I've wondered it a thousand times, and now I wonder again.
A recent news article says that the "Iron Horse" hotel opening near Harley's new museum will offer rates from $179 to $319 per night and offers many fancy new amentities. (
Source)
I'm 26. I've been around the world twice, in combat, and met many world-class people- but no doubt, I'm still considered a kid by most of my biker compatriots. I don't mind that, of course. Youth is not something I take for granted. I do sometimes wish, however, that I'd been born in an earlier generation.
Harley-Davidson makes a good bike. We know this. But these are not the cheap-alternative-to-automobiles they once used to be. Legend tells us that GIs returning from WWII sought more stimulation and turned to motorcycles. They could afford it. It was "the thing" to do. There was comraderie. There was brotherhood. Or so I've heard.
Today I find none of this. As a student of economics, I can only guess that the economy is the reason. Motorcycles are expensive. They cater to an older generation. People my age can't afford this stuff. (I was looking for an alternative seat today.. something smaller. Most options I found were around $300. For a fking seat.) I couldn't afford the $17k I paid for my bike, but I did it anyway. $17,000 was cheap for a Harley. I hold desperately to the idea that I didn't pay for the name alone.
How many people my age would pay $17,000 for a motorcycle of any kind? Clearly it isn't my demographic being catered to.
My solution? We need smaller motorcycle companies. Companies with a desire to build contemporary bikes, without all the bells and whistles. Companies that don't offer chrome, and keep prices down through mass-production and good American work-ethics.
But will it work. Is there a market. I kind of doubt it. The Jap bikes are all the rage for people my age due to a cheaper price tag - despite lasting only couple years.
All this 'touring' shit- with your i-pods and your full-face helmets, your handle-bar warmers, and your heated seat pads. And your chrome. Your goddamn chrome. You don't care how much you pay for it if you can bolt it on and polish it up once in a while.
Contrarily, it seems the bobber styles and the retro bikes (
look!) are making a come-back. Too bad they're still way too damn expensive. Well, for guys like me, of course.
Harley-Davidson has a monopoly right now. As much as we love and respect them, I fear that the only way our culture will survive is if we take them down at the knees by supporting their (American) competition. Harley of course has an option: Lower their prices, offer bargain bikes with less bells and whistles, and increase their base. Maybe run it as a seperate entity.
Or maybe it'll all just fall apart when the market truly dries up. Are the profits really worth not allowing the younger generations to ride?
L&R,
Corey
