How are the 500 & 750cc HD selling?

[bad Chad]

Just wondering if they are selling in numbers?    I live outside of Chicago and I have not seen many on the road.   Have you kids seen many, or heard anything from dealers?

[Vince in Milwaukee]

I'm right north of you over the border in Cheese Land (Kenosha).  I've seen one new 750 so far on the road this summer. 

[cruzziguzzi]

I haven't seen but one so far.

Too, I'm likely to be hiding from the giant death-ball hanging over Pheonix rather than puttering down the road checking out bikes.

Todd.

[guzzisteve]

http://www.mariettasportscar.com/vehicle-details/2015-harley-davidson-xg500-street-b1da1cb80bc16f46a87fdaee5b71ba7e/

Got it in on trade for a new V7, PO was not impressed w/it and it's still new.

[eldoroddo]

I live three miles from Orange County Harley-Davidson in SoCal, on a busy thoroughfare that leads to Cook's Corner.
I have yet to see ONE.

[canuguzzi]

All over the place. They are selling them in boat loads out here. Contrary to popular belief, lots of bikes west of Chicago and north of the Mason-Dixon.

[Gliderjohn]

Not seen one yet unless I just am not recognizing them.
GliderJohn

[cruzziguzzi]

Not seen one yet unless I just am not recognizing them.
GliderJohn

At least one - the one I know to have later identified - has been mistaken by me for that new little Yamaha "sportster".

Todd.

[ITSec]

I've only seen them on the showroom floor - but like others, I may have seen them and thought they were a Bolt or some such. They are just not distinct.

[oldbike54]

 According to my Nephew the HD salesperson , "Not very well" 

  Dusty

[slopokes]

   everything goes up to bear mtn,ny on the weekends---I have seen one this year

[cruzziguzzi]

I wonder if they're disappearing as work-a-day plodders like Buell Blasts did.

When they were building and selling Blasts - I couldn't find one anywhere for a project I had in mind - now, once the first and second owners have decided to let them go - they're relatively thick on the ground here but righteously hammered like you'd expect from a say, courier's ride.

Todd.

[Bill Havins]

According to my Nephew the HD salesperson , "Not very well" 

  Dusty

Pssst!  Hey, Dusty!  You're 'spose to keep your sources secret!

[LowRyter]

never seen one on the road,  never seen one at the flat track.

would never own a bike with passenger pegs mounted on the swing arm.  Even if I ever wanted a small caliber Honda copy cruiser.



at least honda put brackets for the passenger pegs

[LowRyter]

I wonder if they're disappearing as work-a-day plodders like Buell Blasts did.

When they were building and selling Blasts - I couldn't find one anywhere for a project I had in mind - now, once the first and second owners have decided to let them go - they're relatively thick on the ground here but righteously hammered like you'd expect from a say, courier's ride.

Todd.

todd, skip to 49 seconds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDsu93esQMc

[Zinfan]

http://www.mariettasportscar.com/vehicle-details/2015-harley-davidson-xg500-street-b1da1cb80bc16f46a87fdaee5b71ba7e/

Got it in on trade for a new V7, PO was not impressed w/it and it's still new.

Would be interesting to see how the owner compares the V7 to that Harley.  I think I saw a 750 once but wasn't close enough to be sure.

[cruzziguzzi]

todd, skip to 49 seconds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDsu93esQMc

Makes a fella wonder if there won't someday be some of the same sentiment at HD. I can imagine a not so rosy remembrance regarding a degrading of HD's status in having such un-noteworthy starter bikes in their stable. Even given the Sportster's current chick-bike interpretation bias... in its day it was a no compromise super-bike.

Todd.

[canuguzzi]

In the last year I've seen no more than 7 Moto Guzzis and 3 of them were in showrooms. Apparently they do sell though.

It depends on where you are, some shops sell a lot of bikes. If you ride a Honda you don't see that many Yamahas but you see a lot of Hondas and vice versa.

Doesn't explain not seeing many Guzzis though. I see more Guzzi's on craigslist than on the road.

[Arizona Wayne]

Maybe that is why Harley Davidson quarterly new MC sales have dropped this year in the last quarter for the 1st time in years.  Or does Indian sales have something to do with that?   

[Cage Free]

Although many HD riders have blinders on when it comes to their brand I think the target group for this bike is young and researches things before a purchase and with the poor reviews of this bike I think it helps to sell Yamaha Bolts which are fare much better under review. One of the reviews I read on the HD said "Better than walking but not by much"

[ken farr]

To be honest, I don't know if I've seen one or not.


kjf

[cruzziguzzi]

To be honest, I don't know if I've seen one or not.


kjf

More's the pity. Such is their inherent lack of noteworthiness.

Todd.

[Charles in Lake Charles]

Local dealer has sold one.

[Karl Von]

I have seen one on the road.  The local HD dealer had them on display at a bike night, I thought they looked like a Honda shadow.

HD



Honda

[jbell]

It's been said before, but Harley gets castigated for building "stone age" V twins and they've tried singles (Sprints & Buell Blast), modern water cooled (V Rod) sport bikes (Buell) and starter bikes (current 500 & 750) and the only things that sell are "stone age" V twins.  They keep trying, though.

[homebrew]

Maybe that is why Harley Davidson quarterly new MC sales have dropped this year in the last quarter for the 1st time in years.  Or does Indian sales have something to do with that?   

According to the company the reason for their sales decline was entirely in the big bikes, where Honda is destroying them on price given recent stronger dollar.  They don't break out the Rushmore bikes separately -- the lump them in with the sportsters -- but they say the Rushmores are selling really well, but not as great as last year when they were stocking every Harley rider school in the country and the bike was new to users. Combined, units of Sportsters and Rushmores was up, so there's that.

[Chuck in Indiana]

I'm sorry, but if I *have* seen one on the road, I couldn't tell. <shrug>

[rboe]

I could not  tell it from a Bolt out in the wild. http://wildguzzi.com/forum/Smileys/default/shocked.gif

[leafman60]

I've not noticed one on the road. One of my local dealers has told me that the 750 model is selling much better than the 500. I don't know.

As a company H-D seems to know what they're doing. My local medium-sized dealer sells more Harleys in a year than Moto Guzzi sells in both the entire US and Canada.

I looked at the 500/750 bikes after they were introduced and they struck me as cheaply-made.  Of course, they have a cheap price too.

I just don't know how this will fly for them. As someone said, it may be like the ill-fated Buell Blast along with the entire ill-fated Buell line that just never attracted many customers.

[skromfols]

It's really a shame.  I would like to see Harley remain successful, because it's an American business, however, the hard core Harley riders demand something that's getting harder and harder to provide.  What surprised me is that Harley continues to attract younger riders, but only certain types.  Either they're "macho dudes" who need to chain their wallet to their levi's, or they're wanna be's.  And a little 500 or 750 does not fit the needs of riders in either of those categories.  Yes, I know that there are exceptions, but in general I think my description is pretty accurate.