Maybe Harley needs to slim down, get prices more in line with reality.

My first Heritage Softail cost $10,400 in 1993. Last last Road King cost me $18,000.

While I appreciate the new tech and performance, my Pan will always be my main ride for fun in the sun.

I remember the old H-D shops growing up- the smell of oil, dirty parts on the counters, swearing and dirty jokes, the smell of burnt coffee, and a bottle of whiskey set up for anyone who needed a snort…and customers that knew what they were talking about.

I wish H-D could return to that proven way of keeping customer loyalty- like a second home, but when I walk into the Harley boutiques now- I’m ignored, isolated, and waited on by the staff that drew the shortest straw.

If The Factory continues on it’s course of being a global corporation they will eventually lose the distinction of being an American icon, and will blend into the motorcycle world as an overpriced oddity with no soul, and limited sales.

I see it at most of the old time corporations who went global and now are losing millions from the stupidity of global partnerships- Boeing as an example is producing new planes (years behind schedule because of partners that have never built airplane parts before playing catch up) that can’t be distinguished from Airbus…the difference is fading.

I would like to see H-D survive- but until they’re hammered into reality and return to their core mission-like the Titanic, they won’t know it’s over until they hit the water.

The independent shops will be our only hope like the ones that used to be H-D dealers in the first place- where you know the owner, the mechanics, what they ride, their families, where the beer is, and when’s the next campout.

My mechanic and friend is the only one who rides my Pan besides me- 18″ apes and suicide shifter that a new H-D “tech” couldn’t even kick start- let alone work on it. (6 volt-mechanical advance points/condenser-generator-mechanical brakes-original wishbone frame uncut)

I like the atmosphere if Independent Shops and the trust factor is absolute.

So, while I may have bought a new bike for meat and potatoes riding- I use Independent shops for the real work to keep me rolling.

The road is my shepherd….I shall not stop..

Harley should rebrand a few buells as HD and sell ‘em. It’d be nice to see a few adventure bikes, the 1125r, and the never release ducati killer 1190rr released in the US of A.

Of course, it’d also be nice to see some 21st century hooligan bikes to go with the again mid 20th century hooligan bikes