This year is the 35th anniversary of the Clyde Fessler founded Harley Owners Group( H. O. G.). Willie G and Nancy Davidson were members # 1 and 2. The first chapters were created in 1985 after total membership reached more than 60,000( H. O. G. didn’ t start in Europe until the early 1990s, and boy, do we here at AMD know a story about that!). The first H. O. G. event in Europe was a rally in Cheltenham in the UK at which some 3,500 enthusiasts appeared from nowhere. These days H. O. G. is the world’ s largest manufacturer supported membership club with an estimated 873,00 current and active members worldwide( some 12 % are Ladies of Harley), with some 1,300 H. O. G. chapters.

Germany is said to have some 24,000 current and active H. O. G. members, with 2,700 in Austria- again, some 12 % are Ladies of Harley.

Harley owners in Germany can now extend the standard fouryear unlimited mileage warranty to five years for a modest fee of between $ 200 and $ 300 for the extra 12 months, subject to model. New Harley buyers in Germany additionally get a first year“ Harley Assist” breakdown cover for free. A factory warranty is now also available in Germany for appropriately maintained pre-owned Harleys.

H-D was in fifth place in market share terms in Germany for the first six months of the year, having sold 7,198 units for a 10.06 % in-class share(+ 20.47 % in unit sales over the first half of 2017); putting it ahead of the likes of Yamaha, Ducati, Suzuki and Triumph. Top sellers were the Street Bob, Fat Bob, XL 1200X and Breakout 114. No surprise, but BMW is market share leader in its home market.

<<< Continued from cover network. Whilst they are making every effort to assure its long-standing dealers, they clearly see their legacy dealer footprint as being as much of an obstacle to the skin-shedding that the company clearly needs to conduct as it is to being an opportunity for it to move forward. Either way, Harley has responded to the pressure it has been under from many investors, analysts and commentators, to say nothing of urban dwelling potential‘ New-Gen’ consumers to start finding a way to take the brand“ downtown” that is not limited to PG & A and aftershave. In new product terms, Harley says its mission is to“ keep current riders engaged and inspire new riders by extending heavyweight leadership and unlocking new markets and segments.” In terms of addressing dealer performance, Harley states quite openly that it believes it needs“ stronger dealers” who will“ drive a performance framework to improve dealer financial strength and the Harley-Davidson customer experience.” Speaking to dealer geography and to better embrace the buying transaction habits of the new consumers it needs to engage with, Harley says it is to invest in“ broader access” and to“ meet customers where they are,” and facilitate how they want to engage with a“ multi-channel retail experience.“ We expect this plan will result in an engaged, expanded Harley-Davidson community with a more diverse rider base, along with industry-leading

Harley’ s first Adventure Touring motorcycle( since 1903 at least!) will be the‘ Pan America’ 1250, planned for launch in 2020

“ Our existing world-class dealer network is an integral part of the company’ s accelerated strategy and critical to overall success”

margins and cash flow,” says Levatich.“ Leveraging our industry-leading design and strong manufacturing capabilities, Harley-Davidson plans to offer its most comprehensive line-up of motorcycles, competing in many of the largest and fastest growing segments with a full portfolio of motorcycles across a broad spectrum of price points, power sources, displacements, riding styles and global markets.“ The highlights will include extending the company’ s leadership in heavyweight motorcycles by continuing to develop improved, more technologically advanced Touring and Cruiser motorcycles that will keep existing Harley-Davidson riders engaged and riding longer.“ Introducing a new modular 500 cc to 1250 cc middleweight platform of

We need stronger dealers who will drive a performance framework to improve dealer financial strength and the Harley-Davidson customer experience

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H-D was in fifth place in market share terms in Switzerland for the first six months of the year with 809 units sold for a 8.54 % share. KTM is motorcycle market share leader.

Earlier this year, EagleRider, the motorcycle rentals and travel specialist, announced that it had nearly tripled its rental locations.