The Future of Harley-Davidson...

With all these positives, what can be bad? Indian and Harley-Davidson.

World wide sales in the retro type cruiser are again starting to go down। Sales seem only to be strong in the USA. Indian Motorcycle has closed up shop, yet again, due to slow sales of the cruiser models. Harley-Davidson is still ignoring a huge market (younger crowd) and is still continuing to design models that appeal to fewer each year at prices even fewer can afford. With HD's 2004 "major" updates really being a "minor" change, has HD missed its mark again? Will Harley-Davidson be the next to go? (Sorry Harley riders)

Honda is now selling the Honda Rune, a style that is very impressive to see with your own eyes। This is a bike that looks like Harley-Davidson will make 20 years from now. Not only is the Honda Rune a big problem for HD, but the Vulcan 2000, Triumph Rocket III and even the Kawasaki/Suzuki Mean Streak are as well in the future design department. It used to be everyone copied HDs style, it was "the" cruiser look. Now you can have a sea of HD bikes, and if one of the above bikes shows up, it just gets noticed more.
So, what is Harley gonna do? They made the V-Rod. Beautiful lines, great engine, fuel injected, sporty looking... But... it doesn't sound like a Harley, doesn't look like a Harley, infact, it looks like a "Japanese" bike! The V-Rod as much an"outsider" to the HD community as a Buell, horrible shame that is too...

So, does Harley-Davidson keep making retro looking cruisers with very old and outdated technology so they have the look and sound? OR do they gamble on newer designs like the V-Rod? With an average consumer age of 46+, and thus you see the problems facing Harley-Davidson's future today.

Very Late 1980's --- The Motorcycle Rises Again!

It was bad near the end of the 1980's. Sales were just horrible from 10 years before. Those motorcycle dealerships who survived were in bad shape. But, there were a light at the end of the tunnel that only a few forsaw.

Two things most unexpected happened. The baby boomers came back to motorcycling and so did their kids. Seems they never forgot the fun and good times and with increased incomes could now purchase large and more expensive motorcycles. Their kids also wanted to get into the action and they did. Suddenly, things were looking up... but for how long?

First commercial products

In the decade from the late 1880s, dozens of designs and machines emerged, particularly in France, Germany and England, and soon spread to America.^[2] During this early period of motorcycle history, there were many manufacturers since bicycle makers were adapting their designs for the new internal combustion engine.

In 1894, the Hildebrand & Wolfmüller became the first motorcycle available to the public for purchase.^[3] However, only a few hundred examples of this motorcycle were ever built. Soon, as the engines became more powerful and designs outgrew the bicycle origins, the number of motorcycle-oriented producers increased.

The first known motorcycle in the United States was said to be brought to New York by a French circus performer, in 1895. It weighed about 200 lb (91 kg) and was capable of 40 mph (64 km/h) on a level surface.^[4] However, that same year, an inventor from the United States E.J. Pennington demonstrated a motorcycle of his own design in Milwaukee. Pennington claimed his machine was capable of a speed of 58 mph (93 km/h), and is credited with inventing the term "motor cycle" to describe his machine.^[5]

Motorcycle history

Motorcycle history begins in the second half of the 19th century. Motorcycles are descended from the "safety bicycle," a bicycle with front and rear wheels of the same size and a pedal crank mechanism to drive the rear wheel.^[1]

Despite some early landmarks in its development, motorcycles lack a rigid pedigree that can be traced back to a single idea or machine. Instead, the idea seems to have occurred to numerous engineers and inventors around Europe more-or-less simultaneously.

Off-Road abilities

Jeeps have always been known for their abilities off-road and are legendary for their off-road capabilities. ^[8]. Today, the Wrangler is the only light-duty vehicle offered in North America with solid axles front and rear. These axles are known for their durability due to their overall strength and lack of rubber boots to get torn on twigs and rocks. Solid-axled vehicles also generally articulate better, especially when traversing ruts. All Jeep Wranglers come standard with 4 wheel drive. Most Wranglers come with a Dana 35 rear axle and a Dana 30 up front. The upgraded Rubicon model of the Wrangler is equipped with lockers (either air or electric depending on year), Dana 44 axles front and rear with 4.11 gears, a 4:1 transfer case and heavy duty springs.

