Harley has been selling the same V-Twin for a very long time.  Can you imagine if Ford or Chevy or any auto company was still selling you a car with an engine design as out of date?

The US is just a tiny fraction of the worldwide motorcycle business, and Harley has been able to survive by selling the same bike to the same customers for years......that era is coming to and end.  Companies like Polaroid and Xerox weren't able to see the future and adapt - maybe Harley has gotten a bit smarter.....only time will tell if it was too little too late.  This is the second time Harley has experienced this - AMF bought the struggling company and kept if from folding in 1969 and kept is along for another 12 years.  The Baby Boomer generation gave it a resurgence, and they aren't buying them now as they sign up for Medicare.  There are so many low mileage used Harley motorcycles on the market - I don't see how the dealer can sell new ones (except to those who have a lot of discretionary money).

The only way that Harley can survive is by building a product that will sell to the world market - and all the other manufacturers have a big head start....it will be hard for Harley to design and build new bikes, create a worldwide dealer network and beat the others at the game.

Not to mention the Harley bad boy look, typically associated with the lowest common denominator, has become more of a sign of conformity than one of rebellion. It's long in the tooth and  watered down to the point of irony. It's so ironic that the Hipsters like it. But not enough to spend their trust funds on it. Triumph still controls that market segment.

If HD made a bike similar to my Hyperstrada I'd but it. Sporty handling, 110HP V-twin , 456 lbs with
good all around multi-purpose capabilities and in the same price range I'd say take my money. To have such a bike with a large domestic service network would be ideal.
Harley should have kept Buell going and it should have let him design their modern lineup. Duh! Big mistake IMO.

I don't know how Harley survived this long.  

We're getting an Indian Motorcycle Shop in Lynchburg Tn.

The Sloans Cycles in middle Tn. is selling Indians , Guzzi , Vespa , KTM , Aprilia , Clevand's , plus the big 4 from Japan.    
Almost everything but Harley and BMW's    
https://sloansmotorcycle.com/

So , if the big Harley , a GoldWing , a Indian Cheiftan , the big Guzzi , and the big BMW are all the same $$$ .... then where do you Invest your $$$  ?  

Or

Do you just buy Three or Four different $5,000 - $8,000 - bikes instead.  or even 5 of them ?  

So , is that giant price "why" they're having a hard time ?   But Harley is not the only high $$$ bike out there ...

A Hyundai?  

Or maybe a Hyundai Davidson?

Don't you ever wonder how many dollars worth of Harley Davidson motorcycles are parked in garages with minimal miles on them, bought by guys who had no real experience with riding, just saw the ads, bought into the hype and thought they would now be cool and have some near spiritual experience because
It's a Harley,,,, ?
I wonder how many Harleys that are sitting under a layer of dust were the first bike they'd owned.

I'm  sure HD can solve all its business dilemmas by producing a line of pickups

I see guys, alone, in their empty pickups, with HD decals and often
The I'm a Badass Harley rider
cap, vest, whatever,,, and wonder why isn't he riding...
And when I Do see a rider waaay down the road and can tell he's not wearing a helmet, and as he comes closer I see he's wearing flip flops and shorts, THEN I know he's riding a Harley.  Harley Davidson motorcycles are just too cool to be affected by gravel and Nobody would EVER turn left across the path of a Harley, not ever.
Buncha Dilberts.p

I see them with no windshield
No helmet
Zero eye protection..
I mean
WTF?

I see crotch rocketeers in shorts and tee shirt
But they have a helmet and gloves.

I would not ride without my boots, pants, tee shirt, and long sleeved welding shirt, gloves and helmet. I tried it without the long sleeves and the grit flying off the road was not cool...