Harley markets exhaust sound

[Elderberry]

I wish I had bought HD stock in 1986 during the IPO. If I had invested the current price of a FJR into HD stock and compounded the dividends, let's see, $14K at 30% annualized for 22 years, I would now be a multi-millionaire to the tune of about $9.5M if my math is correct.

Knock them all you want but they own 1/2 of the domestic market and 1/3 of the world market so they must be doing something right besides just making noise and vibration....

And, uh, the best throttle lock in the business..... Now that's something I wish my Yamaha had... :nhl_fight:

JJ..

 

[PapaUtah]

Your math is a little off...your original $14,000 invested in 1986 would have bought 1,272 shares if you could get by with no commissions. Harley-Davidson© shares have split 5 times since the IPO. You would now own 40,704 shares. You initial investment is now worth $1,522,736. Not a bad return, however, Berkshire Hathaway would have been an even better investment. But for those who want to invest in something they own and know The Motor Company© was a very good investment. The only bad part is that since the high of November of 2006 when your investment was worth $3,073,152 you have lost $1,550,416. Thats a little more than half of a tidy little nest egg. Assuming the boomers come back and start buying more new Harley-Davidson© motorcycles the current share price may represent a trading opportunity...who knows. I will continue to hold a few basis points...I like the dividends.

As for market share, you are slightly mis-informed there also. They say you can make statistics say anything you want, and The Motor Company© does. Harley-Davidson© trumpets their 50% market share(down to 48% according to the latest MIC data) of the "heavyweight" motorcycle segment. For the uninformed thats 651cc and above...how convenient. Looking at the entire motorcycle market Harley-Davidson© has 24% market share in the U.S.(Honda is #1) and a 14% position overseas in selected markets. Let's look at motorcycles above 1600cc's. Harley-Davidson© has a market share of 0%. Harley-Davidson© will sell about 310,000 motorcycles this year. Honda and Yamaha will sell about a million each, Kawasaki and Suzuki slightly less.

 

[Elderberry]

Your math is a little off...
As for market share, you are slightly mis-informed there also.

Thanks for the help with the math. Even with the much smaller (correct) numbers it's still would have been a good investment -- except I spent all the money on motorcycles instead...

As far as market share, I was not mis-informed, I just forgot to include the part that defined the market portion I was referring too...

But THANKS for the clarifications...

JJ..

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

<snip>.... -- except I spent all the money on motorcycles instead...

I spend most of my money on motorcycles and beer -- the rest, I just waste....

 

[sredder]

I was reading the latest MC magazine I received this week and they had an article on touring mounts. The stats page listed the HD Ultra Classic as having 58 hp!!!! And that is with the "latest" engine.

I took my nephew's Buell to the HD dealership last week for a headlight recall (he is in Iraq) and asked one of the HD "service technicians" why 60hp always had to be so loud. They explained to me that it was part of the "experience."

I guess I will never get it....

Sredder

Sanford, NC

 

[skifrik]

For all you Harley bashers that have little to nothing to base your oppinions on...I have an 08 Road King along with my FJR, and I can tell you from my own personal experience that the last thing Harley should be concerned about is the sound of their bike....there's is way too many other things they should be working on. My Harley is more like my old Sears minibike, than it is to a motorcycle. I hate it, hate it, hate it.

 

[Toecutter]

For all you Harley bashers that have little to nothing to base your oppinions on...

Many of us have owned them in the past. I have, not by choice (GF bought it). Hated it then, still can't stand the sound of anything but stock mufflers.

Luv my FJR.... :yahoo:

 

[docsulivan]

For all you Harley bashers that have little to nothing to base your oppinions on...I have an 08 Road King along with my FJR, and I can tell you from my own personal experience that the last thing Harley should be concerned about is the sound of their bike....there's is way too many other things they should be working on. My Harley is more like my old Sears minibike, than it is to a motorcycle. I hate it, hate it, hate it.

Why the did you buy a new HD in the first place if you already had an FJR? Was it your first HD?

Having owned three HDs, I liked them fine. I like the slip on muffler sound- the stock sounded like an underpowered lawn mower. Drag pipes are a bit ridiculously loud though. The HDs do have a few positives- smooth throttle (but it takes several more "mississippi's" to get to speed), self canceling turn signals(still find that annoying on the feej), a throttle lock, and stock seats that I could do 300-500 mile rides on no problem(especially the pillow seat on the FXSTC). I even liked the stock windshield on the Heritage. The downsides have been beaten to death in this forum, but price to fun ratio was one of the bigger reasons for me jumping to Yama. It was really freaking annoying to drop $100+ anytime I wanted to buy a little widget, and even more annoying to me was the obvious planned *** raping from the "Company" anytime I wanted to add a windshield or bags that I had to spend another $75-100 on front or tail light relocation kits. No other reason that to make $$$ than to charge 3x what the gear cost to add a part to a bike that should have been engineered for add-ons in the first place.

Anyhow, as has been laid out, it's the cost of buying into a "lifestyle" and image, and the sell it *very* well. However to quote the Stones, "You can't always get what you want..."

Doc