I know a lot about Harley's. They almost went under in the early 80's, and if not for Malcolm Forbes and a group of employees who basically mortgaged their future to buy a failing company, it probably would have. The Japanese manufacturers were building much more reliable bikes at cheaper prices, so it was grim. HD was able to get the US government to impose an import tariff of 49% (that went down 10% each year) on any bikes over 700 cc., which is why in 1984 we suddenly had inline-4 700's instead of 750's. My 2nd new bike was a 1984 KZ 700 that I bought to replace the new KZ 750 I had totalled (riding too crazy in town with only 1 year of experience.)
HD introduced a genius marketing campaign at that time: $3995 when you buy, $3995 when you sell, for the new 883 Sportster. Trade it in on a new Harley, and they gave you what you paid towards the purchase of a new HD. They had to extend the production that year to like 16 months, it worked so well. Gone were the days of HD being owned by a bowling ball company, AMF, who just didn't care, and wouldn't invest in the brand. And yes, Harley's had developed a terrible reputation for unreliability, oil leaks, and blown head gaskets at 10,000 miles because they used dissimilar metals for the heads and cylinders that made them expand at different rates bad enough to cause those problems.
The new owners had to choose carefully what improvements they'd invest in, because if the sales didn't follow pretty quickly, these people could've lost their homes, that's how touch-and-go it was those first few years. I'm pretty sure a new transmission was first up, followed by a new engine, that if my memory is correct, was called the Evo.
They rebuilt HD, the brand, and reliability followed, and they saved the oldest American motorcycle company in existence at the time from sure demise. They eventually built a new, state-of-the-art factory in York, PA on the same grounds as the older one, and I also seem to remember the employees saying it was the one they preferred working in, partly because the bikes came around on these air-inflatable supports, that an employee could adjust to a comfortable height for them to work on as they passed by their station.
Back in my Kaw-riding days, I was extremely outspoken about Harley's being overpriced and unreliable, with old tech, much of which was true. But they introduced a superb model in the V-Rod, while further refining what the brand is based on, an air-cooled 45 degree V-Twin. HD is nothing like it used to be. They build a fine line of bikes.
There's a saying about Harley Davidson motorcycles that goes: Why I ride a Harley... for those who understand, no explanation is needed; for those who don't, none is possible. It's true. I had fantastic times and experiences on mine.
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