My first street bike was a 1982 Suzuki GS450. I bought it at 16 years old and my mother was not so happy about it. But neither was my dad. So we compromised. I passed the rider safety course and never regretted my decision. (And over the years since mom has gifted me with everything from riding boots to riding themed household items. She has never been on a motorcycle)

Back in the early 1980s, Harley-Davidson wasn’t enjoying a lot of success. They weren’t considered “hip” to my generation and many saw the brand as unreliable when compared to Japanese models.

But after the turn of the century I purchased my first Harley-Davidson. It was the Softail Springer 100th anniversary edition. I loved it but so did some others. It was stolen from off of the street in downtown Chicago in September of 2012. A few months later I took the insurance refund to the dealer and got a Fatboy (Which you may recall almost “disappeared” in the same fashion. Thanks again to everyone at the SFPD for recovering it!)

Recently I’ve rented a Road King to ride Death Valley, a Street Glide to ride around Lake Ontario and through the Adirondack Mountains and did a day trip on a Dyna Low Rider inside Red Rock Canyon and to the Hoover Dam.

It’s true that Harley-Davidson has been my brand of choice so I’m disappointed when the iconic American manufacturer struggles. And they are doing so again today. Sales in the United States have dropped by double-digits and their stock price has plummeted too.

In the mid-1980s Harley-Davidson made a comeback. Can they do so again?

Read about their current situation HERE

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