baggerchris Posted July 11, 2008 Posted July 11, 2008 MotorcycleDaily.com is reporting that HD is buying them. Not a rumour anymore, but actual fact. Official announcement on that site.
Wheels Rollin' Posted July 11, 2008 Posted July 11, 2008 MotorcycleDaily.com is reporting that HD is buying them. Not a rumour anymore, but actual fact. Official announcement on that site. Hmmm... Interesting development, Chris... I'd love to have been a 'fly on the wall' during the initial discussions and due diligence process to gain a better insight as to what each is really seeking to accomplish by this action (something not always evident in press releases)... 'Consolidation', 'buy-outs', 'takeovers' and all others of their ilk -- they can be effective growth strategies, though one of the truest measures of success is financial... Will it make sense to the marketplace and will it make money? Time will tell, eh? Thanks for the 'bird doggin', by the way... This is the only moto site I visit with any regularity, so all of our 'Bureau Chiefs' and their reports are certainly appreciated <>... ~ Bill
Firefight911 Posted July 11, 2008 Posted July 11, 2008 It appears evident that HD is working on diversifying and expanding their European market share. With an established European dealer network already in place with MV/Cagiva, it makes marketing/selling their wares that much easier. Europe ONLY HD
decorbin Posted July 11, 2008 Posted July 11, 2008 Great news. Now I can get some handlebar tassles for my MV.
Firefight911 Posted July 11, 2008 Posted July 11, 2008 Let's hope it's not like Ford buying Jaguar! Or when AMF bought HD. Bowling alleys haven't been the same since!
rob1100r Posted July 11, 2008 Posted July 11, 2008 Together they can make a 'sexy' garbage truck on two wheels...
notacop Posted July 11, 2008 Posted July 11, 2008 Ain't it funny how the corporate soul is always for sale? I can Hardley wait for the V twin F-5 Agusta. What a performer that should be..... Buell already figured out how to make a real sport bike...Get rid off the harley parts!
baggerchris Posted July 11, 2008 Author Posted July 11, 2008 I think HD like everyone else is trying to expand it's customer base.(look at BMW buying Husky) HD recently released it's new power sportster ONLY in Europe, which is a slap in the face for us over here but tends to verify that Europe is the seat of power in the Motorcycle industry just now, not the U.S. I know a lot of folks out there that would like HD to fail, but that really is not good for us, or our sport. I applaud them for trying at least to pull themselves away from the classic American road bike syndrome and moving towards the 21st Century. As far as ditching the HD engines in the Buell, there are those critics of BMW that could say the same with the 650/800 engines. It's funny, but when I ride with my BMW friends, they are always down on HD, and when I ride with my HD friends, they could care less, and do not berate Beemer riders near as much as vice versa. They just don't care. They are happy riding their Beloved Hogs.
TowJam Posted July 11, 2008 Posted July 11, 2008 I see BMW as ying to Harley's yang. Bikes on opposite ends of the performance/handling spectrum but as such, they compliment each other perfectly. If I could afford it (and had enough garage space), I'd love both a GS and Road Glide. I wouldn't be surprised to see that XR1200 show up next February as a new mid-year model in the US. Harley has already alerted dealers that there will be a "new model" announced at that time.
Wheels Rollin' Posted July 11, 2008 Posted July 11, 2008 They are happy riding... We all should be, Chris, though... uh... some good-natured ribbing is probably never going to be removed from the equation, whether it involves HD riders, Beemer riders, Wingers, or anyone else... So... uh... have ya' heard the one about how many HD riders it takes to... <>... Ahhh... Sometimes old habits... well... they're kinda hard to break, aren't they <>... ~ Bill
Pat St. Jean Posted July 11, 2008 Posted July 11, 2008 Buell already figured out how to make a real sport bike...Get rid off the harley parts! Except for the Sportster based mill in that frame... Pat '04 R1150RT '97 XL 883/1200
baggerchris Posted July 11, 2008 Author Posted July 11, 2008 They are happy riding... We all should be, Chris, though... uh... some good-natured ribbing is probably never going to be removed from the equation, whether it involves HD riders, Beemer riders, Wingers, or anyone else... So... uh... have ya' heard the one about how many HD riders it takes to... <>... Ahhh... Sometimes old habits... well... they're kinda hard to break, aren't they <>... ~ Bill Ya got me on that one Bill! And yes, comparing bikes and the ribbing that goes along with it are an intregal part of the pleasure of our sport.
Kelly3027 Posted July 11, 2008 Posted July 11, 2008 Buying themselves into the 21st century one company at a time. At the rate they're going, sooner or later they'll have to race the rest of the world on a level playing field.
skinny_tom (aka boney) Posted July 11, 2008 Posted July 11, 2008 It appears evident that HD is working on diversifying and expanding their European market share. With an established European dealer network already in place with MV/Cagiva, it makes marketing/selling their wares that much easier. Europe ONLY HD Too bad the ONLY bike they have a chance of selling me isn't available where I live.
