The Harley Sucks People

You've all seen Harley-Davidson Beef Jerky.

Has anyone out there introduced this material into their blood streams?

I did a review of this product a couple of years ago on Biker News Online...
http://www.bikernewsonline.com/ 2007/03/harley-beef-jerky-reviewed.htm

It sucks, in case you don't care to read about it.

H-D continues to extend itself into every nook & cranny of our society, which is a good thing for "brand marketing", but I think it's part of what alienates them from many people.

People get annoyed at seeing some company's logo everywhere they turn their eyes. It used to be that computer geeks loved Google, but now that Google has gotten their greedy little hands on every aspect of the Internet world, they're now the gorilla that everyone likes to hate.

The same is true with Microsoft. It so successfully dominated the computer and software business, that Apple loyalists, and Linux loyalists hated anything associated with it.

As motorcyclists, we know about a similar hatred. If Harley-Davidson was just a small company, producing about as many motorcycles as Big Dog, there wouldn't be any disdain for the company, the motorcycle, and the people who ride them. It's not that people hate the Motor Company for its motorcycles, it's that they hate them for their marketing success. They hate them for all the RUBs and posers they drew into the motorcycle society.

So when these Honda riders, BMW riders, and sport bike riders, start seeing "Harley-Davidson Beef Jerky" in grocery stores, it reinforces this negativity. And that negativity is further reinforced by the Harley-Davidson shower curtains, and the Harley-Davidson Lip Balm.

The same can be said of Orange County Choppers.

Americans love a success story, but they hate it when that story creeps into every aspect of their lives.

The negativity goes both ways too. There are Harley loyalists who bash metric bikes both verbally and physically. Have you ever been to a Honda bash? I know some Harley loyalists who like to poke fun at metric riders, even though they themselves started out on a metric bike.

As for the quality of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, the database of recall notices seems to suggest that Honda and Yamaha are of equal quality. I continue to read blogs about Ducatis and BMWs having problems. Motorcycle manufacturers these days can't afford to build a bike that doesn't require repair work.

So what's the strangest H-D logoed product you've seen?

I guess I'm still surprised that they haven't come out with Harley-Davidson personal lubricant. Seems like it goes right along with the whole "Glide" thing.

Posted:   Tuesday, April 29, 2008