Harley-Davidson sales grew 5.9% in 2011

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:58:00 +0000

Filed under: Etc., Earnings/Financials, Motorcycle

Last year was a good one for Harley-Davidson. According to Asphalt and Rubber, the American bike manufacturer saw its sales increase by 5.9 percent globally compared to 2010. Sales in the U.S., meanwhile, were up 5.8 percent. All told, Harley-Davidson managed to move 235,188 units last year, with 151,683 of those heading to owners in the States. Those figures mean the manufacturer managed to post a net income of $105.6 million last year. By contrast, during the fourth quarter of 2010 the company saw a net loss of $46.7 million.

The global recession hadn’t been kind to the company. With a model line designed to cater to the wealthy and their lust for toys, Harley-Davidson suddenly saw itself posting yearly losses. Those at the helm sold off MV Agusta and pulled the plug on Buell all together in an effort to keep Harley-Davidson up right.

Those moves seem to have helped. The company posted $4.6 billion in revenue last year, which marks an increase of 11.6 percent over 2010.

Harley-Davidson sales grew 5.9% in 2011 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:58:00 EST.

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eBay Find of the Day: Twin jet-engine board track Harley-Davidson

admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 23:29:00 +0000

Filed under: Auctions, Motorcycle, Specialty

If hopping on a motorcycle isn’t thrilling or deadly enough for you anymore, you may want to point your browser toward eBay Motors. The world’s first and only twin-pulse-jet-engine motorcycle is officially up for auction. The machine was originally constructed by Robert Maddox for a customer who wanted to try his hand at slipping into the 200-mph club. It’s not clear whether the owner had a brief flash of sanity or if he simply found an easier way get his jollies, but the bike is now up for sale with a buy-it-now price of just $25,000.

That’s plenty cheap in our eyes. If we had money bleeding out of our ears, we’d snap up the wild machine, which is supposedly based on a 1929 Harley-Davidson flat-track racer (we imagine that might just mean modeled after…), and park it in our living room. The seller says the bike rides straight and, not surprisingly, is plenty quick. Head over to eBay Motors to check out the auction for yourself.

eBay Find of the Day: Twin jet-engine board track Harley-Davidson originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 Nov 2011 19:29:00 EST.

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Movie Review: The Silencer

admin — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Review of the “biker” movie entitled “The Silencer”. A B-movie about a women who rides her Harley motorcycle catching and killing men who make sex slaves, all the while she sheds her clothes at the drop of a hat.

The plot is reasonable, a bit far fetched, but the script itself is very bad, and the movie director should take up another job.

Harley-Davidson recalling over 300,000 motorcycles

admin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:35:00 +0000

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Motorcycle

Harley-Davidson has announced that it is recalling 308,474 motorcycles and trikes. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the rear brake switch may be exposed to excessive heat from the exhaust system. If this happens, the rear brake light may fail to illuminate. It’s also possible that the rear brake system could leak fluid, causing a brake failure. NHTSA says either condition could lead to an accident. Harley-Davidson will replace the brake light switch free of charge, though it’s unclear what will be done to prevent the same condition from reoccurring in the future.

The recall covers 25 different Harley-Davidson models manufactured between 2009 and 2012. Around 250,000 of the motorcycles were sold in the U.S. while the remaining 50,000 were sold elsewhere. Reuters reports that the recall is expected to cost Harley-Davidson between $10 million and $12 million. Hit the jump to see the full recall report, including a full list of affected vehicles.

Continue reading Harley-Davidson recalling over 300,000 motorcycles

Harley-Davidson recalling over 300,000 motorcycles originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:35:00 EST.

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Ads: Harley-Davidson - Just Do Not Get It! Help

admin — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Below are two print ads for Harley-Davidson in Colombia. The ads were made by Publicis who have made some very good commercials for Harley, but these has got me totally confused.

What are the messages?

India: Do The Big Motorcycle Makers Threaten Royal Enfield?

admin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 06:00:00 +0000

The new kids on the block in India, mainstream motorcycle manufacturers BMW, Ducati, Harley-Davidson and Piaggio, are a threat to local manufacturer Royal Enfield.

The classic Royal Enfield is situated above the local and cheap motorcycles, and below the expensive imports, but for many affluent Indian bikers, they now have more choice.

How will Royal Enfield react?

Video: Harley-Davidson Goes To The Dogs

admin — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +0000

In a surprisingly good TV commercial, Harley-Davidson shows that it still has it in making good ads. Or maybe it’s because they have recently changed PR/Ad agency.

This TV spot is made by Victors & Spoils in the USA, and shows that motorcycle riders love dogs….. funny and well done. Positive message, even to cagers.

Strangest trade-in ever? Man swaps meteorite for motorcycle

admin — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:29:00 +0000

Filed under: Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Motorcycle

Landers Harley-Davidson has a motto: We’ll trade for just about anything.

Really? Anything? One Arkansas man decided to test that motto himself when he called the dealership to see if they’d trade him a motorcycle for a meteorite. Wait… a what?

Jim Griffey was out minding his own business, planting trees in his backyard, when his shovel hit something solid. Out came an unidentified rock and in went the tree. That rock, though, was unlike anything else Griffey had ever seen, and had some rather strange magnetic properties.

Sensing something was awry, Griffey took his find to a local expert, who concluded that this unassuming chunk was actually a meteorite that had fell from the sky and embedded itself years ago into Griffey’s backyard.

Seems that our man had more use for a Harley-Davidson than he did for a rock from outer space, and, luckily for him, Landers Harley-Davidson agreed to make the trade as long as Griffey could get documentation that his trade-in really was a meteorite.

Our take? Depending on the retail price of the motorcycle in question, we’re thinking Landers has made a rather shrewd move. After all, regardless of the value of the actual meteorite, they can just take the price of the bike out of their annual marketing budget… it’s darn near impossible to buy this kind of publicity. Click past the break to watch a video from Griffey’s local CBS affiliate.

Continue reading Strangest trade-in ever? Man swaps meteorite for motorcycle

Strangest trade-in ever? Man swaps meteorite for motorcycle originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:29:00 EST.

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Want To Buy A Military Motorcycle?

admin — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 06:00:00 +0000

If you’re in the market for military vehicles, including several motorcycles, there’s a web site in the UK that specializes in selling/auctioning military vehicles as they come out of the British MOD.

Here’s a Harley-Davidson MT350 going for UK£675.

Sorry, no tanks (but I did see a half-track)…

Give Your Friends A Harley-Davidson Toilet

admin — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 06:00:00 +0000

A Harley-Davidson crapper… What will they think off next?

If you’re a lover of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, would you use such a toilet? It would seem like a desecration to me.

MPB Moto » harley-

Harley-Davidson sales grew 5.9% in 2011

eBay Find of the Day: Twin jet-engine board track Harley-Davidson

Movie Review: The Silencer

Harley-Davidson recalling over 300,000 motorcycles

Ads: Harley-Davidson - Just Do Not Get It! Help

India: Do The Big Motorcycle Makers Threaten Royal Enfield?

Video: Harley-Davidson Goes To The Dogs

Strangest trade-in ever? Man swaps meteorite for motorcycle

Want To Buy A Military Motorcycle?

Give Your Friends A Harley-Davidson Toilet