New York Daily Photo Analytics

Monday, September 24, 2007

Machine

I am not a biker or part of the biker culture. And I do not enjoy the deafening roar of bikes with straight pipes - a sore point with many city residents. However, I do appreciate a well engineered and pleasant looking machine. And this Harley, with its gleam and striking satin finish parked on the Lower East Side, is partly that. Partly, because there are aspects of the engine and bike engineering that are archaic and could be improved (actually, some changes are being made with newer models), but due to the strong cult phenomenon which has grown around Harley, many aspects of the early design have been kept. Harley Davidson as a company is a fascinating story. Founded in 1903, the company was nearly bankrupt by 1969 - the image of the outlaw biker partly to blame along with deteriorating quality and proliferation of Japanese motorcycles which were less expensive, better made and had superior performance. In the 1980s, the company was resold and under new management began its assent. Rather than attempting to compete with the Japanese, the company marketed Harley's retro factor - there are many things associated with Harleys: chopper customizations, the unique "potato-potato" sound of the engine, hardtails, etc. The marketing of the historic aspect of a product brand is a smart move seen with many legacy businesses like Levis, Coca Cola, Disney, Lego, etc. It also readily lends itself to product line extension and licensing (Harley sells accessories and apparel). In the late 1990s, there were waiting lists as long as a year for some models. The bike has come an American icon with a certain symbolic iconoclasm. The median age of Harley buyers is now nearly 50 with many affluent, well known or powerful individuals as owners - Jay Leno, investor Jim Rogers, etc. ...

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful bike. Reminds me of the television program that used to be a big hit around here. They custom made bikes.

Just added more photos from 1954 to my Japanese blog.

http://sendai-shi.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Harley's are so sexy! Great image.

teeth whitener

lv2scpbk said...

Nice photo.

Do you like live cams? Elephants at Pete's Pond in Africa right now. I even found a hummingbird live cam. Just go to my personal blog and click on the link I posted

Brian Dubé said...

Thanks - the bike was a natural subject.

indieperfumes said...

Great photo, love all the tones of silver and gray in an intense machine. I didn't realize even the particular potato sound had its fans...

• Eliane • said...

I am like you: not a bike fan but love the design. It has an almost "liquid" feel.
And thanks for the research - this is one of the things I really like about your posts: I always learn something.

Anonymous said...

That's Mario's bike!! LOL