Harley-Davidson gambles on younger bikers and wins

This Reuter's article reports that Harley-Davidson's recent attempts to lure younger riders to their brand with stripped down bobbers at lower price points, a marketing plan which was scoffed at by some H-D traditionalists, is working:

For the past decade, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Harley-Davidson Inc had largely been stymied in its attempt to reach a younger audience.

As it poured resources into entirely new lines of bikes, often designed to lure the 20 and 30-something crowd, or used advocates like a Victoria Secret supermodel to encourage younger buyers to feel it's cool to own a bike - Harley's core customer base of well-heeled baby boomers only got older.

But the effort is finally gaining traction under Chief Executive Keith Wandell, who took Harley's helm in 2009. He immediately began modernizing the company, from the assembly line to the dealership floor, even if it meant offending loyalists.

The effort to get younger has consumed millions of dollars worth of investment in design changes, aggressive marketing of lower-priced bikes, and a massive effort to teach thousands of aspiring bikers to operate a motorcycle.

As expensive as new sportbikes have become in recent years (for example, a 2012 ZX-6R is almost $10,500), H-Ds in general seem more affordable comparatively. Plus, given the difference in insurance premiums between a Sportster 48 and a CBR600, the new bobber-style Harleys are appealing in more ways than one to young riders.

And predictably, some in the old guard of H-D loyalists don't like the change they see going on around them:

Some of the old timers already are pushing back on the company when they see new bare-bones retro bikes that make up the hot selling Dark Custom lineup and are aimed largely at youth, said Joe Fredo, sales manager of Harley-Davidson of New York City.

"They're like, ugh, that's not a real Harley," he said.

I've seen this elitism for myself at various moto-gatherings in my own neck of the woods, especially regarding attitudes toward the newer Sportster-based models. The boomer on the 30,000-dollar custom HD bagger doesn't like the idea of some young dude buying a used, stripped down Harley for 6,500 bucks and so easily getting to be "in the club", so to speak.

The funny thing is, the Sportster line are some of the most appealing motorcycles Harley's ever built. I'd much prefer one over any of the ginormous geezer bikes in the lineup.

Every time I hear one of the older Harley guys ragging on a 48 or Nightster or XR1200, I wanna wanna walk up and say, "What's the matter, man? Are you pissed off because that bike is cooler than yours?"

But I don't, because I'm a lover, not a fighter.

I'll openly admit that I really do like bikes such as the XR1200, Sportster 48, and Nightster. They have plenty of zip and look great. And for some inexplicable reason, I'm glad to see HD gaining ground again. In our current government-decimated economy, it's sort of nice to see.

On the other hand, a new Triumph Bonneville is $3,000 cheaper than the Sportster 48 and goes just as fast with better handling. It's also equally as beautiful. That's something those interested in traditional styles of motorcycle design should keep in mind. Harley could do more to bring down the price of their motorcycles, but maybe not without getting out from under the thumb of their unions and other internal dynamics.

At any rate, kudos to Harley-Davidson. Here's wishing them many more years of success and prosperity in the good old USA.

You know what? Screw this weather!

The picture at right is the street I live on in arid Midland, Texas. At least it's supposed to be arid. For the past few weeks it has been sleeting and snowing intermittently, with obviously lower than average temperatures. And today, Christmas Day 2011, is a white Christmas.

For most, that's something to look forward to, or so I've read and heard in song. The problem for me is that I'm never dreaming of a white Christmas, but rather a warm, sunny Christmas season when some of my time off can be spent having fun on two wheels. One of the advantages of living in the desert southwest, after all, is that we don't mothball our bikes for four months out of the year. We ride all the time, and the holiday season is usually no exception. Well, except this year.

But that said, after a year of the worst drought conditions on record in Texas (along with massive fires that destroyed millions of acres), I'm trying not to complain too much about the sogginess and cold we've been experiencing as of late. We need precipitation, and I'm glad it has returned. It just sucks to get all mentally prepared for the magic of winter riding in West Texas, and have your schedule reduced considerably.

All that whiney bitching aside, I will say that there've been a few bright spots this winter. We've managed a few really good day rides in very cool conditions where the use of full winter gear made for enjoyable journeys around West Texas. The picture below, from November, is a good example. It's me (pictured right) and one of my best friends, drummer Britt Parker from Dingo Sanctuary, standing on some railroad tracks between Crane, Texas and Rankin, Texas. It was a good riding day, that one, and I'll be staring at the pic fondly until another day comes when we can make it happen again. Stay warm everybody.

