Bad times for Harley....
S. Fla. Harley dealer lays off 41 workers
Posted on Tue, Nov. 13, 2007
BY DOUGLAS HANKS
Worried open-road thrills will be no match for a slowing economy, Harley-Davidson's top South Florida dealer dismissed 41 workers this week.
The firings were spread over four South Florida locations: Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Sunrise and Boca Raton. Twenty-eight of the dismissed employees worked for the company full-time, according to a statement from Bruce Rossmeyer's Harley-Davidson, Florida's top dealer for the high-end choppers.
''Nothing disturbs us more than having to respond to the slowdown in the economic marketplace,'' said Jeff Cheek, general manager of the company. ``Our employees are like family, and we look forward to improvements in the South Florida economy.''
No payroll purges were announced for Rossmeyer's dealerships in Daytona or New Smyrna Beach. The company also will trim hours at its stores in Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach and Sunrise stores.
The purge follows a down year for Harley sales, which were off 4.7 percent nationwide as of September, according to company filings. Company executives predicted a challenging year in 2008, too.
Bruce Rossmeyer, owner of the largest Harley-Davidson store in the countrylooks over some of his "Road King" stock at his Ft. Lauderdale showroom. The dealer dismissed 41 workers this week.[/b]
Posted on Tue, Nov. 13, 2007
BY DOUGLAS HANKS
Worried open-road thrills will be no match for a slowing economy, Harley-Davidson's top South Florida dealer dismissed 41 workers this week.
The firings were spread over four South Florida locations: Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Sunrise and Boca Raton. Twenty-eight of the dismissed employees worked for the company full-time, according to a statement from Bruce Rossmeyer's Harley-Davidson, Florida's top dealer for the high-end choppers.
''Nothing disturbs us more than having to respond to the slowdown in the economic marketplace,'' said Jeff Cheek, general manager of the company. ``Our employees are like family, and we look forward to improvements in the South Florida economy.''
No payroll purges were announced for Rossmeyer's dealerships in Daytona or New Smyrna Beach. The company also will trim hours at its stores in Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach and Sunrise stores.
The purge follows a down year for Harley sales, which were off 4.7 percent nationwide as of September, according to company filings. Company executives predicted a challenging year in 2008, too.
Bruce Rossmeyer, owner of the largest Harley-Davidson store in the countrylooks over some of his "Road King" stock at his Ft. Lauderdale showroom. The dealer dismissed 41 workers this week.[/b]
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quote:Originally posted by ObiWan
"Harley is not a racing bike."
Yes it is:
www.buell.com/en_us/news_events/newsdetail.asp?news_id=1337
Buell....is a division of Harley.
Buell has long been the slow and heavy whipping boy of the performance bike world, but they did get smart with the new bike as they got rid of the Harley motor and put in a rotax built v-twin:
http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2007/07/07/2008-buell-1125r-liquid-cooled-rotax-v-twin/0 -
Eagle Harley of Lafayette Indiana will work on any HD of any year. They are very customer friendly and go out of their way to help. I have had very good service from them. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by oldnbald
Harleys - $10,000 bike with a $25,000 name.
Agreed. I paid less than half that for my Kawasaki Nomad 1500 and I'll put her up against any Harley.0 -
quote:Originally posted by slackmason
quote:Originally posted by oldnbald
Harleys - $10,000 bike with a $25,000 name.
exactly!
It's fun to see, as you point out, that you can take a 10k$ bike - market it as "Made in USA", "An american tradition" and whatnot...
And mark it up to 25k$ eventhough the bike is on Self-Destruct mode if it wasn't for LockTite.
I guess patriots are more wealthy than the rest of the world...
Hmmmm, that makes me wonder why there's a lot more clubs for NIMBUS, VESPA, Triumph and BSA here..
Harley Davidsons are available and have been for many years - there are a few clubs, but it just haven't made a really solid stand.0 -
I've owned about a dozen motorcycles.
One was a Hogley-Ferguson.
I replaced it with a Honda, and will not buy another Hogley-Ferguson.
Doug0 -
"Buell....is a division of Harley."
Yes they are, BUT.....Buell has dumped the Harley engine for obvious reasons. Can you say ROTAX powered?[;)] Click the linkys...
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_Page.aspx?ArticleID=4960&Page=1
http://www.buell.com/1125R/1125R.asp?1125RLocale=en_us
quote:Originally posted by ObiWan
"Harley is not a racing bike."
Yes it is:
www.buell.com/en_us/news_events/newsdetail.asp?news_id=1337
Buell....is a division of Harley.0 -
quote:Originally posted by dolfan
Harleys are expensive (want to refrain from using "over-priced") but the jist of the article, as Marc points out, is the economy.
We are in for some trying times coming up.
Keep your debt low and save some money for a rainy day!
You could be right, and you probably are correct. In 1978, gold was at an all time, very close to what it is right now. Iran was constantly in the news much as it is again today, and Americans were being evacuated as quickly as possible. Interest rates were about nine percent and rising, and unemployment was climbing. I know this, and those of you who lived through it with me know it, too.
People thought things would get better, and they were dead wrong. Gold practically doubled as did the interest rates, and sometimes hundreds or even thousands of people would stand in line for a few job openings. Folks had lost their jobs, their savings, and took jobs at places like McDonald if they could get them. The rich and those who did manage to make it through this nightmare that struck during the Reagan administration did awesome when the real estate market crashed. Homes and condos that might have cost, for example, 100,000.00 and 75,000.00, respectively, sold for as little a a quarter of that amount, or less. Come to find out that a select few Americans in league with others had actually manipulated the crash from the beginning and became mega rich - this story lasted about a nano second in the news before it was buried forever.
I'd say that if anyone here has an adjustable type mortgage get into a fixed mortgage immediately since all of the indicators of the late 1970s and 1980s look equally as bleak today, and that we are in for a picture perfect repeat of the same thing happening again. Lord, let's hope not.
And, if memory serves me correctly, in 1978 Harley was in exceptionally bad financial shape then with 49% of the company owned by some Japanese.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Mk 19
quote:Originally posted by ObiWan
"Harley is not a racing bike."
Yes it is:
www.buell.com/en_us/news_events/newsdetail.asp?news_id=1337
Buell....is a division of Harley.
Buell has long been the slow and heavy whipping boy of the performance bike world, but they did get smart with the new bike as they got rid of the Harley motor and put in a rotax built v-twin:
http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2007/07/07/2008-buell-1125r-liquid-cooled-rotax-v-twin/
if the smaller rotax is any thing to go by , this will be one BAD boy...[:p]0 -
Here I thought it got bought out again by the bowling ball company[:D]. 0 -
I used to drive an '07 Night Train. I also used to own an '04 Honda Shadow Aero. I miss the Aero. The HD was a heck of a lot of fun but then it really dawned on me how much this thing with two wheels was worth on the market. I sold it and am investing the money wisely. I'll buy a Honda in the spring or from my dad when he gets sick of riding his. HD's cost WAY too much if you aren't mechanically inclined and actually pay the dealership to do the routine maintenance. It KILLED me to spend $250 on the 1000-mile maintenance. My Honda probably costed around $75 tops. 0 -
Go figure...any money that was to be designated for wish list items is going into the tank, out the exhaust and into the oil companies pockets....Most people I know are sitting the kids done and explaning the bleek Christmas outlook or selling personal treasures so they don't have too!!! I would not be surprised to see a complete ecomonical collapse after the last quarter data is digested..... As money goes out of the country faster than it comes in to the tune of millions everyday It is only a matter of time.... 0
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