What’s Harley Thinking?

Harley Davidson has announced a deal with 20th Century Fox to produce 100 “Sons of Anarchy” models that will retail for $25,000 each at Harley Dealers this fall. The show on FX is now in its 5th season and is contracted to run through 7 seasons. I’ve seen the show, the acting is top-notch but c’mon would you want to ride a bike with Sons of Anarchy plastered to it?

Do we not want to leave this sad, silly stereotype in the past where it belongs? Now Harley Davidson wants to resurrect it so riders can plop down $25,000 to pretend to be bad-ass for a weekend by emulating a television show (which is a contradiction in terms if I ever heard one). I can’t imagine the marketing genius at H-D that dreamed this one up. They must know the snickers and comments this kind of ride will attract. Then again, maybe they just don’t care.

I find it kind of funny that the last news I heard from H-D was that they were fighting to shut down a website that used part of their name for a social networking site. I’ve been to the site, it was well done and did H-D a service in promoting its brand for free; but they forced a name change. Now the news this week is that their going to produce models that pay tribute to a fictitious gang that sells illegal arms. Sounds to me like a shot in the foot. It’s a shame a once proud brand has fallen this far.

What’s next a Discovery Channel Laffing Devils bike? No wonder Willie G. retired.

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