The end of the proper Japanese motorcycle in America

I was looking through the new motorcycle offerings this week which are being brought to America for 2012 by the Big Four®, and I think I can now safely say that the availability of a proper Japanese motorcycle is largely a thing of the past here in the USA. That's right, standards and big street naked are nowhere to be found. Unless your idea of traditional design is a cruiserbike (yawn), your only choice now is a sea of passionless, computer-designed, cartoonishly angular, fully fared sport and sport-touring scalpels with less collective soul than a gaggle of Ed Wood zombies.

Gone from the American lineup are virtually all the traditional hooligan bikes. The naked Suzuki Bandit, for example, has been fully clothed for 2012 and revamped once again into a machine barely separable in general appearance and style from its repli-racer counterparts. The ZRX1200R, several years gone now from Kawasaki's lineup in America, has no 2012 counterpart or grandchild. In fact, it's latest incarnation, the ZRX1200DAEG, is -- sadly -- available only in Japan. Save for Yamaha's barely naked 2012 FZR1000, which has lost most of its original design cues at this point, everything else Japan is offering looks like it came right out of a late-night Anime marathon on Adult Swim.

And if you think a big naked Japanese streetfighter is hard to find these days, you can forget about buying anything new even remotely resembling an old-school UJM. Even more racy naked bikes based on the UJM idea like Yamaha's XJR1300, Honda's CB1300, and Suzuki's GSX1400 are nowhere to be found.

These are sad times. I never thought I'd see the day when I could go into a Japanese motorcycle dealership at the beginning of a model year to kick tires, and lay eyes upon absolutely nothing I wanted. I mean nothing. Shame on you, Japan, for giving us nothing but a generic sea of plastic bodywork. And shame on you, America, for not supplying enough demand for anything else.

On the bright side, there is yet hope for those of us interested in riding something that actually resembles a motorcycle. Triumph, God love 'em (as just one example), are still offering modern incarnations of ravishing beauties such as the Bonneville, Thruxton, and Scrambler. These bikes are better performing than ever, prettier than ever, and more reliable than ever by all accounts. Triumph, much like Harley-Davidson, know when they have a winning, timeless design, and are preserving it for those with a keen enough eye to seek it out.

So maybe I'm looking at the wrong dealerships these days. Perhaps it's time to start seriously looking, for the first time ever, at what Europe has to offer. After all, at an average price of nine to ten grand for a new Japanese bike this year, the Euroscene of offerings doesn't seem as expensive as it used to.

Perhaps I'll consider this possibility a bit more over high tea.

Indubitably.

We're discussing this article at Two Wheeled Texans.

The romance of classic-era moto touring crystalized on a single web page

This webpage absolutely made my day.

In fact, I just ripped the entire thing onto my hard drive in case bandwidth issues shut it down, as it has gone viral. The owner of the site grossly underestimated the affect its content would have on motorcyclists. The pics are like a million dreams I've had of riding through heavenly settings during a perfect, storybook age.

Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Classic eye candy for miles

I thought this was interesting. Strange music selection, but a fun time-waste to be sure:

What are the mathematical odds of this even happening?

By the way, don't worry. Johhny's apparently okay.

"Dry Run 2011" Ride Report With Pics

Those of you who remember this ride report from 2009 will recall that the last time we made a Trail of Tears run, we were having a very wet year in West Texas. 2010 was even wetter; near record-breaking precipitation-wise, as a matter of fact. But in 2011, not so much. Ravaged by drought and wildfires after 300 days without measurable precipitation, all of West Texas (and the American Southwest in general) is suffering terribly.

