What Really Grinds My Gears

"benjrblant" (benjblant) 01/26/2019 at 11:01 • Filed to: None

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“Millenials may claim another victim: Harley Davidson...”

Oh? It’s   their fault for not buying your shit? But not your fault for refusing to adapt to a changing market, or riding your one-trick-pony into the ground and blaming an entire generation for your lack of oversight?

I feel like 50 years ago we would habe played this as an aging company that just lost out to the market/tech/clientele and not blamed your children for it.

/Rant. Thats all.

Frenchlicker > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 11:11

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I’m fine with my generation being the ones to “kill” companies that don’t create products we want. 

WilliamsSW > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 11:13

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Adapt or die.

My X-type is too a real Jaguar > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 11:14

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Haven’t you learned it is never a person’s or company’s fault there is always a scapegoat.

It certainly isn’t because Harley is a an apparel company in changing fashion times that has refused to change

Manny05x > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 11:15

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Sorry we dont want your overweight/overpriced, underpowered motorcycles Harley.

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 11:18

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The funny thing is all that blame is worthless, much like their stock. 

PowderHound > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 11:20

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Isn’t this what capitalism is?

EdIt: Free Market is what I was thinking. It’s early

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 11:21

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oh look its a whiney millenial

just accept everything is your fault and deal with it.

:D

nermal > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 11:24

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On the flip side is Ducati, who are selling the crap out of a full range of bikes ranging from entry level Scramblers to ADV bikes to cruiser-types to $40k superbikes.

The problem with HD is that they got lazy. They are a textbook example of what happens when you   spend too much time catering to your existing customer base and not enough time looking for new customers.

LongbowMkII > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 11:24

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Boomers: It’s a free market! Vote with your dollars if you want change!

Millennials: *Do n’ t buy HD/Diamonds/Applebee’s*

Boomers: W ait. No.  Not like that.

benjrblant > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 01/26/2019 at 11:28

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Piss off, eh!

q=

gin-san - shitpost specialist > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 11:30

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Given how loud the exhausts on these things are (or if people mod them to be that way) it just makes the rider look like a gigantic douchebag. I can’t help but think of the South Park episode from several years ago (heck it might be around 10 years ago now) which made fun of this.

I’d rather my douchebaggery come in the form of $10 pour-over single origin organicically ethical trade drip coffee and $20 avocado (don’t give a fuck ab out its origin for some reason) toast, thanks.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 11:32

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:D

benjrblant > nermal 01/26/2019 at 11:32

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BMW’s GS line has shown year ober year growth for the past decade. It’s not that motorcycles are dying, it's that HD missed out on the market shift.

atfsgeoff > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 11:34

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Waaaahhhh, millennials don’t like the same stuff Boomers did, waaaaahhh my stock is falling, waaaaaahhh why don’t millennials buy everything we tell them to buy

vondon302 > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 11:35

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Lol.

It’s good to be a Gen xer.

We just sit back watch the world burn and don’t get blamed for anything.

I always laughed at the Harley guys paying extra for a springer front fork.

So you payed extra for old tech?

benjrblant > gin-san - shitpost specialist 01/26/2019 at 11:36

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Yes, I too  am snooty about my coffee but at least im not forcing everyone to observe it at 100dB every morning.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 11:39

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M y generation will be blaming all the young people in 20 years. The cycle continues.

DipodomysDeserti > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 11:52

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I know plenty of millennial Harley riders. They’re just on 30-40 year-old ones that they built themselves.

benjrblant > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/26/2019 at 11:54

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I hope that we can be better than that. Just because the previous generation made some mistakes does not mean that we need to repeat them. See: Harley Davidson.

DipodomysDeserti > gin-san - shitpost specialist 01/26/2019 at 11:57

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I have a patch for you. I’m on a Honda, though.

