This might be the simplest tech tip ever but it is really useful. Suspension Technologies was installing their touring fork cartridge on my Electra Glide. When they took off my brake calipers they did something I hadn’t seen before. CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ON BIKERNET Join the Cantina for more fun, news, tech, reviews, views and articles. https://www.bikernet.com/pages/custom/subscription.aspx

by James Brumley from https://www.fool.com

The iconic motorcycle maker is paring back production, rather than pricing, in an effort to foster an image of exclusivity.

If you’re one of the shrinking number of consumers planning to shop for a Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) at some point this year, don’t be surprised to see limited inventory once you can finally step foot in a dealership again. The company says restarted production facilities aren’t racing back to their full capacity. Around 70% of Harley dealers aren’t expected to receive any more new motorcycles this year. That’s alright by Harley, however, as the scarcity should ultimately improve the brand’s image of exclusivity.

That’s the theory anyway. The reality is the plan may ultimately backfire. Harley-Davidson doesn’t need more admiration from consumers. It needs to sell more motorcycles. The typical high price for your average “hog” makes the company’s bikes too exclusive as it is.

What they said

Harley-Davidson’s relatively new CEO Jochen Zeitz has been alluding to the idea since he took over as the interim chief in March. Most notably, during the company’s April earnings call, Zeitz explained the company will “prioritize the markets that matter.” He added, “We’ll narrow our focus, time, and energy in the most critical countries and market segments that can move the needle for us today.”

It was difficult to ferret out at the time, but in just the past several weeks, investors have watched Harley-Davidson scale back a bit on previous CEO Matt Levatich’s plan to launch smaller and lower-cost bikes, particularly overseas. His long-term goal was to drive international sales to half of the company’s revenue by 2027, but Zeitz may or may not be on board with his predecessor’s global ambition.

It was a memo from Harley’s director of product sales Beth Truett that cemented the paradigm shift in place. In her message to dealers intended to keep them informed of what lies ahead, she flatly explained: “Our strategy to limit motorcycle product in the showroom is purposefully designed to drive exclusivity.”

Translation: Harley-Davidson is looking to shrink its way to success.

Exclusivity doesn’t make them more affordable

It’s not a terrible strategy … but only for a name like Apple, which has had little trouble driving sales of smartphones that can cost over $1,000 apiece. For a company like Harley though, more exclusiveness misses the point. It doesn’t need to support bike prices with an air of exclusivity. Dealers get what they get for a new Harley motorcycle. They’re just selling fewer of them. The company has seen revenue dwindle every year since peaking in 2014. If anything, its present situation calls for more inclusivity rooted in greater affordability.

The numbers can be jaw-dropping. A high-end Harley can retail for as much as $30,000 (and sometimes more), yet a new, lower-cost Harley-Davidson motorcycle still sells for just a little under $10,000. Around that price point, riders are increasingly settling for similar but still-cheaper machines from names like Indian or Triumph, or Harley look-alikes from more familiar makers such as Honda or Kawasaki … or even a car.

Harley’s highly practical all-electric LiveWire couldn’t draw a decent crowd of buyers either, despite its distinctive non-Harley look. The culprit could be its $30,000 sticker price as well.

Millenials (have to) see things differently

The other headwind Harley-Davidson increasingly ignores by doubling down on its exclusivity strategy? The baby boomers who fell in love with the look of its motorcycles are aging out of their riding years, while the millennials who should be replacing them aren’t as interested in motorcycles from any manufacturer.

That premise is hotly debated but is supported by plenty of people who have their finger on the pulse of the marketplace. UBS analyst Robin Farley is one of those people. Of the UBS research on the matter published last year, CNBC quotes her as saying, “Unless there is a generational shift among younger riders to see motorcycling as a hobby vs. means of transportation, the outlook for the heavyweight industry could continue to be more dependent on an aging demographic.”

