same balance sheet - though now it could , possibly , be one that will be under Chinese ownership . If anyone thinks I am being alarmist , yes , I am . I am quite deliberately exaggerating this as a possible outcome expressly because even if unlikely , it is still more likely that it should be - besides there are no Chinese manufacturers that would be foolish enough to buy both . We ' ll know within a relatively short time frame just what future awaits KTM , but based on my reading , falling under Chinese ( or other Asian ) ownership is at least a 50 / 50 proposition . In Harley ' s case it remains less possible , though the likelihood is growing . Surely the responsibility of any management team is to make such an outcome IMPOSSIBLE . In and of itself , whether or not Harley ends up as a Chinese-owned brand isn ' t actually the primary issue here . The primary issue is that there is any kind of hostile take-over danger at all . Allowing that to be the case represents an egregious abrogation of primary responsibilities by any company management , but in Harley ' s case successive managements have utterly failed to understand fully the industry they are a part of , and to grasp the realities of the real-world circumstances in which its dealers are having to trade . Yes , I really did just say that , and out loud too . It is to be hoped that the promotion of CFO and former HDFS man Jonathan Root to President ' Commercial ' is the start of a series of management changes that , whether or not destined to trigger a complete change at the top of Harley , will , either way and for sure , trigger a series of massive changes in direction .
Robin Bradley
Co-owner / Editor-in-Chief robin @ dealer-world . com
UNIQUELY POWERFUL
AMD # 308 MARCH DEADLINE JANUARY 23
AMD # 309 APRIL DEADLINE MARCH 6
4 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - FEBRUARY 2025 www . AMDmag . com