Warren
2
Harley-Davidson will start selling electric motorcycles for 3-year-olds
It wasn't kidding about going after a younger audience.
www.foxnews.com
Glad to see Harley is thinking out of the box
- Thread starter Warren
- Start date
www.foxnews.com
Get the optional playing cards, a couple of clips, and you can have the "Early Rider" sound to annoy your parents and neighbors...
mikesim
Site Supporter
...and wait 'til you see their new accessory lineup for the little shavers.... Kiddee wallet chains... Kiddee doo rags.... water soluble skull tattoos....and the ebikes will be truly authentic with teeny kid sized oil leaks and every third day or so, the kid gets to push it home cause it won't run....
I'm just sayin'....
Mike
DirtFlier
Site Supporter
If this is any indication, H-D's primary business is far from rosy.
www.dispatch.com
Ricart buys Harley dealer A.D. Farrow
With locations in Sunbury, Franklinton and Pataskala, A.D. Farrow is the oldest Harley dealer in U.S.
www.dispatch.com
You do need to get out more often...
:unsure: They have had that stuff for years...plus stuff for your dog as well....
Kind of funny H-D bikes. Cannondale was killed when the 'Boys' tried to make a motorcycle and had to sell the company so no longer made in the USA.
DirtFlier
Site Supporter
Cannondale's mistake was having their first offering be a motocross bike so they could ostensibly enter the supercross/motocross races against all the giants in that area. They did try for a while but never made much headway. I liken it to a new car maker deciding to enter the Indy 500!
Most industry people thought Cannondale should have started with ATVs which are low-tech and much easier to sell plus no one will compare your product to the other makers since it's not a race.
Most industry people thought Cannondale should have started with ATVs which are low-tech and much easier to sell plus no one will compare your product to the other makers since it's not a race.
Cannondale's mistake was EGO. Cost the company, Barber has one of those mistakes on display.
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Bear
2
Cannondale sure makes a Bitchin' bicycle--love mine
Just a shame it is Cannondale are not made in the USA anymore. My son toured the factory about a month before the end of production. What a mistake to try out of the box on something so expensive, maybe a partnership with a motorcycle company and saved an American company.
DirtFlier
Site Supporter
Getting back to the original topic of "Harley thinking outside the box," I'm going to guess that H-D will probably have to modify its current dealer agreement that limits its dealers to only sell one brand of bike. There are lots of what I'd call "Taj Mahal" stores adjacent to interstates for maximum exposure that are no doubt suffering under a huge load of overhead and declining monthly sales. The H-D store nearest to me has had several different owners in the past 5-6 years and started as a family run business 15+ years ago.
OP
OP
Warren
2
It was a good run while it lasted. Now they get to try to reinvent themselves. Something that's not easy to do. Just ask J.C. Penny and Sears. Harley might survive but I doubt if their motorcycle output and market dominance in the US will ever be even close to what it was at their peak. They seem to think a younger audience and going to green propulsion technology is going to be their future. I am sure they are not the only one gearing up for that strategy. I wish them the best of luck.
OP
OP
Warren
2
Washington, DC (CNN)Harley-Davidson's motorcycle sales are struggling. Competing with Bird, Lime, Uber and Lyft might be an answer.
The classic brand, which has been around for 116 years, is looking to reinvent itself as more scooters, e-bikes and ride-sharing services hit urban communities and offer alternative ways to get around in congested cities.
New transportation companies such as Bird and Lime have launched thousands of rentable e-scooters in cities but continue to face questions about product quality and safety. Harley-Davidson thinks it can do better, delivering eco-friendly but thrilling power for short distances.
"It's a huge opportunity," said Marc McAllister, vice president of product portfolio at Harley-Davidson. "For people who are using Bird and Lime today, how do we give them a much better experience with a Harley-Davidson brand and lifestyle?"
(This line cracked me up. Just what a scooter rider wants is a Harley lifestyle)
The classic brand, which has been around for 116 years, is looking to reinvent itself as more scooters, e-bikes and ride-sharing services hit urban communities and offer alternative ways to get around in congested cities.
