American Iron Magazine December 2017

SCRATCHING & WONDERING • BY RICK “FEARLESS” FAIRLESS
...young people don’t share the same passion for Harley-
Davidsons that we had
-
Davidson has done away with
the Dyna and V-Rod, replacing
them with single-shock Softail
models in a new frame and the Milwaukee-Eight
engine. I have not seen
one of the new bikes in person, but I
have read plenty about the changeover.
Some people love the new bikes
and some…not so much. My son-inlaw,
Jordan Lee, along with his dad,
George, own Horny Toad Harley-Davidson
in Temple, Texas, and they also
own Horny Toad at Fort Hood, Texas.
So, I have been talking to Jordan about
the new Harleys, and he is absolutely,
100 percent in love with the new bikes!
He claims that they handle much better
than the Dyna ever did. Jordan swears
that the combination of the new monoshock
Softail frame powered by the
Milwaukee-Eight engine is magic! I am
anxious to test-ride one. Hey, Jordan,
how about letting your old father-inlaw
borrow that new Fat Boy for the
want to know the truth! I’m about to
bust a gut to get my hands on one
of them new Softails!
The question is, why did
H-D feel the need to drastically
change the platform and why
did they feel the need to kill off
can give you one chump’s
opinion. My opinion is
that H-D is frantically
trying to attract the
younger motorcycle
buyer. That’s
why they came
out with the Street
500 and Street 750
a few years ago.
But the problem
is, the Street models
are not selling
in the numbers
that The Motor Company would like.
Sure, H-D is selling some to motorcycle
safety courses around the country, but
retail sales on the Street 500 and 750
remain much lower than anticipated.
In the third quarter of this year,
H-D’s numbers are down 8 percent. But
that us baby boomers grew up wanting
a Harley-Davidson because that’s what
our parents rode. When I was a kid in
the 1960s and ’70s, you rode a Harley if
you wanted an American-made motorcycle.
If you didn’t ride a Harley then
you more than likely wanted a Harley
Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, or Kawasaki.
Or maybe you were lucky enough to
not! Bottom line is, Harley-Davidson
was the ultimate, must-have motorcycle
for us baby boomers. Back then,
everybody on a metric bike dreamed of
owning a Harley-Davidson motorcycle
imported from Milwaukee, Wisconsin!
Fast-forward to the Millennial
Generation and Generation X. These
young people don’t share the
same passion for Harley-
Davidsons that we had. I
think it’s because they grew
up with the computer and
playing video games, which
are indoors. When us baby
boomers were growing up
we were always outside,
and the only time we
were inside was
to eat or sleep, or
when we were
grounded, or maybe
to watch Hee
Haw on Sunday
night. We grew
huntin’ and playin’
football, baseball,
and basketball.
I’ll tell you another thing: when I was a
kid, everybody I knew carried a pocketknife!
Every year I would get a pocketknife
for my birthday.
I believe that all this ties into why
Harley-Davidson motorcycle sales are
suffering. Because the young people don’t
have the good sense that we were raised
with. We drove Chevy, Ford, or Dodge,
and I promise you that these days I see
American ones. Young people don’t care
what previous generations did or what we
coveted! The young people want things
quick and easy, and it seems to me that
everything is disposable. That’s okay with
the young people because that’s what
they are used to. Computers and TVs are
When we had a TV it lasted a lifetime!
So pretty much everything I grew up
with has changed, and I’m still holding
onto the past as much as I can. I own an
awesome 2015 Ford F-350 dually diesel
love that truck! But my daily driver is
my 1969 Chevy C-10 customized pickup
truck that I drive 90 percent of the time!
I own several late-model American
motorcycles (H-D and Victory), yet my
main rider is my Rick Fairless custom
chopper with a 1965 Harley Panhead
motor. I have owned this bike for 30
years, and I still get “that feeling” that
you can only get from riding an American
custom chopper! Bottom line is,
how do we get the younger generation
off the computer long enough to get on
producing a no-frills Sportster with a
cheaper entry-level price and then turn
the advertising department loose with
young, good-looking people, and try to
get these kids interested. If not, H-D
will suffer as us baby boomers continue
to ride off into the sunset because we
are old, and we ain’t coming back!
Good luck, Harley.
26 / American Iron / Issue #358 AIMag.com