Firefight911 Posted July 11, 2008 Posted July 11, 2008 Too bad the ONLY bike they have a chance of selling me isn't available where I live. Exactly my thoughts when I saw it a week or so ago.
leikam Posted July 12, 2008 Posted July 12, 2008 $200M for a premium italian sport brand and Massimo Tamburini will also stay on with the company. Sounds like a good deal to me.
skinny_tom (aka boney) Posted July 12, 2008 Posted July 12, 2008 Too bad the ONLY bike they have a chance of selling me isn't available where I live. Exactly my thoughts when I saw it a week or so ago. http://www.xrdna.com
moshe_levy Posted July 12, 2008 Posted July 12, 2008 With an established European dealer network already in place with MV/Cagiva, it makes marketing/selling their wares that much easier. Mmmmm.. Heard that one before, haven't we? DaimlerChrysler comes to mind.... Ford and Jaguar / Aston / Volvo.. BMW and Rover.... GM and Fiat.... I think we can list about 100 other expensive divorces here where the marriage was based on expanding share by buying an existing dealer network that had nothing whatsoever in common with the buying company's product or typical customer. But I'm cynical by nature I guess.... -MKL
MAT2CHI Posted July 12, 2008 Posted July 12, 2008 Harley riders like to bash Japanese bikes while the BMW riders bash the Harley's. I enjoy both bikes, but ride my RT much more than my FXST. Both are fun, but in different ways.
blkvelvt Posted July 12, 2008 Posted July 12, 2008 Harley riders like to bash Japanese bikes while the BMW riders bash the Harley's. I enjoy both bikes, but ride my RT much more than my FXST. Both are fun, but in different ways. I think bashing is a guy thing and is pretty universal in general.
Vicious_Cycler Posted July 13, 2008 Posted July 13, 2008 They are happy riding... We all should be, Chris, though... uh... some good-natured ribbing is probably never going to be removed from the equation, whether it involves HD riders, Beemer riders, Wingers, or anyone else... So... uh... have ya' heard the one about how many HD riders it takes to... <>... Ahhh... Sometimes old habits... well... they're kinda hard to break, aren't they <>... ~ Bill When I was riding HD's there were no other real motorcycles. When I rode a Triumph Trophy, the Euro-bug bit. When I got a Beemer it was over. Ribbing is a moral man-imperative. I tell my friends who ride Japanese, they would really have a great bike...if they put some soy sauce on it . I tell my HD friends, yeah that's a nice bike alright, but it's not quite a BMW now is it ? Decorum prevents me telling you their replies.
Wheels Rollin' Posted July 13, 2008 Posted July 13, 2008 Mmmmm.. Heard that one before, haven't we? Sad, but oh-so-true, MKL <> ~ Bill
notacop Posted July 13, 2008 Posted July 13, 2008 Decorum by dangded, What did they say? Huh? is most likely. I did the Italian Harley years ago...Aeromachi Harley. 125 Rapide. When I went to the local Hardley dealer and asked about parts he replied Harley ain't never made no 2 stroke. I'se spoiled and uppity about the Beemer. We simply have a better bike. Now about all those design flaws we inadvertently come across...like 1200 rear ends....AAAAAHHHHH :dopeslap: Oh and the EWS treasures we are theething through.....
Matts_12GS Posted July 13, 2008 Posted July 13, 2008 I like riding the Harley, it's a different kind of tool for a different kind of job. For you 1 bike does it all purists out there, I guess when all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail. I'm glad to see Harley do this. Maybe some design changes and an infusion of Italian sex appeal will long term re-shape the American marketplace.
blkvelvt Posted July 13, 2008 Posted July 13, 2008 Boy does that scream San Jose Mile Would it keep up with this from way back when?
leikam Posted July 13, 2008 Posted July 13, 2008 What if MV Agusta were serious competition for Ducati? What if they had a long-term presence and success in MotoGP? HDI used to race and has the capital to do so; now they have the hardware. Some analysis of the deal at forbes.com I think Robin Farley at UBS has a good read on this: "The rationale for the deal is likely that the brand, which is high end and design focused, would give Harley an outlet to bring product to market that it could not do under the Harley brand, since the sport bike market, particularly in Europe, is quite different from Harley's heavyweight cruiser segment" In other words, I think what we're seeing here is the attempt to grow HDI from a single market segment (heavy cruisers) into a more diversified motorcycle manufacturer -- more along the lines of Honda. I don't see this providing HD with retail outlets in Europe for Harley-Davidson brand bikes; nobody goes into a shop with an F4 in mind and comes out with a Road King. As others have mentioned, the customer base is different and I expect that HDI knows this well enough. My guess is that the financial goals which Castiglioni's 2016 bonus is based on aren't cruiser sales in Europe but sportbike sales worldwide. From the sounds of it, MV/Cagiva was not doing well in part because it was undercapitalized. What sort of market share could they gain with deeper pockets? I'll be interested to see what happens technically and aesthetically when Buell and MV/Cagiva get together. I could see Buells being sold through this new network; it's a better fit than Buells being sold through HD dealerships. And for ~$100M, I would think HDI can afford to see where this goes. This is not even close to the risk that Ford took with Jaguar. By way of comparison, HDI has a market cap of $7.5-$8B and Ford is at about $10B. Ford just sold Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata for $2.3B or a little more than 20% of it's market cap. The MV acquisition is less than 2% of HDI's market cap.
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