A Message From Milwaukee

A message from Milwaukee

EDITORIAL

WHO'D HAVE THUNK IT? WHO WOULD have imagined, in their wildest dreams a decade ago, that in 10 years, amidst one of motorcycling's worst sales slumps ever, the most successful brand of two-wheelers sold in America would be Harley-Davidson? Not all-new, high-tech, high-performance Harleys, mind you, but more or less the same Harleys that were kicking around the showrooms back then. Who would have thought such a thing possible?

Not I, for one. I would have bet everything I owned against anything so unlikely ever happening.

And for good reason: Harley-Davidsons of that era were pretty sorry machines, slow, clunky, unreliable motorcycles of highly questionable quality—and of extremely dated design even then. It’s no wonder that some industry experts back then seriously doubted Harley’s ability to survive for 10 years, let alone to achieve unprecedented success.

But they were wrong—6/g-time wrong. Harley has been enjoying record profits in recent years, and presently owns the biggest share of the 850cc-and-larger market. And based on the company’s production schedules for 1989, Harley could very well sell more units next year than ever before, despite the industry’s current sales woes.

That Harley could do so much with what seems like so little is a complete mystery to a lot of people. But it shouldn’t be. There are some clear, solid reasons for this success.

Heading the list is the fact that Harleys are so much better than they were 10 years ago that they almost defy comparison. Even though they still are, in basic design, the same VTwins they’ve been for eternity, significant refinements over the past 10 years have delivered them from the brink of death to the edge of immortality. Harley’s development of its “Evolution” engine technology a half-dozen years ago, preceded by other significant improvements such as five-speed gearboxes and rubbermounted engines, gave riders of imported bikes new reasons to consider buying American.

And while improving the bikes, Harley also completely overhauled its techniques for designing, developing and manufacturing motorcycles and their component parts, ushering them out of the dark ages and into the modern era. Computer-assisted design and manufacturing (CAD/ CAM) systems were installed; outdated and worn-out manufacturing machinery was replaced with stateof-the-art equipment; better qualitycontrol measures were instituted; more-efficient assembly-line procedures were developed; new management techniques raised employee morale and gave them a sense of participation in the company’s destiny. The result has been higher-quality, better-finished, more efficiently manufactured motorcycles.

It’s no coincidence that most of these improvements came about after June 16, 1981. That’s the day a group of Harley’s top management bought the company—lock, stock and cylinder barrels—from the AMF conglomerate that had owned it since 1969. Once unburdened by a corporate mentality that never quite understood the motorcycling mentality, the management team was able to effect the kinds of improvements they knew were needed all along.

That buy-out also resulted in some added sales among the Harley faithful. Up until that time, some hardcore H-D riders resisted buying any Harley built after 1969, insisting that the firm's purchase by a “bowlingball company” had seriously compromised the quality of the bikes. Some even refused to give post-’69 Harleys legitimate status, referring to them only as “AMFs” and never as Harley-Davidsons. But that stigma was erased when the company was bought back from AMF.

Actually, once Harleys were imbued with improved performance and higher quality, they soon were put on the wish lists of many riders who had not previously considered buying one. And Harleys became even more appealing as the dollar continually weakened against other currencies, sending the prices of imported bikes skyrocketing. The price increases were helped along somewhat by the stepped-up tariffs the government slapped on imported bikes, at Harley’s request, in 1983. And extensive media coverage of the tariffs at the time they were imposed proved to have public-relations benefits for Harley, as well, for it seemed to awaken the latent patriotism in many riders and prompt them to “buy American.”

Also working in Harley’s favor lately has been the riding public’s growing disaffection for high-performance, high-tech machinery. More and more riders these days are deciding that the Japanese have gone too far, that their bikes have gotten too fast, too complex, too impractical. They want something simpler, something less intimidating, something that doesn't offer eyeballsquashing acceleration but instead simply delivers the kinds of kinesthetic sensations that make even a casual ride down the highway at legal speeds a fun, enjoyable experience. For many of those riders, that best “something” is a Harley-Davidson.

If you still need more reasons why this company is doing so well, consider that riding a Harley makes you feel like one of the family—and an exclusive family, at that. Being on a Harley can allow you to go places and do things with people you sometimes can’t even approach on any other bike. What’s more, Harley dealers support their riders better than any other dealer network, mainly because Harley supports its dealer network better than any other manufacturer.

So, there’s no mystery here at all. Harley-Davidson is succeeding in troubled times because it understands exactly what its followers want and gives it to them. I can only hope that the rest of the industry is paying close attention. Paul Dean