Nope. They have their heads rammed so firmly up their own asses that they have no idea the trouble they're in.
You could certainly argue that position, there's a lot of reason to believe it's true.
But their shareholders don't. They see their stock losing value and they're not going to listen to management's crapola any longer. They just want the stock to go back up and they don't care what it takes. Why do you think HD has been introducing so many new models lately?
Their new models highlights the problem.
They have spend tons on R&D to create that new engine design. Tons on engineering all new bikes... but at the end of the day, they look identical to all their old bikes, and other than people that are already Harley fans, they are the same thing.
So nothings changed. Their bikes still weigh a ton and handle like crap compared to the alternatives. They still cost too much, but most importantly, they still have an image problem. Very few people care to be associated with Harley anymore. However if you attempt to make a product that doesnt match this image, the diehards work at the dealership... they wont change. and they wont sell it.
I WANT to be wrong. I want this to come out, be badass and affordable. I want to be able to go down to the local dealership thats only 5mins away and testride one... and buy it right there.
But Harley dealerships are untrustworthy with "non-harley" bikes. their dealerships suck. their people suck. their core business sucks. their bikes suck. overall they have no redeeming value to me and they hold back the entire american bike market. The USA needs to have a major bike brand that is not "cruisers" and that wont happen until Harley dies.
So unless the LiveWire is an amazing bike at an affordable price, I hope they choke on it.