Another plus of solid axle vehicles is they tend to be easier and cheaper to "lift." This "lifting" increases the distance between the center of the axle hub and chassis of the vehicle. By increasing this distance, larger tires can be installed, which will increase the ground clearance of the Jeep, allowing it to traverse even larger and more difficult obstacles. Jeep is also known as a symbol of freedom because of the capacity of going almost everywhere. Many people equip theirs with roll-bars, extra lights, and a winch to pull the vehicle out from the mud or sand when stuck.

Useful features of the smaller Jeeps are their short wheelbases, narrow frames, and ample approach, breakover, and departure angles, allowing them to fit places where full-size trucks could never go. Jeeps also features a removable soft top and doors for days when the weather is nice. The Jeep Wrangler is the only utility vehicle that has a removable top and doors.

The M715

In 1965, Jeep developed the M715 1.25 ton army truck, which served extensively in Vietnam. Today it serves other countries, and is still being produced by Kia under license. The CJ series began back in 1945 with the CJ2A. The name CJ stands for "Civilian Jeep," a bit of trivia that is still argued over. These early Jeeps are commonly referred to as "flatfenders" because their front fenders were flat across the front, even with the grill. Yes, there was such a thing as a CJ-4, and in true Jeep form, there is only one, literally. There is only one 1951 CJ-4 prototype in existence, it's the "missing link" between the flatfendered CJ-2's and 3' and the round-fendered CJ-5.

The origins of the vehicle: the first jeeps

The first jeep prototype (the Bantam BRC) was built for the Department of the Army by American Bantam in Butler, Pennsylvania, ^[3]followed by two other competing prototypes produced by Ford and Willys-Overland. The American Bantam Car Company actually built and designed the vehicle that first met the Army's criteria, but its engine did not meet the Army's torque requirements. Plus, the Army felt that the company was too small to supply the number needed and it allowed Willys and Ford to make second attempts on their designs after seeing Bantam's vehicle in action.

Quantities (1,500) of each of the three models were then extensively field tested. During the bidding process for 16,000 "jeeps", Willys-Overland's chief engineer Delmar "Barney" Roos made extensive design changes to meet a revised weight specification (a maximum of 2,175 pounds, including oil and water). He was thus able to retain a powerful but comparatively heavy engine,and thus won the initial contract. Willys had designed what would become the standardized jeep, designating it a model MB military vehicle and building it at their plant in Toledo, Ohio.

Like American Bantam, Willys-Overland was a small company and, likewise, the military was concerned about their ability to produce large quantities of jeeps. The military was also concerned that Willys-Overland had only one manufacturing facility: something that would make the supply of jeeps more susceptible to sabotage or production stoppages.

Based on these two concerns, the U.S. government required that jeeps also be built by the Ford Motor Company, who designated the vehicle as model GPW (G = government vehicle, P designated the 80" wheelbase, and W = the Willys engine design). Willys and Ford, under the direction of Charles E. Sorensen (Vice-President of Ford during World War II), produced more than 600,000 jeeps. Cost per vehicle trended upwards as the war continued from the price under the first contract of a little less than $750. Besides just being a "truck" the jeep was used for many other purposes.

The jeep was widely copied around the world, including in France by Hotchkiss et Cie (after 1954, Hotchkiss manufactured Jeeps under license from Willys), and in Japan by Mitsubishi Motors. There were several versions created, including a railway jeep and an amphibious jeep. As part of the war effort, Jeeps were also supplied to the Soviet Red Army during World War II. During the jeep's service in Korea the name was referred to as "Just Enough Essential Parts" by the troops due to the very basic design.

The utilitarian good looks of the original Jeep have been hailed by industrial designers and museum curators alike. The Museum of Modern Art described the Jeep as a masterpiece of functionalist design, and has periodically exhibited the Jeep as part of its collection.^[4][5]

In the United States military, the jeep has been supplanted by a number of vehicles (e.g. Ford's M151 MUTT) of which the latest is the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or "Humvee").