Free Harleys

[pikipiki]

Don't get too excited, your probably too old, but news is news and it's good to get younger bikers into the scene, or that's the way I read it (ideally young and good looking to apply?) but I could be wrong?

Quote:

Harley Davidson is currently recruiting eight people to take part in a 12-week tour across the U.S. as part of its new "Find Your Freedom" internship.

Harley-Davidson's summer interns will get paid to discover what America�s motorcycle culture is like, traveling through the states to participate in Harley-Davidson events while sharing their experiences on social media

[Kev m]

Don't get too excited, your probably too old, but news is news and it's good to get younger bikers into the scene, or that's the way I read it (ideally young and good looking to apply?) but I could be wrong?

You're reading it right. Actually yes, AFAIK everyone here is too old. They are specifically looking for college junior/seniors to be hired as interns this summer. I forget if they're looking for a specific major - business/marketing with an emphasis on social media marketing knowledge.

They will ride across the country to various events representing Harley, blog about it, and basically get to keep their bikes when it is all over.

[oldbike54]

 Wonder how many waivers the participants must sign to participate in this blatant publicity stunt ?

 Dusty

[Kev m]

Wonder how many waivers the participants must sign to participate in this simple marketing strategy designed to appeal to younger riders or the younger bikurious?

 Dusty

Fixed it for ya.

[Toecutter]

How dare a company enlist young people into such a blatant promotion, while simultaneously offering them suitable compensation for their time and effort!

 

[JJ]

You're reading it right. Actually yes, AFAIK everyone here is too old. They are specifically looking for college junior/seniors to be hired as interns this summer. I forget if they're looking for a specific major - business/marketing with an emphasis on social media marketing knowledge.

They will ride across the country to various events representing Harley, blog about it, and basically get to keep their bikes when it is all over.

Let's face it..."Guzzi Geezers" are not the future of motorcycling...   

IMHO - Brilliant marketing effort...and hat's off to the Motor Company for taking this leap forward.

[oldbike54]

Fixed it for ya.

 Uh , no you didn't . I have no problem with a company doing marketing , hell , the whole Ewan McGregor thing is kinda fun . Sorry , the MoCo is once again marketing lifestyle . Buy a Harley , be different along with everyone else . It is the same thing as what Nike does , be cool , wear the swoosh.

 Dusty

[Toecutter]

Oldbike... that's pretty much the premise of EVERY brand and product out there... from cars, to beer, to cigarettes, to chocolate bars.

And if that's your grudge against H-D, you might wanna burn your Guzzi... or haven't you been paying attention to the marketing that Piaggio has been doing?

Quite frankly, THIS is how it's done these days. Nobody's watching television ads anymore. Nobody's buying print media. It's done through social media.

Guzzi and Harley are in the same boat... Old Fart bikes, sold to Old Farts. They need to destroy that perception, if they wish to survive in today's market, and this is how it's done.

Or, are you just old enough, and at this long enough... that you figure you didn't get into it for a "lifestyle" back when dirt was young? We all did. We all got into it for a change to our lifestyle. I changed my lifestyle at 8 years old, because dirtbikes were cool and I wanted one. Some change their lifestyle for the same reason at 20, 30... 60. But make no mistake... none of us were born on a bike... it was a conscious choice at some point, created through outside influence... most often exposure to bikes and people that rode bikes that we thought were cool.

Same shit, different generation.

[oldbike54]

 Sorry , I got a snootfull from a couple of 20 year old HD wannabes last night . This type of advertising is directed at them , not at any real motorbikers . Carry on , but in my opinion the MoCo is nothing more than a very large corporation , establishment to the extreme , attempting to market its self as an entree into the counter culture .

 Dusty

[Lannis]

Let's face it..."Guzzi Geezers" are not the future of motorcycling...   

IMHO - Brilliant marketing effort...and hat's off to the Motor Company for taking this leap forward.

It's what a successful business (and HD is one of those) does.   They're not in the business of molding "culture" into what we old and sour men define as true "Motorcycle Culture" - that's for US to do, we ones that are not making money for our employees and shareholders.   WE can decide what Real Motorcyclists are, demean anyone that doesn't fit the image we judge fit, and run the kids off our lawn.   Not one cent of skin in the game, however.

HD, on the other hand, is in the business of selling motorcycles and paraphernalia, and they're going to sell to people with money that are going to buy them, same as they've been doing since 1903.   And if handing out free samples and publicizing happy faces is going to get them there, then that's what they're going to do.   And good on 'em.