So, two years after getting soaked on this ride, we returned to see what the dry conditions had wrought upon the land and lakes between Midland and Colorado City, Texas. Following was our route, both coming and going. It's the classic run through the ghost towns Otis Chalk and Hyman along the West Texas Trail of Tears:


View Larger Map

Our first stop was an obligatory break at the Big Spring State Park:





Right now, all the salt lakes in the region are completely dry except for the big one in the distance:



From the park, we headed to Otis Chalk and Hyman, enjoying the closest thing we have to twisty roads in the area. As usual, we stopped at the old church on 2183, and were pleasantly surprised to see that it's still standing:





Once we'd made it into Colorado City, we made a stop at the Sportsman's Club for lunch. It was a bit sad to see that most of the water in Lake Colorado City is gone:





Compare to this picture from two years ago:



A few blocks down from the Sportsman's Club is the lake cabin of my buddy Leslie, who made the ride with Britt and I:





We stopped in to take a look at the condition of his floating dock, which -- as you might imagine -- ain't exactly floating right now:



In fact, nobody's dock is floating:





By that time, the heat was upon us and we decided to head back home. We made a return stop in Big Spring for water and to soak down our shirts:



Total Mileage: 236
Total Trip Time: 6.25 hours

And this, boys and girls, is how baby superbikes come into the world

Failed anti-sportbike bill offers important lessons to both sides of the fight

Those of you who saw this post and followed this Facebook page throughout the entire Texas HB 2470 ordeal are well aware of what we Texas motorcyclists recently put ourselves through to defeat a highly discriminatory and poorly drafted bill aimed solely at sportbikes –– the proposed law based on nothing more than prejudiced and ignorant public perceptions. I'll spare you the details, as I have a bad case of tired head right now from the whole experience. If you need to catch up on everything that happened, make yourself a pot of coffee and click the links. To summarize in a single sentence, HB 2470, a.k.a. "Malorie's Law", was a proposed law that would've made it illegal for certain riders of certain types of bikes ("sportbikes" specifically, which the bill defined extremely poorly) to carry passengers, resulting from the death of 19-year-old Malorie Bullock, who was killed while riding pillion on the back of a sportbike piloted by 18-year-old Tanner Burnett.

Anyhow, I'm happy to report that as of this week, we've officially received word from the Texas Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee that HB 2470 is dead, at least partly due to our actions and opposing involvement as an organized group of Texas motorcyclists. Along the way, we pulled the American Motorcyclist Association, the Motorcycle Industry Council, and even Cycle World Magazine into the melee, all of whom fought on our side to kill the bill. To those entities, I say thank you sincerely for your assistance and involvement.

But now that it's all over (for the moment, anyway, as the bill can be easily re-introduced during the next legislative session), I'm left with more of a bad taste in my mouth than anything else. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy the bill failed and everything, but I fear that HB 2470 was simply a harbinger of things to come. And for both sides of the fight, I fear there were important lessons which will go unlearned and misunderstood for years to come by many.

What supporters of HB 2470 should've learned from the situation, but likely didn't:

1.) When existing laws aren't enforced (or aren't even enforceable at all), more laws heaped on top of them certainly won't help. In fact, in the case of "Malorie's Law", it would've made things worse. HB 2470 essentially attempted to rewrite federal regulations already on the books which mandate motorcycle passenger safety equipment. It also attempted to effectively usurp the motorcycle licensing system in Texas for the sole purpose of demonizing one type of motorcycle. As I said in forum discussions, people screaming "There ought to be a law!" every time something bad happens is the road to societal collapse and eventual total government. That's not good for anyone's happiness or well-being.

2.) It doesn't have to be about race or religion for discrimination to be immoral. The intent of HB 2470 was to paint sportbikes as something they aren't, based on prejudices and ignorance. Sportbikes are not inherently the most dangerous motorcycle type, nor are all sportbike riders squidly teens who stunt on the freeway and block traffic. There are many of us in Texas and America at large who ride sportbikes skillfully and responsibly, and do not deserve to have our liberties aggressed upon.

3.) It's counterproductive to honor the memory of the deceased by naming a law after him or her which will generally be disliked. My friend Kurt Brown said it perfectly: "I hope they find a more positive way to memorialize their daughter. A scholarship, rider education program or other similar type program seems more appropriate than 'I got a ticket because of Malorie'." I couldn't agree more.

What opposers of HB 2470 should've learned from the situation, but likely didn't:

1.) When the rights of all motorcyclists are threatened, we should never turn on our own. The first thing that started happening in motorcycle circles after HB 2470 passed the Texas House was cruiser guys pointing their collective finger toward the sportbike crowd and generalizing them all as being irresponsible hot-rodders who are losing motorcycledom its rights at the pen of ignorant, non-motorcyclist legislators and citizens. Likewise, the sportbike crowd pointed squarely at the cruiser crowd and accused them all of being bar-hopping, helmetless drunks who swerve headlong into telephone poles by the dozens. All sides were wrong, both in accusation and principle. A house divided cannot stand, and we need solidarity more than ever.

