Topic: Harley plant in KC bites the dust

[scottly]

Greg, are you aware the Road Kings are prone to wobble, sometimes at relatively low speeds? A guy that used to come by the shop, "Biker Bob", had one leg a couple of inches shorter than the other due to a Road King wobble, and a local guy, "Zippy", lost a couple of fingers off one hand when his King threw him into a guard-rail. Be careful, my friend..

[ofreen]

I am thinking 30 or less..

Much less. You could easily spend more than what I paid for the RK on a Japanese cruiser such as the 1700 Vulcan.  Buying a bike in December during a snow storm turns out to be a good time to get a deal.

[ofreen]

Be careful, my friend..

Always am.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

Christ, how much did that thing cost - 40 grand?

Naw, it's just a Road King.  Since Harley is soon to be extinct, they gave me a good deal.  Better get 'em while you can.

Greg, looks great. Congratulations.

[ofreen]

Greg, looks great. Congratulations.

Thanks Jerry, all it takes is money.    Although if you figure in inflation, I paid a bit less for the RK than I did when I bought my last new bike, which is my '93 R100GS-PD.

[Yamahawk]

Sure, there is a lot of Harley-bashing out there. Most of it is a reaction to the HD crowd snubbing their noses at all others who do not ride a HD. I used to ride Harleys a lot, at one time I owned 4 of them. Down to one now.
Let's not underestimate the positive effect HD has on motorcycling in the US. If there weren't all these mid-life crisis, well-to-do Harley riders and a large manufacturing and employment base, motorcycling in the U.S. would be under a lot more pressure by the P.C. portion of the society. There would be less of a lobby for all of us, definitely.
Let's just hope, Harleys will still be bought and the company will be around for a long time. Makes sure our friends in Washington and on the local level will have it very difficult to ostracize us.

              => WILD HOGS!!=<

Charlie

[eigenvector]

I am thinking 30 or less..

Much less. You could easily spend more than what I paid for the RK on a Japanese cruiser such as the 1700 Vulcan.  Buying a bike in December during a snow storm turns out to be a good time to get a deal.

Buying a bike in the winter is always a good deal.  They know you can walk away if you want to and it's not like there's anyone else in the place.

Harley is doing a pretty good job making those bikes look sharp and keeping the price down.  I paid 24 for the 1200GS, and it was worth every penny - been everywhere on that bike and it pulls its weight.

[MoMo]

I've been thinking of possibly buying the XG750.  Anyone have any experience with one?   First bike was a Harley Hummer,  maybe make the last one a Harley.

[Don R]

 Did you see the electric motor prototype? The armature has two poles 120* apart, it has a cool lope at idle. buzz,,,buzz,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,buzz,,,buzz,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[dave500]

Sounds like the country is on the edge on their seats. No wonder it's a hard wrenching story. Let us now how this ends please Dave.

turns out to be another red herring im afraid.....they found some animal bones from a horse or cow.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-02/beaumont-children-remains-search-called-off-by-sa-police/9391800

we lived in Adelaide as kids after coming from London in 1965,we lived at lockleys and very close to Henly beach which is not far from Glenelg beach,those days Adelaide was just a big country town,we would play on bicycles and go far and wide with mates and a dog till nightfall,after those kids went missing our folks were more watchfull over us,we lived stones throw from the torrens river at the end of main street and often explored it all the way to the beach,we encountered brown snakes and bigger kids who might chase you etc,also close to the Kooyonga golf course we would explore and hide in trees with sling shots and steal golf balls,times have changed as has what kids get up to now,we often went to the beach by ourselves.

[demon78]

World has changed Dave, used to let my 2 girls go rambling in the summer with sandwichs, water and tell them to be back for dinner and away they went no worries, mind you they may have been the last bunch that could.
Bill the demon.

[Kevin D]

I have been ogling this RK, $19K list + whatever farkles.
Also new GW $26K.
I don't know about a RK wobble but ask if the Wing is $7K better?

[Duke McDukiedook]

The world hasn't changed much at all. You just have a 24 hour news cycle selling fear and bs.

[ekpent]

I have been ogling this RK, $19K list + whatever farkles.
Also new GW $26K.
I don't know about a RK wobble but ask if the Wing is $7K better?