Lannis

[Zoom Zoom]

 

ZZ

[Toecutter]

This type of advertising is directed at them , not at any real motorbikers .

Real motorbikers?

Would those be the guys riding vintage bikes? or the guys riding adventure bikes? Or perhaps the daily commuter? The dudes building their own bikes? Maybe it's just the hyper-milers? Or perhaps the offroaders?

Sorry, man. I just don't buy it. It just comes across as bitter... and more than a bit "elitist". They're ALL corporations, ALL pushing a product, ALL through selling an image. You figure Piaggio picks their models and settings as some sort of "Volvo: They're boxy, but good" ad campaign? Lately it's nothing but bearded hipsters, and pretty young women, in $4000 worth of fashionable, branded, riding gear. It's ALWAYS been this way.

There will always be some that think the image comes with the bike, and others that feel that the image exists with or without the bike... it's how it will always be. But the moto-vlog, the instagram accounts, the traveling adevntures posted on social media... that's how it is. For now, that's the name of the advertising game.  It's how you reach an audience that might actually buy a new bike, instead of clinging to their history and reminiscing about the good old days when bikes were badass, and the men that rode them were genuine, instead of the way things are today... apparently.

Harley isn't unique in this world. It's how they all do it. They all sell an image. It may vary from company to company... but they all sell an image.  You dind't get into Guzzi in a bubble... you weren't born on the back of one, you were sold one. And when you started riding, you probably pissed off a bunch of grumpy old curmudgeons as well, who saw you as an intruder and poser.

[Kev m]

Don't tell Dusty that the Germans didn't bomb Pearl Harbor either...

[kballowe]

 

That ought to be a hoot.

[oldbike54]

Don't tell Dusty that the Germans didn't bomb Pearl Harbor either...

 Everyone know the French bombed Pear Harbor .

 Look , I get it , "You meet the nicest people on a Honda " or a Triumph ad from about 10 years ago with a grizzled type standing in front of a modern Bonneville that proclaimed "You never met the nicest people on a Triumph" . Marketing sells , and the MoCo has been very successful marketing a lifestyle . But like my best bud in Nacogdoches who rode a panhead almost everyday said , "Don't try to tell me a mule is actually a thoroughbred racing pony" . Fact is I've been friends with a bunch of old grizzled HD riders , some pretty decent guys under the layer of grease , even they think this type of marketing is silly .

 Maybe I'm just bothered by the marketing of a machine as a way to purchase "cool" .

 Dusty

[Toecutter]

All those grizzled old H-D riders got an H-D because they thought it was cool. That's where it all starts.

Doesn't matter if they think "this type of marketing is silly"... it's not targeted at them. The type of marketing that worked on them... stuntmen, and the Wall of Death, and Bikesploitation B-movies... don't work any more. But it's all the same shit. Hate it if you wish... it works. What better way to sell bikes than to show people having an adventure on a bike?

This is a generation that's plugged in... they have computers in their pockets. They tailor their life's experience to the things they find interesting... their devices are an extension of who they are. Their likes, their favourites, their dreams, their wishes... their phones and tablets are constantly customizing themselves to better meet the wants and needs of their respective owners. If you like bikes... I guarantee that your instagram feed will satisfy that passion. It's brilliant advertising... it hits those who care about it, and wastes no time on those who don't. No wasted money spent, better return on your marketing dollar, an a target demo that is 100% plugged in.

Silly? No, it's not silly. What it is... is a generation feeling left behind in a world they no longer fully understand... and coping by dismissing it as "silly". It happens with every generation.

And, in this generation, like all other before it... there will be the weekend warriors, there will be the posers, there will be the shadetree mechanics and the garage builders. There will be the vintage purists, and the ratbikers. But they all got there because they thought it was cool at one time...

[oldbike54]

 Maybe , maybe not , I still think the marketing ploy is nonsense , and will lure people who think buying a motorbike makes their hoo haw bigger . I gotta wonder why the market is now flooded with used HD's that have a thousand miles on them , could it be the buyers found out that actually riding a motorbike requires dealing with hot and cold , bugs , rain , and the occasional flat tire in the middle of nowhere . Plugged in or not , the reality of riding a motorbike hasn't changed all that much .

 Oh well , guessing the MoCo will provide plenty of support vehicles for when these riders get tired , or cold , or wet , or start missing their smart phone 

 Dusty

[Toecutter]

I gotta wonder why the market is now flooded with used HD's that have a thousand miles on them , could it be the buyers found out that actually riding a motorbike requires dealing with hot and cold , bugs , rain , and the occasional flat tire in the middle of nowhere . Plugged in or not , the reality of riding a motorbike hasn't changed all that much .

