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My Brother has a very nice Harley that he's been trying to sell but he can't get what he wants for it.
Spring is the most important time of the year for Harley-Davidson. It sells about a third of its bikes in April, May and June, analysts say, as the weather warms up and bikers itch to hit the road.
After the horrible year Harley has had, I can only imagine the company was hopeful for a miracle this spring. But that didn't happen. Analysts at UBS say retail sales at Harley plummeted 35% in April and May, according to Barron's.
And so Harley's problems continue. Americans still love their motorcycles, they just don't love brand-new Harleys.
Here are the biggest problems the company faces:
The used motorcycle market does a brisk business.
Harley buyers are getting older. Only 12% of buyers are under 35.
Harley offered no-money-down financing to subprime buyers who either couldn't or wouldn't repay their loans. As a result, its financing arm is in trouble with delinquent loans and credit rating concerns.
The company has cut back shipments to retailers in hopes of bringing down inventory. Harley also had to close plants, lay off employees and cut production this year.
The share price has been sliding since the beginning of May.
Last year at this time, the share price was nearly $40. It plunged below $9 in March, bounced back above $20 in May, and these days is lingering in the $15 to $17 range.
Friday, Citigroup cut its rating on Harley to sell. Barron's thinks the stock may have topped out in May.
Harley
My Brother has a very nice Harley that he's been trying to sell but he can't get what he wants for it.
My boss owns 5.
my father has a 1948 Harley...in pieces...in boxes in his garage.
Things are tough all over. I noticed that "Iron Horse" shop on 281 was closed down.
he doesn't want to put it back together, he's trying to sell the pieces but he's having a hard time getting what he wants for them
There's no way Harley could have kept up those sales numbers even if the economy hadn't stumbled...The simple fact is that if you ride a bike the question is not IF you are gonna crash, but WHEN. I couldn't believe the number of weenie middle age guys that had never even been on a bike that were running out and buying 1200cc Harleys just because they thought it was the cool thing to do...when the reality finally set in that they were hot, uncomfortable, and ultimately dangerous they were dumping them on the used bike market like crazy and most of them could afford to take a loss...
There has been like 8 motorcycle crashes in the last two weeks here. Several were fatalities.
A friend of mine that is a good hand on a bike crashed a few months ago...he's lucky to have lived through it...he had the usual random broken bones and road rash, but the crash also "scalped" him like an indian...he was stone cold sober riding on a quiet country road at night at 60-70mph and ran into a herd of black hogs...didn't see them till it was way too late...
I got my bike wreck over in my 20's...quit racing and have only been on a bike a few times since then...going 70mph backwards and upside down 15' off the ground will do that to you LOL.
Well….I don’t agree that the aging crowd is stupid for wanting a Harley…Most of the over 40 crowd have been very responsible & waited until their children finished school & they could afford one…Later to find out that the arthritis in their hips interfered with shifting gears on a cold morning…
Craiglist is now filled with Harleys for sale with less than 5,000 miles on them…
When my sister in law was recovering from her accident, I had to take care to physical therapy for a couple of weeks. The place was always packed and I was shocked to see that about 75% of the patients were young men. All from motorcycle mishaps!
me too. bad motorcycle accident in my 20s. Quit riding for a little over 10 years, but have been riding again for the past several years.
Harley's MSRP isn't as bad as what the dealers sell them for. A Harley might have a MSRP of 16,000, but all dealers mark them up a few thousand... because they can. And people get on waiting lists for them.
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