Kim Jong - Healthy > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 11:57

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this annoys me to no end. like sorry that your company was popularized by piece of shit, methhead, racist bikers? 

regardless, after school debt, inflation increasing, cost of living increasing and the living wage staying stagnant, I can’t barely afford a shoebox apartment and a 20 year old beemer wagon let alone. $10k bike that pisses everyone off to no end with the noise.

benjrblant > Kim Jong - Healthy 01/26/2019 at 12:00

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$10k bike? Maybe used. New ones are well into the $20s. But yes, i feel your pain. Expenses for many things have increased sharply and wages have not. It doesn't bode well for many things.

VajazzleMcDildertits - read carefully, respond politely > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 12:03

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Im a gen Xer and I enjoy way more avocado toast than millennials do - 1. I can afford to actually eat it, not just take pics of it. 2. My metabolism slowed down, and I can’t eat Chipotle burritos back to back any longer.

I'd also like to say sorry as we seem to be the most likely generation to cut you off in traffic.

Kim Jong - Healthy > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 12:05

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fuck is that how expensive they are?

I just threw a random number out there.

who are these people buying a bike for that much? for $20k i’m buying a clean e39 m5, not some damn chopper.

DipodomysDeserti > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 12:09

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I’m going to start a new H-D that harkens back to their racing days. Scramblers and trackers with a road racing bike or two thrown in.

Monkey B > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 12:10

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exactly...when you become a fashion statement you have little chance of succeeding long term.

If Ferrari were still selling gussied up 308's to mustachoid Magnum P.I. fans they’d be gone. If Porsche listened to their snobby “ air cooled 911's are the only real Porsche” customers they’d be gone. Ferrari and Porsche also have their name/ likeness on everything from pens to underwear...especially Ferrari. But at Ferrari they build modern, technologically advanced super cars and have modern, competitive race teams. Porsche, against seemingly everyone’s opinion, knew it needed to build top notch commuter SUV’s to stay alive and relevant in the sport/supercar segment and keep racing.. .l ook at them now.

The only young people I see on HD’s these days look like Jax Teller . Flat brimmed hats, low top sneakers and hoodies are their riding gear. If they wear a helmet it’s one of those little skull cap things. It is further proof that being a fashion statement can not sustain. At this point, even if they start building relevant product, I don’t see them surviving. Their current customers don’t want them and everyone else looks elsewhere for those things. They aren’t even the best at what they do anymore, I’d buy an Indian if I wanted something like that. They need to downsize and become boutique to succeed... in my opinion.

gin-san - shitpost specialist > DipodomysDeserti 01/26/2019 at 12:10

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Not gonna lie, I really wanted a motorcycle for a while, too, but once I added up the cost of licensing, safety courses, gear (since I generally don’t want to die, depends on the day), motorcycle, plus a spot to park it (since I only have one parking spot in my building) I decided against it.

If I were to change my mind, I’d probably end up buying a Honda (they keep winning MotoGP so I figure something’s going right) and they have beginner bikes with the CBR250/CBR300.

DipodomysDeserti > vondon302 01/26/2019 at 12:12

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I’m going to blame you guys for buying all those godawful west coast chopper style harleys, getting tribal tattoos at the age of forty and wearing Ed Hardy shit in an attem pt to look like bikers while working office jobs.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 12:13

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Surprisingly, as a millennial who has a motorcycle license, I have zero interest in a Harley. What I want in a bike is something small, light, agile, and fuel efficient that I can use for commuting and zipping around town on errands. A Harley does none of those well.

My bird IS the word > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 12:13

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millennials may claim another victim: those weird strawberry candies your grandma keeps in her purse

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 12:14

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20k? Shit, I could buy 14 1996 VW Golf GL Runs Good Needs Tires No Lowballers I Know What I’ve Got for that.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Kim Jong - Healthy 01/26/2019 at 12:15

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Dentists, mostly

DipodomysDeserti > gin-san - shitpost specialist 01/26/2019 at 12:18

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I started riding when I was 18 on a $500 ‘78 Honda. DD’d a bike all through college which saved me a lot on gas/insurance/parking. Not always feasible once you start adulting. My current Honda is a ‘73 CL450.

vondon302 > DipodomysDeserti 01/26/2019 at 12:28

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Not me but generation wise yeah guilty.