Having a phone doesn't make one less of a biker.

And I don't know if you're just pretending it's new... but low mileage used bikes have always existed. And I've encountered more than my fair share of greybeard bikers that think their bike makes their dick bigger. Nothing has changed, except the medium for reaching people.

[Dharma Bum]

To be honest, all of us succumbed to influences that drew us to motorcycles.  Whether it was the older kid up the street on a chopped Harley, McQueen jumping the fence, or Bronson rolling down Hiway 1, it made us question whether we had the "right stuff" to emulate them.  Those of us that did are still riding, those that didn't flooded the used bike market.  Fifty years later, I still feel lucky to pull up to a red light and look over at "that guy" behind a wheel and feel a handlebar in my hands.

 

[JJ]

To be honest, all of us succumbed to influences that drew us to motorcycles.  Whether it was the older kid up the street on a chopped Harley, McQueen jumping the fence, or Bronson rolling down Hiway 1, it made us question whether we had the "right stuff" to emulate them.  Those of us that did are still riding, those that didn't flooded the used bike market.  Fifty years later, I still feel lucky to pull up to a red light and look over at "that guy" behind a wheel and feel a handlebar in my hands.

* A long, long, time ago, while visiting my uncle Remo in Ridgefield, CT, a truck driver friend of his named Virgil, came by and offered to take my for a ride on his beautiful 1967 HD Electra Glide, just like this one.  I was only twelve years old...and this was my very first two-wheel experience...and I was totally mesmerized...





* Then, later that year, I visiting with my cousin Paul's friend in Beacon, NY...and I still remember his name, Robert Poli, and his family was well to do, and he had a brand new TACO-22 min-bike.  We rode it around the lawn of his house on Route 9, and after that, I was bitten...hook, line, and sinker...I was still only 12 years old...





Then, after winning $125 at a Gun Club Raffle, in Rhinebeck, NY, my Dad bought me a used 1965 Yamaha YG-1K 80cc Rotary Jet, exactly like this one...and taught me how to ride...I was 14 at the time, and the rest, as they say, is history...





50 years and 33 motorcycles later, I am still "In The Wind", like many of you on this forum. 

[jas67]

They will ride across the country to various events representing Harley, blog about it, and basically get to keep their bikes when it is all over.

OMG, wow!   Where was this kind of thing when we were in college?

Let's face it..."Guzzi Geezers" are not the future of motorcycling...   

IMHO - Brilliant marketing effort...and hat's off to the Motor Company for taking this leap forward.

Absolutely!

[Kev m]

All those grizzled old H-D riders got an H-D because they thought it was cool. That's where it all starts.

Doesn't matter if they think "this type of marketing is silly"... it's not targeted at them. The type of marketing that worked on them... stuntmen, and the Wall of Death, and Bikesploitation B-movies... don't work any more. But it's all the same shit. Hate it if you wish... it works. What better way to sell bikes than to show people having an adventure on a bike?

This is a generation that's plugged in... they have computers in their pockets. They tailor their life's experience to the things they find interesting... their devices are an extension of who they are. Their likes, their favourites, their dreams, their wishes... their phones and tablets are constantly customizing themselves to better meet the wants and needs of their respective owners. If you like bikes... I guarantee that your instagram feed will satisfy that passion. It's brilliant advertising... it hits those who care about it, and wastes no time on those who don't. No wasted money spent, better return on your marketing dollar, an a target demo that is 100% plugged in.

Silly? No, it's not silly. What it is... is a generation feeling left behind in a world they no longer fully understand... and coping by dismissing it as "silly". It happens with every generation.

And, in this generation, like all other before it... there will be the weekend warriors, there will be the posers, there will be the shadetree mechanics and the garage builders. There will be the vintage purists, and the ratbikers. But they all got there because they thought it was cool at one time...

Yup, yup, yup to all of this!

[Frulk]

Very interesting thread....   

Our youngest never saw me on a motorcycle growing up. I had no friends that rode either. She was never pre indoctrinated with any brand preference. Even after I started riding again ( I rode street legal enduros as a teenager before getting married) she showed no interest in bikes whatsoever and it wasn't until her boyfriend bought what amounted to a hand me down Kawi 800 cc cruiser from his brother (because he 'graduated' to a used Harley via their uncle) that she started showing any interest in bikes. One day she made the comment she was going to buy one (about the same time she finished a significant educational milestone).  Wife and talked and decided to buy the bike as her graduation present.

