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[ultrarider123]

Interesting article....makes me feel so old as I get on my $30,000 plus Harley to ride home....  Gotta spend less to feel younger, I'm guessing.....

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/06/22/harley-davidsons-hurdle-attracting-young-motorcycle-riders/?intcmp=ob_article_sidebar_video&intcmp=obinsite

[tdkkart]

I don't know that money is an issue for the youngsters. After all, they don't have a problem spending $50,000+ on a new pickup.

After buying our CVO RGU in Texas, we quickly found that it attracts a lot of attention everywhere we stopped. As much, or more, than our
Dodge Challenger, from all ages.

Hell, I have a problem with spending the money on a new truck, but I had a lot less issue spending it on a bike.

[VaEagle]

I see this as a problem H-D has had for many years.....They sell themselves as a part of history and tradition that the baby boomers can appreciate but not the younger people. There is no "early start" program to get the H-D make ingrained into the hearts and minds of non-riding youth.
They need to have H-D dirt/youth sized bikes along with youth "learn to ride" programs, maybe even a juvenile division to HOG. I also this may be sacrilege but maybe more family friendly events for kids and spouses as opposed to "beer and boobs"? How about junior classes at bike shows for kids and young adults.
I know the large antique/hot rod car shows will have things like model building classes and judging for kids too young to own or drive a car.
Until you sell someone on the idea that a motorcycle is more of a lifestyle then an expensive hobby that is only used part-time you may have trouble selling them on tying up so much of their income/savings on something as expensive as a Harley when they can buy something like an import bike for less money, more performance and less modification to "get it to run right" off the showroom floor. So once a young person buys another brand they may be hard to get to change to H-D.
As far as spending money on a truck, I bet most people would look at it as a practicality thing depending on their lifestyle and usage. I'm sure location/weather could come into play too. Assuming $50,000 spent on a truck that could be used more days a year for more purposes and more people vs. same money for a bike that is not as versatile and roomy and for most people wouldn't be used as many days a year. (I know there are some that use a bike for primary daily transportation but I bet it is a small percentage of motorcycle owners.)

[Streetglide1]

I can understand where They are concerned. time for the parents to get the younger generation out, but that seems to be the problem in some cases.

[Spiderman]

When I'm in SoCal, I see young people driving expensive BMW's , Audi's and yes, $50,000 pickups. When I'm in Maine I see young people driving old Ford Escorts with rusting quarter and rocker panels. If they've got a pickup, it's at least 20 years old and the tranny slips, it burns oil and is holier than the Pope. So yeah, money is an issue in Maine. I suspect that it's an issue in more states than it's not. California is not real. Or actually it's very real depending on how you see the USA. If you believe there is still an active middle class then California is not a real place. If you believe  that there's the top and the bottom and nothing in between then California is your kinda place-- - - - provided you're on the top.
At the end of the day, H-D fails younger riders for two reasons. A) no sport bikes (crotch rockets) B) Price points.  If a 25 yr old with only a high school degree is lucky enough not to have fried his FICO score between 18 and 25 then he/she is going to buy a decent car. Maybe even a fancy pickup  (that gets repossessed before it's paid off cause nobody with only a HS diploma is going to be steadily employed for 6 years consecutively. That person is not gonna get a loan for a $20,000 motorcycle even if they don't want a crotch rocket.

B B

[Ironhorse]

The passing of time and the natural aging process will correct all that.

[Sierramadre]

Harley is destined to go the way of the last buggy whip manufacturer.  The brand is not aspirational or even relevant to Millenials and the younger crowd...take a look at the guys drinking coffee at the dealership on Saturday morning and the demographics of the people on the group events.  Scary.

[tdkkart]

take a look at the guys drinking coffee at the dealership on Saturday morning and the demographics of the people on the group events.  Scary.

 Go to your local sportbike dealer and you won't see young people congregating there either. 16-30yo people simply don't tend do that, unless there's alcohol and/or music etc involved. Harley doesn't produce young people bikes, never have, probably never will. They made a try with Buell, but a slow bike that looks different and handles OK, is still a slow bike, and that's not what young people are looking for.

[Road Dad]

Average age of a HD rider is 48.

Average age of a Cadillac owner is dead

[dayne66]

Average age of a HD rider is 48.

Average age of a Cadillac owner is dead

I guess I'm average!

[Cat Eye]

Harley main demographic are adrenaline junkie that have raised their kids and are empty nesters that have disposable income and love to sit in front of their computer and read and write posts on Harley forums while 

[SanJuanRon]

I guess I'm average!

Hope you are referring to the Harley and not the Cadillac.  SJ Ron

[Spiderman]

Average age of a HD rider is 48.

Average age of a Cadillac owner is dead

I think I can assume without too much risk that you know absolutely nothing about Cadillacs
The CTS-V series are NOT your grandfather's Caddys. Not even remotely close.

B B

[Road Dad]

According to WSJ average age is 65 of a Cadillac owner.

And I know A LOT about how they are built. Personally I would never even consider owning one. 

Average life expectancy for a U. S. Male is 75 and some change.

So almost dead then.....he can drive it for 10 years

I think I can assume without too much risk that you know absolutely nothing about Cadillacs
The CTS-V series are NOT your grandfather's Caddys. Not even remotely close.

B B

[cambo]

According to WSJ average age is 65 of a Cadillac owner.

And I know A LOT about how they are built. Personally I would never even consider owning one. 

Average life expectancy for a U. S. Male is 75 and some change.

So almost dead then.....he can drive it for 10 years

I think I can assume without too much risk that you know absolutely nothing about Cadillacs
The CTS-V series are NOT your grandfather's Caddys. Not even remotely close.

B B

There are car brands that have never worried about the younger generation being able to buy one of their products as long as they all want to someday be able to afford one of their cars. Cadillac is one such brand again with the fantastic sedans they are producing. The CTS-V beat MB C55 AMG, , the Porsche 911, Nissan Skyline GT-R R32, Lotus Exige S, Aston Martin DB9, and the BMW Z4 M in Nurburgring. When I grow up I want me a CTS-V.

Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Porsche, etc, have done very well not making anything anyone under the age of 40 who is not a drug dealer can afford and they are doing just fine.

All HD has to do is follow their lead: Make great looking vehicles (already there) that have amazing performance (they need to try harder! ). Even reliability is not an issue here. I had a 2004 Porsche C4S and 3000 miles of the first 4000 miles on that car was driven by the dealership trying to figure out why it would suddenly drop the engine temp from operating temp to stone cold in 2 seconds flat and then go back up to operating temp and drop back down to 0 and on and on. I was ok with that because while they had my car I was driving one of theirs (same model). So customer service should be the same. No hassle warrantee work and don't leave me without a bike.

JMO, HD needs to keep making bikes the younger folks can't afford now but hope and pray that if they work hard enough (or become drug dealers) they will be able to afford someday.

HD