Pope Slams Harley-Davidson As Intoxication Of Freedom

St Peter’s Square Pope Francis Blessing

There’s a new spirit in the Vatican.

Pope Francis is the current and the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.  Full disclosure:  I’m not catholic and this is not a campaign or propaganda tool.  Nor is this for the clickbait hunters and outrage merchants rubbing hands together with glee to pounce in the comment section.

Let’s start from the beginning…

Back in June (I blogged about it previously HERE) as part of the Worldwide Harley-Davidson 110th Anniversary Celebration biker’s came to Rome and the Vatican as Pope Francis blessed thousands of Harley-Davidson motorcycles and their riders.  They were blessed in St Peter’s Square, and he graciously accepted two of the latest Harley-Davidson models, for the Vatican police force that the motor company donated.

HD 110th Celebration – Rome Recap

The thundering motors on that nice morning nearly drowned out the Latin recitation of the “Our Father” prayer that accompanied Francis as he greeted the crowd before Sunday Mass.  Nuns and tens of thousands of faithful Catholics also took part in the multi-day event as an unrelated, two-day pro-life rally was scheduled during the same time.

Imagine for a moment the incongruity of the Harley crowd — known for the “Freedom” motto, outlaw image and adventuresome spirit — taking part in a solemn papal Mass to commemorate a 1995 encyclical on the inviolability of human life.

Yeah, it’s difficult to wrap your head around it.

At any rate, jump ahead a few months and basically the Pope sticks his finger in the eye of Harley-Davidson management and slams the the motorcycle lifestyle as an “intoxication of freedom.”

Speaking at a gathering last week, the Pope cautioned that “power and pleasure”, among other things, lead to God being “replaced by fleeting human idols which offer the intoxication of a flash of freedom, but in the end bring new forms of slavery and death.”

Catholic theologians are not the first and won’t be the last to condemn consumerism and wealth inequalities.  In fact, Pope Francis has encouraged clergy and religious to show humility in their choice of transportation.  In July, he told a group of seminarians and religious novices that he felt hurt when he sees a priest or a sister with a brand-new car.  Saying, “And, if you like that beautiful car, think about how many children are dying of hunger,” urging them to choose simpler transportation options.

The conclusion of all this is that the Bishop of Rome has now decided to auction off one of the bikes in order to raise funds for a Caritas homeless project,  the ‘Don Luigi di Lietro’ near the Termini station in Rome which offers food and shelter for up to 1,000 people every day.  I’m sure it will make for a generous gift to a worthy cause.

But, here is the question.  Was the Pope exploited by just another American company/event focused on a PR opportunity?  Or was he being opportunistic?

Photo courtesy of Stefano Rellandini / Reuters 

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Like Arnold, HOG is Back

The iconic “I’ll be back” catchphrase made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1984 movie “Terminator” can now be used to describe that financially, Harley-Davidson is back! 

There is no getting around it.  Harley-Davidson had an exceptional Q3’13.

There was of course the strong financial performance, the biggest launch of new motorcycle models in the company’s history that resulted in excellent retail sales and who can forget the epic 110th anniversary in Milwaukee.  In the initial 45 days at retail since launch, the Rushmore motorcycles sparked the largest year-over-year new model sales increase in 20 years. Sales were up markedly in both the U.S. and internationally. In fact, it was the best international model year launch ever in terms of initial volume.

H-D have been telling us for quarters that they are laser focused on the international businesses. They are targeting 100-150 international new dealer points through 2014 and, over the last 3+ years, have opened 110 new dealer points, with two-thirds being in emerging markets.

Last week H-D reported Q3 revenue of $1.34B and net income of $162.7 million, or 73 cents per share.  For the motorcycles and related product segment revenue was up 8.4% in the third quarter, including a 10.7% increase in motorcycle revenue largely driven by the strong mix of the touring bikes.  U.S. sales were up 20% from July through September and profit jumped 21%.

During Q3’13, parts and accessories sales were up 7.0%, driven by the success of certain product categories such as LED lighting and audio. General Merchandise was down 12.6% compared to Q3’12 due to what H-D referred to as lapping the strong sell in of 110th anniversary apparel and accessories, which began in Q3 of 2012.