  At the time I had a CB1100, Moto Guzzi Racer and KLR 650 in the garage and we had a long discussion about the bikes and what their purpose was and what I liked/disliked about each.   So off we go bike shopping without her prior knowledge that she wasn't footing the bill. We looked at Ducati's 1st thinking she may be interested in the Scrambler. The sales gal immediately tried to push a Monster on her telling her how good she would look and so forth. No real discussion about skills, preferences, and riding background.  Anyway, we looked at several different brands at various shops including the Guzzi dealer. It wasn't until we showed up at the Harley dealer that she became VERY engaged in what was on the floor.

  After she unequivocally stated it was the Iron 883 she was buying I let on that mom and dad were footing the bill.  Since her purchase she's put on approx 9K miles and her longest ride to date has been a 500 mile overnighter that included watching her boyfriend go down on black ice on my CB1100. She's completed EVERY mod on her bike herself. Installed a locally made custom shops sissy bar, pulled the exhaust and wrapped it (don't get me started). Installed aftermarket bars, seat and blinkers and just 2 weekends ago installed an aftermarket airfilter that required her coming over to my shop to use the bench grinder to reshape the head of a bolt to make it fit. 

She's part of a growing number of younger Harley riders around here that I call the Harley Carhartsons. They forgo the pirate look and wear muted riding apparell and work boots (hence the Carhartson moniker as I see a lot of their clothes being worn by this group). Another sure way to tell that's it's a YOUNGER Harely rider is they wear Bullitt or vintage styled helmets. My daughter has two Bullitts of different colors and is never on the bike without one. I'm also starting to see those riders wearing the old Moto cross style helmets with the goggles. Her boyfriend got off the Kawi as fast as he could and is now on a 1200 sportster with drag bars and some other mods.

  They were both over here this past weekend and my daughter and I were talking bikes and she mentioned that she keeps up with several differnt gals that own Harleys on Facebook and other social platforms. Even showed me some of the gals bikes...whole sub culture of young women wrenching and riding out there.  While over here she surprised me and matter of factly asked me when I was giving her the Racer pitching it as if she was doing me a favor by creating room in my garage for another purchase. 

  I wouldn't underestimate the cache the MoCo has with the younger crowd. With the market being flooded with low milage bikes and prices supposedly dropping we may see a new, younger Harley buyer coming into the market they were previously excluded from due to income restrictions regardless of what marketing pitch is being tossed around.

  I'll finish with this.  About 3 weeks ago I was at the local Harley dealer because I was in the area and they have free coffee and donuts (Guzzi content) on Saturday. I pulled in on the Racer and there were about 30 or so bikes in the lot. I took a few minutes and was looking around and came across a Sportster that was pushing all my buttons. As I'm giving it the once over this maybe mid 20's clean cut Harley Carhartson rider walks up to the bike with what I think was his father and sticks the keys in it. "Your bike" I asked. Yeah was the reply. I followed that with "besides mine, yours is the only other bike in this lot I'd be seen riding". Not sure who was smiling more as I walked away, the kid or the father.

[Mr Pootle]

Dusty, at what age do you become a real motorbiker, and is there a special cake baked for the occasion?

[chuck peterson]

Can they make someone do that? I mean isn't that cruel and unusual punishment? ........

[oldbike54]

Dusty, at what age do you become a real motorbiker, and is there a special cake baked for the occasion?

 Well , Len Vale Onslow was what , 200 years old and still riding ? Seems they may have baked him a cake 

 Dusty

[JJ]

Well , Len Vale Onslow was what , 200 years old and still riding ? Seems they may have baked him a cake 

 Dusty

Never heard of this guy! Interesting!  Thanks, Dusty for the history lesson!!

[Two Checks]

Does Harley provide the uniforms?

[JJ]

Does Harley provide the uniforms?

"Have Do-Rag will travel..." 

[Shorty]

It would be refreshing to find that the kids are completely unconnected to the American motorcycling/hot rod world. Kids that didn't "know" they are supposed to lower their voices an octave or two, flash their tattoos, or claim cred from their mere possession of a machine.  I hope these people are not nieces and nephews of HD execs, moto scribes, etc. Nothing like seeing the joy of a new rider before all the layers of bullshyte accumulate. Would the MOCO take that chance? OR are these guys "ringers", strategically chosen to communicate the coolness of HD?