2.) The best way to protect our rights as riders is to be good representatives and ambassadors of motorcycling every day. Think about the damage we do to motorcycling every day by doing things like riding wheelies in heavy traffic and running baffleless straight pipes on big-bore V-twins. We have an opportunity every time we ride to do things which endear others to our lifestyle. Yet so many of us are content to simply shoot the general public a figurative finger and leave them startled, rattled, and with their ears ringing.

3.) Sputnik is gone now, and we don't have the luxury of relying upon someone else to be the watchdog anymore. If you don't know who Sputnik was, Google him. Suffice it to say that, despite being a sometimes controversial character, he was a champion of motorcycle rights in Texas. He passed away not long ago at 70 from a heart attack, and I think we all kinda forgot that no one was minding the store. That is, until we discovered that HB 2470 had made it through the Texas House almost unopposed. That event should be our wake-up call. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. Sputnik understood that fact, and I hope someone of his caliber will step up to fill the void.

Finally, I realize now some of the mistakes I made personally along the way, specific to this fight.

First off, I offer an apology to the family of Malorie Bullock for how I initially entered the fray. My first act of opposition to HB 2470 was to post a guns-blazing piece of editorial onto the the pro-HB 2470 Facebook page, not realizing (or even stopping to consider) that it was being run and administrated by the family of the young woman whose death was the catalyst for the bill. Though I made no insults or personal attacks by any stretch of the imagination, it was an angry, frustration-filled manifesto based largely on the ire I'd developed though similar past experiences. I should've presented my position in a different way, and I'm sorry for being such a dick at the get-go. I also regret the rather contentious email exchange I subsequently shared with Malorie's sister, Natalie.

Lastly, I regret that I conversely employed some of the same stereotyping in which I accused the other side of engaging. It's easy to get mad when you feel your individual sovereignty is been aggressed upon and, by the same token, difficult to remember that everyone involved is a human being working for what they think is right. I know I have some polishing to do in how I disagree with others at times, and I'm always working on improving. Unfortunately, I feel pretty confident that I'll have many more opportunities regarding motorcycle-rights threats throughout which to practice.

Bad facts lead to bad laws #4598

Behold the perfect example of a discriminatory Texas motorcycle bill:

HB 2470
Author: Phillips
Last Action: 05/05/2011 S Received from the House
Caption: Relating to the regulation of sport bikes and certain other motorcycles.

1) Definition of a sportbike Section 541.201, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (18-a) to read as follows: (18-a) "Sport bike" means a motorcycle: (A) that is optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and maneuverability on paved roads; (B) that has a light weight frame; (C) on which the rider leans forward over the gas tank; and (D) is not a touring, cruiser, standard, or dual-sport motorcycle.

2) The passenger on a sportbike is defined as one who is 18 or older with an "M" endorsement SECTION 4. Subchapter I, Chapter 545, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Section 545.4161 to read as follows: Sec. 545.4161. OPERATION OF SPORT BIKE. (a) In addition to the requirements and prohibitions under Section 545.416, an operator may not carry another person on a sport bike unless the sport bike is designed to carry more than one person, and unless: (1) the operator: (A) is at least 18 years of age; and (B) has had a Class M license for at least two years; or (2) the other person: (A) is at least 18 years of age and holds a Class M license; or (B) is a motorcycle operator training and safety course instructor certified under Chapter 662. (b) An operator of a sport bike shall ensure that a passenger on the sport bike complies with all department regulations relating to motorcycle safety.

3) The addition of requisite 'safety' equipment to include: Sec. 547.803. SPORT BIKE SAFETY EQUIPMENT. If a sport bike is designed to carry more than one person, the sport bike must be equipped with foot pegs and handholds for use by a passenger on the sport bike.

4) Defining Motorcycle to include Sportbike SECTION 7. Section 661.001(1), Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows: (1) "Motorcycle" means a motor vehicle designed to propel itself with not more than three wheels in contact The term includes a sport bike, as defined by Section 541.201.

Did you follow all that? In a nutshell, this bill would effectively make it illegal to carry a passenger on a sportbike only (not a cruiser, touring bike, enduro, etc.), without at least two years as a licensed motorcyclist over the age of 18. Can you say discrimination against sportbikes?