Underscoring the growing disinterest in bikes is waning sales of them. MotorCycles data reports that as of 2019, sales of motorbikes in the U.S. slumped for a fourth straight year, jibing with Harley-Davidson’s revenue contraction. The 2015 peak following the economic meltdown of 2008 never even came close to 2005’s cyclical peak in U.S. motorcycle sales, where Harley has to do well. More than half of its revenue comes from the U.S. alone.

It could all be an indication that today’s younger adults who have never seen a time without regular economic chaos simply can’t justify the financial risk of any expensive toys even if they can currently afford one.

In that vein, Bernstein analyst David Beckel pointed out back in 2018 that the “20 million [U.S.] millennials with student debt, the difference between $15,000 and $26,000 of student debt is $130/month, which is equivalent to a monthly loan payment on a ~$8,000 bike.”

Bottom line

It remains to be seen just how far Zeitz and Truett intend to press the exclusivity idea in an effort to support motorcycle prices that don’t actually need supporting. While the company may be ready to focus “time and energy in the most critical countries and market segments,” that doesn’t necessarily mean smaller and more affordable bikes are going to altogether go away. It also doesn’t inherently mean Harley-Davidson will completely abandon all but the most promising markets.

It’s concerning nonetheless, though. Most other consumer-discretionary names seem to be exploring ways of offering greater affordability in what could be a period of modest economic strength. Harley-Davidson could be pricing itself right out of the market.

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com

Harley-Davidson’s King of Kings competition may have concluded last month, but it will probably be some time before all of the builds that were entered fade into history.

A souped-up version of Battle of the Kings, King of Kings was dedicated to the bike maker’s international dealers, which in their spare time find enough resources to modify existing Harleys. In fact, that is what the entire thing was about: take an existing Harley, make it unique within a €6,000 ($6,500) budget, and keep it street legal.

For a British Harley dealer that meant modifying a Roadster until it became El Ganador, a club style bike the likes of which are becoming increasingly popular in Europe.

“Club Style can be a blend of many things: paintwork that is very in your face – we’ve used a lot of hard candies, the metal flake in the paint, and serious patterns on El Ganador. “ says the dealer about the chosen motif.

“Club Style is based on performance and that’s why we went with æhlins suspension, chain and sprocket conversion, 2-1 exhaust system, upside-down forks and more.”

The changes to the Roadster were not limited to the things stated above. The bike also received the wheels from a 2009 883R for an old-school look, while the tank comes from a King Sportster simply because it’s bigger than what the base bike had.

The look of the El Ganador seems closer to that of the FXR because of the way in which the side panels have been shaped. Custom fenders, a new seat, and new chains complete the list of modifications made.

In the end, the El Ganador did not win the competition, but a Mexican build by the name Apex Predator did. However, this does not make the British build any less special, and you can enjoy all of it in the gallery above or in the video below.

 

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com

The name Zundapp has long left the motorcycle scene. The German bike maker arrived on the market a bit late compared to the competition, in 1917, and was open for business until 1984, when it went bankrupt.

As a result of both that, and the fact that the bikes they made were neither popular nor numerous, Zundapp may mean nothing to a lot of people. But there are some who resonate with the moniker, and go to great lengths to honor it.

What you see in the gallery above is a 2001 Kawasaki W 650, but it’s no longer called that, and it’s no longer stock either. The bike in this configuration is called Kawasaki Zundapp, as a tribute to Zundapp the company, and has been modified by a Paris based garage called Blitz Motorcycles.

The built was done on behalf of a customer who got the motorcycle bug on a Zundapp KS, a line of motorcycles dating back to the 1930s. And because Blitz is in the business of taking “a personal memory of the owner of the machine and find a way to include it in the making process of the new bike,” this was the idea that led to this creation.

The custom build called of course for the fitting of some special parts. The main added hardware is the fuel tank, sourced from a Zundapp KS model and fitted “as found,” without any visual modifications or repairs made to it, and only with functional changes made to make it fit on the frame.

