Harleys vs Segways

[nocanfly]

In this article Sen. David Hoyle, D-Gaston supported Segway legislation but still claimed it 'interesting device" with limited appeal'. He goes on by saying 'There may be some limited commercial uses and some limited personal uses, but I don't see it to be widespread," he said. "You're not going to sell as many of these as Harleys. It's not going to take the place of kids' bicycles.'

I was curious about the Harley comparison and discovered at the Harley-Davidson.com website that their sales for 2001 were 234,461 units. It looks certainly feasible that they will eventually sell more Segways than Harleys.

http://www.journalnow.com/wsj/news/MGBY6T2EU5D.html

[charmed]

I agree. Particularly with a bit of imagination toward future Segway models. I think looking at the present offerings, in the light of legislative efforts, does not even begin to see the big picture of how widespread Segway-type PMD's could be.

This year, it would appear that Harley will take the sales trophy. Next year and the year after......

[charmed]

I agree. Particularly with a bit of imagination toward future Segway models. I think looking at the present offerings, in the light of legislative efforts, does not even begin to see the big picture of how widespread Segway-type PMD's could be.

This year, it would appear that Harley will take the sales trophy. Next year and the year after......

[Antagony]

Does anyone know how many Harley's were sold in the first year?

One advantage Segway has over Harley is that it is a unique type of vehicle, that ofcourse can also be a big disadvantage. Another advantage Segway has is that it will be usable for a wide variety of purposes, indoors, outdoors, smooth and rough terrain, as assistive mobility devices. There is also likely to be a significant number of variations for even more specialized uses. So theoretically speaking the Segway family has greater potentials, especially if they can get prices down and stay ahead of the clone producers.

[Casey]

quote:Does anyone know how many Harley's were sold in the first year?


quote:1903 21-year old William S. Harley and 20-year old Arthur Davidson make available to the public the first production Harley-Davidson® motorcycle. The bike was built to be a racer, with a 3-1/8 inch bore and 3-1/2 inch stroke. The factory in which they worked was a 10 x 15-foot wooden shed with the words "Harley-Davidson Motor Company" crudely scrawled on the door. Arthur's brother Walter later joins their efforts.



Henry Meyer of Milwaukee, a schoolyard pal of William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson, buys one of the 1903 models directly from the founders.

The first Harley-Davidson Dealer, C.H. Lang of Chicago, Ill., opens for business and sells one of the first three production Harley-Davidson motorcycles ever made


quote:1905 On July 4th, a H-D motorcycle wins a 15 mile race in Chicago with a time of 19:02. In Milwaukee, the first full-time employee is hired.

Not much help, but there's your answer.

[Antagony]

Thanks Casey, your data shows that a successfull product can take years to make a big impression.

[zeppo123]

Harley really hurt their reputation when they were sold to AMF. It took many years to get back to where they are today. I wonder if we will see Consumer Segways selling for more than the sticker price like early PT cruisers and new T-birds. New Harleys still can be hard to come by and you are not going to get much of a price break if any.

[Casey]

I don't see Segway being marketed like a car. I think it will be more buying a computer. "The price you see is the price you get" so to speak. I also see them setting a price that reflects cost +, not playing the bartering game we do when we buy cars. If for instance if the price is $2995, I believe that is what you will pay on a first come first served basis.

[zeppo123]

quote:Originally posted by Casey

I don't see Segway being marketed like a car. I think it will be more buying a computer. "The price you see is the price you get" so to speak. I also see them setting a price that reflects cost +, not playing the bartering game we do when we buy cars. If for instance if the price is $2995, I believe that is what you will pay on a first come first served basis.


Where there could be a problem is if they let individual companies sell the consumer version. The local dealers are the ones jacking up the price on cars with great demand.

[Casey]

quote:The local dealers are the ones jacking up the price on cars with great demand.



Of course only time will tell. If they have a string of independent dealers, most likely there will be variable pricing.

But if it is company controlled Segways-R-It stores, the price will be company controlled and the same store to store. Judging from Kamen's performance so far, I think more likely the latter.