New transportation companies such as Bird and Lime have launched thousands of rentable e-scooters in cities but continue to face questions about product quality and safety. Harley-Davidson thinks it can do better, delivering eco-friendly but thrilling power for short distances.
"It's a huge opportunity," said Marc McAllister, vice president of product portfolio at Harley-Davidson. "For people who are using Bird and Lime today, how do we give them a much better experience with a Harley-Davidson brand and lifestyle?"
(This line cracked me up. Just what a scooter rider wants is a Harley lifestyle)
While it may crack you up I've seen enough H-D "wannabes" in Europe, and Asia, to know those little "scooter trash" wannabe "biker trash"...
Nothing funnier than seeing a fully outfitted "biker" hopping on a scooter or moped.... Somehow I doubt H-D will have the marketing ability to sucessfully chase the "greens" here though...:unsure:
OP
OP
Warren
2
The scooters they are referring to are the little electric ones you stand on. Bird rents these out typically in large cities. They are all over downtown Nashville and I don't see anyone using them that look like they are interested in the Harley life style. Typically tourist are renting them.
For Harley to reinvent itself from big V-Twins into electric scooters is a very big jump. It could happen but the odds would be way up there.
I hope Harley does OK with the motorcycle end. It is good to have the competition and variety of many brands.
Brad
I hope Harley does OK with the motorcycle end. It is good to have the competition and variety of many brands.
Brad
Rent-a-scooters are all over Austin, Texas. Mostly millenials and UT students seem to be riding them. Stick in a credit card and hope there is enough battery power to get you where you are going. Many are dropped on the sidewalk all over downtown Austin. How do these rental companies find all of the scooters at the end of the day?
Crazy.......
Crazy.......
OP
OP
Warren
2
Some people love electric scooters. Some people hate them. And some people charge them — for money.
By day, Joel Kirzner is a consultant in Arlington, Va. But when he wraps up work in the office, he pulls out his phone and checks multiple scooter apps to see what's available nearby.
If there are scooters low on battery, they'll show up in the map on his phone. And if he can find the scooter in real life (and beat any rival chargers to the punch), he'll earn a few bucks for each one he charges at home.
"It's like Pokémon Go and you make money," he says.
On a recent evening, he sees two scooters up for grabs just around the corner from his office. He hops in his Subaru Impreza and starts collecting.
Electric scooters are hot right now. Lime and Bird, the two biggest companies, are valued at some $2 billion each. You can rent scooters by the minute from one or both companies in more than 100 cities across the country — from Abilene, Texas, to Tacoma, Wash.
And both companies rely on independent contractors such as Kirzner to keep the wheels rolling, by taking the scooters to their homes and charging them in ordinary outlets. In the process, chargers fulfill another key need: They help move scooters from out-of-the-way locations to hot spots where they'll find more riders.
Lime calls the chargers "juicers." Bird has its own puns: The chargers "capture" Birds, and then release them to "nests" — specific locations chosen by the company — in the morning.
By day, Joel Kirzner is a consultant in Arlington, Va. But when he wraps up work in the office, he pulls out his phone and checks multiple scooter apps to see what's available nearby.
If there are scooters low on battery, they'll show up in the map on his phone. And if he can find the scooter in real life (and beat any rival chargers to the punch), he'll earn a few bucks for each one he charges at home.
"It's like Pokémon Go and you make money," he says.
On a recent evening, he sees two scooters up for grabs just around the corner from his office. He hops in his Subaru Impreza and starts collecting.
Electric scooters are hot right now. Lime and Bird, the two biggest companies, are valued at some $2 billion each. You can rent scooters by the minute from one or both companies in more than 100 cities across the country — from Abilene, Texas, to Tacoma, Wash.
And both companies rely on independent contractors such as Kirzner to keep the wheels rolling, by taking the scooters to their homes and charging them in ordinary outlets. In the process, chargers fulfill another key need: They help move scooters from out-of-the-way locations to hot spots where they'll find more riders.
Lime calls the chargers "juicers." Bird has its own puns: The chargers "capture" Birds, and then release them to "nests" — specific locations chosen by the company — in the morning.