The original frame of the Kawasaki was shortened by 3 inches, and the fork lost 1 inch from its length. The engine underwent a complete rebuild, a new chain was fitted, and a Triumph handlebar made its way up front.

We are not being told how much the process of making the Kawasaki look like this cost, but the result is a sight to behold.

This might be the simplest tech tip ever but it is really useful. Suspension Technologies was installing their touring fork cartridge on my Electra Glide. When they took off my brake calipers they did something I hadn’t seen before.

Tech Tip:
When you take off your brake caliper drop it in a Crown Royal bag and hang it from the turn signal. Done.

For years, I have been using zip ties to try and zip tie the caliper to something, so I could keep it out of the way while I work on the bike. This is way better. So… a shout out to Suspension Technologies for a cool tech tip. More importantly though, their cartridge kit is so much better than any else I have ever tried. They took my Glide to a whole ‘nother level. Best money I ever spent on a suspension.

–Edge
East Coast Tech Advisor

Kodlin Lowering-Kit For Harley-Davidson® Milwaukee Eight® Softail Models.

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About us:

 

In 1984, sparked by Fred Kodlin’s vision of creating custom bikes represented in a way the world hadn’t seen before, Kodlin Motorcycles was established. Pushing the boundaries of what a motorcycle can be, the Kodlin name has built a reputation for original bike building, cutting-edge product design and high-quality manufacturing. Now available worldwide, Fred and son Len have created a hybrid of accessories and design – inspired by both American and European influences, Kodlin accessories have distinct fit, form and functional characteristics not found on the market today.

 

info@KodlinUSA.com  www.KodlinUSA.com (North America, South America, APAC)

info@Kodlin.com  www.kodlin.com (Europe)

 

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com

There have been 15 entries in all in Harley-Davidson’s King of Kings custom bike building competition, and the winner was crowned the Mexican-made Apex Predator. The bike is, of course, a great build, but that doesn’t mean the ones who lost are anything less.

King of Kings was the culmination of a years-old custom bike challenge called Battle of the Kings (BOTK). All the entries for the final, bikes customized by the bike maker’s international dealers, were previous winners of BOTK.

Among the most exciting projects was that of the Harley-Davidson Barcelona shop. The bike, called Daytona’s Red, was initially a Harley-Davidson Roadster, and even if the custom work done to it didn’t make it something else entirely, this two-wheeled machine sure does look different than any other roadsters out there.

The thing that stands out the most is the crazy fuel tank the bike is fitted with. At its origins a stock Harley tank, it has been modified by hand to include a transparent section through which the gasoline and even the fuel pump in operation can be seen.

The garage chose the Roadster for its project because “it is the most racing bike in the Harley-Davidson range.”

“We have been inspired by the history of Harley-Davidson racing looking for a more racing style of motorcycle, differentiating ourselves from the most common styles in customization contests,” the garage says.

The bike has been modified with more than just the exclusive tank. Several other parts were added, most of them built in house, including the exhaust, grips, and headlights. As a touch of class, the turn signals were integrated in the brake lever, it too built by hand.

Even with all those remade parts, the Barcelona crew stayed true to the rules of the competition. They state that the base motorcycle needs to be a Harley-Davidson, the customization be worth at most €6,000 ($6,500), and the bike be road legal.

 

Made in the USA by a Woman Rider

By Chris Gibbany with photos by her husband

Although I have been riding motorcycles for years, it has only been in the last few years that I have really wanted a pair of Kevlar riding jeans. Two things have kept me from buying a pair; cost and sizing.

Not having a brick and mortar store that allowed me to try on a pair, kept me from ordering a pair online not knowing if they would fit or not. Now, I can tell the world about an awesome pair of Kevlar jeans made by a woman rider to help other women riders be safe and look great while doing it, at a very reasonable price.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REVIEW ON BIKERNET

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