This bill, also known as "Malorie's Law" (named after a young woman who, you guessed it, died while riding pillion behind an 18-year-old sportbiker) is now creating attention and controversy amongst Texas motorcyclists, but perhaps too late. It quickly made it through committee and already passed the Texas House almost unanimously. It's now on its way to the Texas Senate, where it could be passed for the governor to sign into law.

Needless to say, this is just another stupid, unenforceable law that'll only serve to hinder and hassle law-`biding riders.

Late in the game, many of us in Texas are sending letters to our senators. Here's mine:

Dear Senator Seliger:

Please vote against HB 2470, the discriminatory bill known as "Malorie's Law", which recently passed the Texas House.

HB 2470 attempts to discriminate against a specific type of motorcycle genre ("sportbike") in reaction to the death of a young woman who was unfortunately killed in a crash while riding pillion on one.

The bill would prohibit riders of sportbikes (a term which is effectively impossible to accurately define legally) who have been licensed for less than two years to carry a passenger. This law would not apply to the riders of so-called "cruiser", "touring", "standard" or "enduro" motorcycles, and is therefore highly discriminatory.

Furthermore, all licensed riders in Texas are already required to complete and pass a safety course which includes a classroom module on carrying passengers. In its discrimination, "Malorie's Law" would also be somewhat redundant.

Bad facts lead to bad laws, and emotional legislation instigated by grieving parents is often to blame. Please oppose HB 2470.

I oppose this proposed law primarily because it infringes my rights as a sportbiker. It singles me out as a bad apple simply because of the bike-type I ride, and it makes me subject to closer police scrutiny for no reason. It is discrimination. It's the same thing as saying, "My mom was killed by a red-headed guy, so I now want a law to put restrictions on red-headed guys being allowed out of their homes."

These coercive, aggressive actions do motorcycling, and the intent of law, a huge disservice. Perhaps somewhat ironically, the bike type associated with the most injuries and fatalities is *not* sportbikes, it is cruisers. This bill chases phantoms, and in the process it does nothing more than muddying the waters for law enforcement, while making motorcycle licensing more expensive and complicated for those of us who bother with doing it right.

Most importantly, I believe this law would result in more pursuits, more singling-out and discrimination against an already demonized motorcycle type, and impossible enforcement from a practical standpoint. I talked to a retired cop about this bill, and he said he wouldn't even allow his squads to use the law as it's now drafted, because there's no reliable way in the field to determine when a motorcycle endorsement was issued.

If you're a Texas motorcyclist, please stand up against this bill by contacting your senator immediately.

To read a lively and well-informed online forum thread concerning this bill, visit Two Wheeled Texans.

Mother Kawasaki, I beseech thee

Please, for the love of all that is good and holy and true and right, I beg you to bring the W800 to the United States. I will buy one the day they show up on showroom floors. I'll even pay MSRP. Just get it here, and get it here quickly.

Tour of the West Texas range fire aftermath by motorcycle

I've lived in West Texas my whole life and have never seen anything quite like the range fires of 2011, nor their aftermath. Eight months without precipitation, unseasonable high temperatures, extremely low humidity, and very high winds have combined to create a "perfect storm" scenario which has scorched tens of thousands of acres and left scores of families homeless.

Fires raged again in south Midland County last night, overwhelming firefighters and rescue teams. This afternoon, after the burned areas had been declared safe, I took these pictures near County Road 118 west of Cottonflat.

This area was consumed in a wide swath, taking with it buildings, ranch equipment, and vehicles:



I prefer to show the homes that survived, rather than the ones destroyed. The house in the distance was somehow spared, though the flames had crept up to its back door:



These vehicles were completely melted, yet the fire spread no further than their perimeter:



More destroyed cars and scorched earth:





Fire appeared to selectively target this barn and burn it to the ground:



I hope we've seen the last of these fires, but some are still burning all over the area and weather conditions call for more of the same over the next week or so. One thing's for sure, West Texas needs lots and lots of rain in a major way, and the sooner the better.

By the way, please keep those affected by these fires in your thoughts and prayers.

Just watch...

Say what you want about the evils of marketing and advertising. The fact remains that this spot is brilliant. If you're a motorcyclist and what you've just seen didn't touch you in some way, you should probably sell your bike.