Shawn...
You, like me, have completely missed the point. Last weekend I went to Daytona
Beach, and failing to find our GTS contingent, we decided to hang with the
Harley guys at our hotel (hell, I've got a '46 Flathead in about a billion parts
in my basement) We met these guys while when they were sitting in the parking
lot of the hotel on Saturday morning. They told us they had hauled their bikes
down from Tennessee in a semi. They couldn't ride Saturday because of the
Tenn/Ala game, but they said they'd be bar hopping on Saturday night and wanted
to know if we'd come like to come along. I agreed and we met them in their
room at 7:30. It took them 2 hours to decide what Harley clothing to wear for
the ride (no, this isn't an exerageration)... the upside was that his girlfriend
was changing in front of us and they were feeding us beer. Once they were
dressed, chaps and all, we went out into the parking lot where we waited 2 more
hours for their friends to get ready. The guys passed the time by placing
their front wheels against the hotel walls and doing burnouts. About 11:30 we
were off... the bar that they decided on was 1.5 miles away (good thing they had
the chaps on). After 3/4 of a mile, we all pulled into a gas station off of
A1A (there were about 10 of us - me on the only "rice burner"). The guys
proceeded to get off their bikes and pee on the outside of the gas
station...Why? 'cause they are outlaws :-) From there, these guys pulled out
into traffic on A1A (very busy in that area at that time), I decided to take the
back way. I was there in about 1 minute, they spent 5 more minutes in traffic
striking a pose. We hung out at the bar with these guys for about 1/2 and
then slipped out the back door. By the time I got up on Sunday morning, they
were already packed and gone. My guess is that they rode less than 10 miles
over the long weekend
So, the point is that it's all image - like a the first 1/2 of a Sprite
commercial. The motorcycle really isn't for riding for many of the guys (yes, I
know that there are lots of REAL Harley bikers - those that like them because
they like to ride them). The cycle is just another fashion accessory for their
pretend "bad" persona. In this situation, the quality of the bike isn't an
issue.
-Sven
SHAWN PEARSALL wrote:
> Steve G....plug your ears and cover your eyes for a sec will ya.....remember
> it's your company not anything personal!
>
> Just talked to my buddy in Cleveland....he's all psyched to pick up his new
> Harley he's been waiting 9 months for.....arrived Monday...now he can't pick
> it up...it's in a crate at the dealers....been recalled...when you swing the
> handlebars side to side...the ignition shuts off....
>
> He called Harley to voice his marketing concerns....their response was not
> much more than a shrugged set of shoulders....$15-17k, nine months wait,
> recalled and lack of concern.....(oh plus the dealer wants him to pay it off
> in full this week...for a bike that has to be shipped back
> supposively).....How long will the riding public continue to pay a premium
> price for an inferior product with inferior service?
>
> Told him to look seriously at the V-Star 1000....and he is....Harley has to
> be loosing marketshare big time at this point
>
> My soap box for the morning....time for more coffee
>
> Shawn P
