Have Harleys finally ‘jumped the shark’?

Have Harleys finally ‘jumped the shark’?
every needledick that wants to think he is cool, maxing out his credit card for accessories needed to conform to individuality

So buying another red honda or green kawasaki will make someone an "individual"?

Come on. most of the people on here don’t care what you ride. Why do you? The point is to ride.

If someone wants to spend 10.000 on accessories. What difference does that make to you?

This sounds like just another harley hater with nothing better to do or say than bash something he doesn’t like.
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So what brought this on??? I haven’t the foggiest idea of what jumping the shark means, but I assume it isn’t complimentary.

So are you implying that every bumphead out there that buys a fully faired sport bike is buying it solely on it’s technical and performance prowess? Not likely, I bet if those bikes came from the factory painted a sickly calf crap yellow, nobody would buy one. And every sport bike rider is competent and skilled enough to actually need a sport bike??? Yeah sure…I’ve easily kept up with knee dragging riders on my 760 pound, full dress ’79 KZ1000. Absolute truth. My old bike isn’t such a wonder but rather those kids were fooling themselves into thinking they were hot stuff.

Take my word for it, plenty of those sporting guys are buying those bikes just for looks also. Case in point: the Ninja 250. Sure, it has sport bike looks but a 250??? Come on now! There’s riding lawnmowers out there that have more power than that…and some of those very mowers have Kawasaki engines in them! People definately aren’t buying those 250 Ninjas for their blinding performance but instead for the image they project. That sounds familiar doesn’t it…same thing you guys say about the HD buyers.

And I also like the sport bike "posers" who have full leathers, max out their credit card on a $500-$800 helmet, spend $40 for a carbon fiber brake or clutch lever, $175 for a carbon fiber front fender to save a few ounces of weight and the part I really love…the knee pads to keep from scuffing up their leathers when they’re dragging them around a corner. And you think the HD posers look like idiots??? Time for you to grow up and open your eyes, sonny.
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I ride Kawasakis.

It’s funny because both you and maddog come across as total douches. Putting this much energy into hating a brand of motorcycle is stupid. Putting that much energy into defending a brand of motorcycle is just as stupid.

"Jumping the Shark" is just a term to describe something that is past its prime and will try anything desperate to keep popular instead of just letting go.

I have mixed feelings about Harley. They make slow expensive bikes. There just isn’t any other way to look at that part of it.

They also come with an instant group of people to hang around with, and a lot of those people are tons of fun.

There are poseurs on both sides of the track.

Try just riding and shutting your mouth.

You would be surprised by how much cooler that will make you to real motorcyclists.

Harley hasn’t "jumped the shark" any more than any of the brands that are hurting. All motorcycle sales are down 15% or more.

The one thing that aparently hasn’t dropped is the some people’s douche-like attitudes.
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Well let me put my two cents worth in. I am 68 years old, retired, have a 93 HD low rider with a 120 cu. in. engine and I have not been the last man to the top of the hill yet. I take 3 to 5 thousand mile trips every year and go alone because I can’t get any of you candy asses to go with me. The trip is to long and tiring they say. I got the Harley because of the resale value. At my age I may need quick cash at any time, or if I get to old to ride I can still get something out of it. I don’t have to explain that to you about the rice burners. In years of riding a Harley I haven’t had to walk home yet. I don’t say a Harley is the only cycle because I have owned a multitude of cycles since I was 13 years old. I think maybe you are a little jealous. A Harley is built to pull not fly, it is all in what you want it to do.
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Hilarious how many harley guys have no idea what the term jumping the shark means. But when you think about it, it makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?

At some point Harley gave up on trying to keep up and then put all their development money into Madison Avenue. That is the moment they jumped the shark. They stopped trying to sell motorcycles and concentrated on selling a lifestyle.

Paid off for making money. But kind of embarrising that an overweight antique is what America has to stack up next to real kickass bikes made by the rest of the world. Really a disgrace.
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