Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

I saw the first of three episodes last night on Discovery channel from 9pm -11pm est. I don't know how accurate it is but it's very interesting. The rivalry between Indian and Harley Davidson is epic. Looking forward to tonight's episode. A really well done show....

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

Yeah Steve, we watched it as well. Good movie/show. A shame that one fella got killed though, seemed like a good guy. That Indian owner is a real jagoff (for you Pittsburgh people).

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

Isn't everything you see on TV true?!... Story line is solid and looking forward to part 2 as well.

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

Ditto.. Looking forward to tonights episode.. Should be interesting to see how the motordome & the wall of death event evolves..

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

I'm interested in seeing how HD's dealer/distribution evolves. Indian certainly put the screws to HD by signing its dealers to non-compete and enticing them with stock.

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

Definitely put Indian in a new light for me and not positive. The licensing/patent infringement lawsuit was more than a little shady. I've always been a Harley guy. I never cared much for the Indian's gaudy big fender style, but I respected the craftsmanship etc and the fact they were from Springfield, Mass which is about an 1 hour from where I grew up. Definitely good marketing on Harley's side putting this mini series out. I wonder if Indian's recollection of the events is the same.

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

Indian has been through so many owners now it's certainly not what it was back then. And now that Victory owns them, it's a completely different ballgame. I love Victory, but I understand that if it wasn't for HD, there would be no Victory. I've just never bought into the HD "lifestyle" like my brother and everyone else. I guess I've always been different than the normal and I've had some different stuff (Victory when everyone had a Harley, Ducati when everyone had a Honda/Yamaha/Kawasaki, Porsche when everyone had a Mustang, etc.) but I respect HD, and William Harley was a pure engineering genius.

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

I personally lose interest in HD & bikes in general after the 20's.. And I am a very "green" bike lover.. Hell I dont even own one but have ridden them all my life. Something about those early bikes that really speaks to me.. Too bad I will probably never be able to afford one..

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

Sure is interesting there are Indian commercials during the HD series. TAZ

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

Darrell, I'll trade you one of my HD's for your Ralleye Green....ill throw in a helmet and a patinaed leather jacket [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/burnout.gif[/img]

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

I think Ill pass.. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

HD's marketing department is crazy good at what they do. I was able to attend a symposium at SEMA a few years back where the head of their marketing department spoke. It really opened my eyes at to what works and what doesn't.

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

Bruce, Anything you can share here? I have a small business on the side that I want to grow into my full time gig, so any help is greatly appreciated, thanks. Oh, here's our site:
www.thetwistedfin.com

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

I've got detailed notes at home....I will find them and email them to you!

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

I never liked Harleys growing up, had a 900 Kawasaki that was fast for its day. I know a Harley exec and he showed me their '48 Sportster. I traded in my 2011 for a 2015 last year and it's a blast. Very retro looking bike that's fun to ride for short blasts.

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

HD was in financial dire straits when owned by AMF.Didn't AMF make bowling balls?Were not a lot of HD's up here when I grew up in the sixties.We were into Nortons,BSA's and Triumphs.

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

Harley had a lot of dark Years through various owners. The company is currently run by MBA's who have no knowledge of the industry.
A good friend of mine was the COO for the Canadian Distributor, a relationship that existed between the Deeley Family and HD for nearly 100 years. 2 years ago the MBA's terminated the relationship and are now running the company according to the Harvard, Wharton, Kellogh and Stanford rule books for MBA's.

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

Watched the all three parts. Owned HD as a kid. The knuckle head and the shovel were rough to kick, and I had two of the Aermacchi HD's both SX 125's.

Then I discovered I liked LT-1's better....so the bikes were sold.

I would like to see the story told through the early 80's. They should continue the mini series.... [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

Agreed; the ending point was kind of random. I'd love to see the progression of the company to where it is now.

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: markinnaples</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Indian has been through so many owners now it's certainly not what it was back then. And now that Victory owns them, it's a completely different ballgame.</div></div>
Agreed, but I'm one of those principle guys. It's a PITA..., but I &quot;try&quot; to base some of my decisions on how a company came about and how they've made some of their decisions. After the bailout I wouldn't buy another Govt. Motors product. The end doesn't always justify the means. There's nothing wrong with struggling for a while. Mitsubishi is another example. Mitsubishi class Zeros killed a lot of Americans. I know the arguments going the other way too... I'm just not a big forgive and forget kind of guy and I certainly don't like to reward.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Canuck</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Harley had a lot of dark Years through various owners. The company is currently run by MBA's who have no knowledge of the industry.
A good friend of mine was the COO for the Canadian Distributor, a relationship that existed between the Deeley Family and HD for nearly 100 years. 2 years ago the MBA's terminated the relationship and are now running the company according to the Harvard, Wharton, Kellogh and Stanford rule books for MBA's.
</div></div>
You can bash those MBA's all you want, but HD isn't exactly hurting for business are they? $23k+ for a Streetglide and how many do they sell each year? I don't see HD dealers closing, only opening. I don't like a lot of their decisions either, but I guess I'm not the guy they're marketing too.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 70 copo</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Watched the all three parts. Owned HD as a kid. The knuckle head and the shovel were rough to kick, and I had two of the Aermacchi HD's both SX 125's.

Then I discovered I liked LT-1's better....so the bikes were sold.

I would like to see the story told through the early 80's. They should continue the mini series.... [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]</div></div>
I'd like to see a continuation also. It was pretty well done. That could have been a much longer mini series. They really didn't get into many details.
I've built three Harleys (Iron Head, Shovel Head and an Evo) and have had a ton of Japanese bikes including a Hayabusa. Their technology and value can't be disputed. I paid less than $10k for the worlds fastest straight line production bike brand new in '07 to say a big screw you to a Harley friend that killed himself.
For anyone that cares, here's a few of the bikes I've built and had:

I built this one to embarrass all my friends that were shelling out 10s of thousands of dollars on their &quot;fast&quot; new Harleys. It would walk right by them and I built it from the frame up.

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/...RtRr101605.jpg

I restored the XLH 1000 after riding it in a surprise snow storm back in 98. All the chrome had gotten destroyed after a 3 hr ride and having to follow a snow plow/salt truck up a highway. I took it down to the frame and rebuilt the motor, re-chromed and re-painted everything except the tins. Luckily it had real nice factory paint and it didn't get damaged. That bike went to SoCal and back to Mass with me.

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/...adIronhead.jpg

http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/...Bikes/Busa.jpg

Re: Harley and the Davidsons Discovery Mini Series
 

I liked how the story line emphasized/portrayed the &quot;experience&quot; that a HD provides which sets it apart from many of the other brands. That really exists today, much like we drive our muscle cars for the &quot;experience&quot;!
When I take one of my HD's out it puts a smile on my face...isn't that what's it about?!