Ed Hardy made millions by putting old sailor tatoos on shirts. Wish I would of thought of that 

TorqueToYield > Monkey B 01/26/2019 at 12:56

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Some fashion statements make great companies, look at Gucci or whatever.

But if you’re selling $20k fashion statements you better make sure your company stays fashionable and Harley hasn’t.

DipodomysDeserti > vondon302 01/26/2019 at 13:05

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What’s funny is that my old sailor great grandfather used to always point at his blob  tattoos (he was 100) as a warning for me to never get tattoos. It didn’t work.

LongbowMkII > Monkey B 01/26/2019 at 13:13

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Ferrari has been flirting with fashion icon for a while now. 

vondon302 > DipodomysDeserti 01/26/2019 at 13:18

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Lol he was right but it didn’t work on me either. I’m 50 so its over 2 5 years old and its not holding up well.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > LongbowMkII 01/26/2019 at 13:39

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I must have missed it. What’s wrong with A pplebees?

BaconSandwich is tasty. > My bird IS the word 01/26/2019 at 13:46

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Did they stop making those?  I didn’t mind them.  Better than Werther’s originals.

benjrblant > My bird IS the word 01/26/2019 at 13:59

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Oh man! So many memories. I kinda miss those.

My bird IS the word > BaconSandwich is tasty. 01/26/2019 at 14:09

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not as far as I know, I’m just making a joke. Harley pulled a cadillac and forgot that when you cater to an older audience they eventually die off.

Brickman > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 14:46

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Good... I would want a bike that runs smooth and reliable like a Yamaha Road Star (I guess, im not a bike person)

LongbowMkII > BaconSandwich is tasty. 01/26/2019 at 16:46

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It’s just one of the things millennials have been blamed for killing.

DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By > benjrblant 01/26/2019 at 18:08

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I had the exact same thought

Frenchlicker > LongbowMkII 01/26/2019 at 19:26

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I’m pretty sure they are more butt hurt about us not like Hooter’s to be honest. 

facw > nermal 01/26/2019 at 19:40

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Honestly, getting lazy might not be a bad thing for a company. Innovating is hard, dying a slow death, and being profitable along the way can be a reasonable reaction to the challenge. You do have to actually accept that’s the path you are on, it’s easy to waste too much money defending a market niche that’s going away, at least enough to be unprofitable.

facw > My bird IS the word 01/26/2019 at 19:42

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I can smell those just from the picture. My college roomm ate kept a bowl by the entrance to our apartment . Also one year, I won a large wreath made of them at an office holiday party, which kept me in supply for quite a while.

LongbowMkII > Frenchlicker 01/26/2019 at 23:19

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They’re the ones who invented internet porn. Can’t see how that can be our fault. 

Frenchlicker > LongbowMkII 01/27/2019 at 01:29

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Well it’s simple, their generation was full of boob men and ours is full of ass people. 

Nauraushaun > benjrblant 01/27/2019 at 19:05

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Dumb as fuck.

Fuck that article

Fuck Harleys

Nauraushaun > Kim Jong - Healthy 01/27/2019 at 19:06

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Gods I hate the noise

Clown Shoe Pilot > My bird IS the word 02/06/2019 at 00:34

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Amazon has the candies, so that’s good. As a kid I must have eaten pounds of those over various holiday seasons. They were scattered in the occasional P epperidge F arms gift box, and then one year mom bought a bulk package of them at Sam’s Club

Clown Shoe Pilot > gin-san - shitpost specialist 02/06/2019 at 00:39

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The CB 300 is a totally decent bike. I’m kinda thinking about one though I’m unlikely to pull the trigger. I’ve owned 3 other bikes but just don’t ride enough to justify owning one. The last bike I owned was a Grom and I sold it after I didn’t need it for work any more. I satisfy my wind jones with a Miata now.