By Richard
Being an “Easy Rider” isn’t so easy for Harley-Davidson’s core customer anymore.
Indeed, when asked why they would not buy such a vehicle, 13 percent of the 55-plus crowd said “people my age do not ride motorcycles.”
UBS analyst Robin Farley, in a research report released Friday, predicted this sense of being too old will increase “as Harley’s average buyer age moves further into their 50s.”
This means fewer and fewer Harley customers — manufacturer of half the heavyweight bikes sold in the US — will continue to buy a hog.
For those over 55, biking as “a hobby” and biking because “motorcycles are cool” were identified as the primary drivers of bike purchases.
But for the 21-to-24 set, the top reason was “ease of transportation.”
These younger consumers are much more likely to be attracted to “a lower-priced, lighter weight and lower margin bike,” Farley said.
This “divergence of intentions,” as she called it, does not bode well for motorcycle’s heavyweight segment.
This moved Farley to ask: “Has motorcycling had its cultural moment?”
For Harley, the answer seems to be yes.
“We believe [Harley] finished 2018 with US retail sales down double-digits,” the analyst concluded.