A friend of mine bought a new Wing with farkles and is waiting for the crate to show up at the dealership here in Kalamazoo. We met together and checked out his crate before they unpacked his new CB1100,will snap a couple pics for fun of this one still packed up also. They are starting to hit the 'power' dealers now fulfilling orders  which are first to receive and will trickle into the other lower level dealers soon.He is anxious to check it out.

[Kevin D]

A friend of mine bought a new Wing with farkles and is waiting for the crate to show up at the dealership here in Kalamazoo. We met together and checked out his crate before they unpacked his new CB1100

For me, I’m just dreaming, and lucky to have a decent K1.

[ekpent]

A friend of mine bought a new Wing with farkles and is waiting for the crate to show up at the dealership here in Kalamazoo. We met together and checked out his crate before they unpacked his new CB1100

For me, I’m just dreaming, and lucky to have a decent K1.

About the only thing I ever get brand new Kevin is underwear and socks and by the looks of that drawer that doesn't come nearly often enough !!    Fun for me to go along though and be a lurker and dreamer 

[Don R]

 If I wasn't holding at 8 bikes now there's a 92 electra glide for 4K an hours drive away. Seller is distressed, needs money for ex wife troubles. It's satin black with a decent pinstripe job on the backs of the bags.

 I always wanted a big Harley. Never bad enough to borrow money for it.

[ekpent]

If I wasn't holding at 8 bikes now there's a 92 electra glide for 4K an hours drive away. Seller is distressed, needs money for ex wife troubles. It's satin black with a decent pinstripe job on the backs of the bags.

 I always wanted a big Harley. Never bad enough to borrow money for it.

You got a Firebird that needs some lovin' !!   

[crazypj]

Who buys a Harley anymore? More surprising is the electric motorcycle mentioned in the article. Gee, that's gonna be the hot ticket to sell more bikes to what's left of the pirate parade crowd...

Well over 200 ,000 folks in 2017 apparently. .241,498 bikes made.

Harley tends to add unsold bikes into production numbers, makes things look better rather than say they couldn't sell them.
I guess it also shows the recession of 2008~9 isn't really over?

[754]

Bottom line, they ain't making 240,000 and only selling 180,000... I am pretty sure.

[crazypj]

It's still a hell of a long way from the 'We are going to manufacture 500,000 units next year' statement they made in 2008

[754]

Hey they used to outsell the big 4 in over 750cc motorcycles.. aka the heavyweight market, they had huge market share.
 They may be sliding back to a percentage that a few of the big 4 had to settle for for decades.
 It is what it is.

[Kevin D]

HD is looking to grow the overseas market.

[Yamahawk]

I have been ogling this RK, $19K list + whatever farkles.
Also new GW $26K.
I don't know about a RK wobble but ask if the Wing is $7K better?

YES. In my opinion, the GW is light years ahead of the Harley in just reliability. Every Twin Cam motor made after 2007 runs their cams in bare aluminum in the CASES. This means, when those tolerances get too much, bye bye engine. No longer are they rebuildable. They used to run needle bearings in the cases, And you could rebuild them... not any more. Now, I realize that Japanese bikes have been running cams in bare aluminum forever, but this is a 1st for Harley.

As far as how Harley will survive, well, there is a glut of used bikes on the market right now, and has been for a while. This really cuts into their new bike sales. These used bikes come from Yuppie Biker Wannabes... can you say... WILD HOGS!! I think they were called... POSERS Lol... I love that movie. They purchase a new bike, get out once a month riding it, put maybe 1,000 miles a year on it, if they are lucky, and then sell it when they get a close call due to lack of riding experience and ability or lose interest. It is a shame that the image of Harley Davidson went to the dogs... or Hogs lol. Anyway, they are going the way of a lot of manufacturers, and hopefully some CEO will be able to bring their company back from extinction. I would hate to see Harley go under. Not that I have ever had the desire to purchase one either.. if I did, it would be an older Shovelhead that I rebuilt myself... from parts at a swap meet. Or a Harley Sprint! 
Charlie

[Macmcgough]

Nice bike; now all you have to do is: replace the engine with a "S&S", the primary with a "Drag Specialties", the trans with a "Dyna Tech", the EFI with a "Super E" along with the conversion kit for the gas tank, and with about $40,000, and a lot of luck, you may actually have a rideable motorcycle.