With harley purchasing MV augusta, do you think they will use their new resources to update their design?

Question

or will they just run a perfectly good italian track runner into the ground?

Answer 1

Probably not........ I hope.

Answer 2

I doubt that they will make any changes to MV. It's just business, I'm sure they aren't buying MV to make them like Harley, nor are they going to make Harley more like MV. It is just an acquisition to make money, not a merger. Harley has never ran anything into the ground, AMF did to a degree but Harley made one of the biggest come backs in business history under current management. Trust me, they know a h**l of a lot more about how to run a business than any of us ever will.

Answer 3

Why would they change what leads the entire motorcycle industry ?

Answer 4

They bought the company to have a presence in Europe.  The former owner is going to run MV. H-D just wants to sell Harleys to spoiled Euro trash

The historian conveniently forgets that is was Ronald Regan who saved Harley in the 80s with the embargo of j*p bikes over 700cc because H-D couldn't stand competition with modern motorcycles.

Before that they were saved by AMF who tried to introduce quality control and the concept of interchangeable parts.

Putting an engine on two wheels is something Davidson copied from Daimler.

Answer 5

A Harley with an 4 tip-organ-style exhaust would sound interesting.

Answer 6

Word is the 09 Ultra Classic will be offered with the VROD liquid cooled motor. So, it looks like they are taking direction from their European partners.

Answer 7

What is MV augusta?

Answer 8

From where I'm sitting it's clear Harley have plans.

They sell well to it's core American consumer base, but they know that's not enough....they need to sell more bikes.

Like them or not, fly the flag or not the fact is that they aren't a big player globally.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.....but Harley clearly want to be bigger than they are.

They've recently bought out a new bike built specifically for the European market.

They want to sell bikes to some of the millions of bikers in Europe.....and have tacitly admitted that they can't while they sell American style cruisers only.

I live in England now, and Harley's are popular enough with a dedicated fan base here but they are a niche seller, they simply don't sell like the j*p bikes do.

So Harley are looking to produce bikes with a more European appeal.....the XR 1200 is a trial in that direction.

Even I like the look of it......but it's still too heavy and doesn't handle well enough if the person looking at it isn't a Harley fan.

The easiest way to gain the foothold is to buy into an existing company....so if they've bought MV it's to get the design on bikes they can sell over here.

Whether they take on board that not everyone likes the bikes they make and if they want to sell more they have to make other types of bikes remains to be seen.

Answer 9

Magz, if I had HD's money ( lots) I wouldn't buy Augusta unless it was bargain basement. HD could use Piaggio as by any read the 150 - 300cc worldwide scooter market is about to grow nicely. What better way to jump in than to than to buy an international scooter company with a long history of excellence? However this isn't MV Augusta. I think Augusta made and shipped 5000 bikes last year and HD made 300,000. The local Italian dealer has one MV, a 2007, unsold. So I'm searching for a reason. The name Cagiva figures into this argument somewhere but I haven't been able to place it. Perhaps Cagiva is the parent company of MV. There has to be a scooter scenerio in here somewhere.

Edith Piaf.......... Sing "I Have No Regrets" for us please!!

Answer 10

let's hope they don't ruin the MV Agusta ...

Answer 11

I doubt they'll "update" their design at all for a very good reason.  They already did so with their VRod and the result is that when you have a Harley with modern design and power, the Harley haters say "But it's not a real Harley" and the Harley lovers also say "But it's not a real Harley".  

Besides, if it wasn't for copying Harley, the Japanese could have never built their present, Harley-esque V twin cruisers.  Anyone remember how poorly the Japanese designed V twin Viragos, Ascots, etc sold?  It wasn't until they made them look like Harleys that they started selling really well (Kawasaki Vulcan for example).  The Japanese aren't stupid and they know a good thing when they see it (producing and selling Harley copies) and Yamaha's Star bikes are a perfect example.  

When Harley was in dire financial straits in the early 80's, why do you think Honda offered to loan them money to keep them afloat? (Harley refused their offer.)  It was because they knew Harley was a gold mine when it came to knowing what looked good to people (cudos to Willie G) and how to get a such loyal following that they could sell them everything from T shirts to ash trays to leather baby diapers with the HD logo.

Answer 12

But their customer base would never stand for updated designs.  They want an overweight, gutless V-twin that sounds like a harley, period.

Answer 13

the air cooled pushrod actuated v twin is done in 2010 from what I understand.wont be able to get through emisions or past noise regs anymore.look for liquid cooled overhead cam engines in all H.D. models. of course they will still cling to past styling.change comes very slowly at the motor company. not much differance between a 47 knucklehead and a 85 shovelhead. As for me I wil still be riding my 62 panhead. it just goes and goes.

Answer 14

They might not update the MV's or Cagivas for a while... It's a suprising purchase, but the Harley marketing department seems to be doing a pretty good job of selling cruisers with infrequent  updates. We'll have to wait and see what happens.

(I can't see Harley buying Piaggio, but it would be interesting to see the first V-twin vespa roll off the line!)

Maybe Harley's going to try to appeal to the people buying small bikes for commuting by selling the lower displacement Cagivas in the US.