Important to the Road Glide riders is the fact that H-D discontinued the Road Glide Custom and Road Glide Ultra.  Management was quick to point out that these models, represent, on an annual basis, about 4-5% of the overall Touring volume.  In terms of retail sales, H-D had brisk retail sales of the Road Glide in the third quarter.  It will be interesting to see if there is any sales headwind from discontinuing the Road Glide in Q4.

One of the items that jumped out at me is that wholesale and MSRP prices have increased by an average of about 3.5% on the new 2014 models. By region, U.S. prices are up roughly 4.25%; EMEA, up 1.5%; and Asia-Pacific and Latin America, each up about 2.5%.  The significant new “content,” which was added to the 2014 model year motorcycles was expected to increase costs by 2.75%.

H-D did not change the 2013 forecast of motorcycle shipments of 259K-264K.  Poor weather in the U.S. during Q2 was again cited as the primary reason for challenges in hitting the high forecast number.

Photo courtesy of H-D

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Was Project Rushmore Rushed?

Do Not Ride

Last week, Harley-Davidson recalled about 29,000 model-year-2014 touring (Project Rushmore) bikes.  

The recalled models include 25,185 touring models (FLHTCU, FLHTK, FLHTP, FLHX, FLHXS, FLHTKSE, FLHRSE) and 3,861 CVO and Trikes (FLHTCUTG, FXSBSE, FLSTNSE) built between May 3rd and October 14, 2013.

The cause is a possible safety issue involving the hydraulic clutch.  Some of the motorcycles may exhibit a condition in which the hydraulic clutch system may lose the ability to generate enough lift to disengage the clutch, making it hard to slow or stop.  The company included a “Do Not Ride” notice to owners and a “Do Not Deliver” notice to dealers until the motorcycles were fixed.  The repairs have been identified and should take less than an hour to correct.

Because the NHTSA was closed last week as a result of the partial government shutdown there is yet to be a NHTSA campaign ID number issued.  Harley-Davidson is moving ahead as if the agency was fully operational.  The recall is expected to cost the motor company $4.9M in the fourth quarter, but it’s not expected to have much of an effect on production.

Since 2009, Harley-Davidson management has consistently repeated how they have been intensely focused on improving the cost structure and transforming the business to be stronger, more flexible and more profitable… Knowing a few riders with new motorcycles that have had warranty failures, I’d like them to talk more about the quality improvements being made YOY.

If you have a motorcycle manufactured during this time you can visit your dealer or call H-D at 414.343.7988.

Photo courtesy of Biker Law web site.

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The Mystery Of Twelve

MC enjoying the fall weather!

12 surgeries, 12 weeks in the hospital, 12 separate medical billing groups….  12-noon, at home enjoying the fall colors – priceless!

You might recall that back on July 31st (HERE) while attending the Shark Week III rally we learned that a member of our riding group (MC) was hit by a car who was trying to beat a red-light at the Bluff Street-Red Hills Parkway intersection.  This was about 3 miles from the rally hotel. We arrived on scene to see the paramedics working on MC and prepping him for Life Flight.  Once the helicopter took off we helped clear debris, gathered up some personal belongings and then rode to the hospital.

MC spent 4 weeks at Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, UT in critical care and acute therapy.  There was a continuous debate about how to save the foot.  He was then transported to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland where he spent another 8 weeks enduring various forms of surgeries in an effort to avoid amputation of his foot.

At home–something to truly smile about…

The awesome news is that MC was discharged from Legacy Emanuel hospital on October 23, 2013.  Exactly 12 weeks from the date of the accident in St. George.  And, it was a gorgeous northwest day for MC to absorb the fall beauty and take a deep breath of fresh air— the first time in 6 weeks that MC was able to go outside!  He has endure more than most all of us will ever know in an effort to save his foot.  You’re an inspiration MC!!

There are numerous new challenges and MC is working through each of them (finances, crutches, stairs, showering, etc.) now that the hospital chapter of his journey is mainly closed.  MC’s significant other continues to provide engaging and detailed status updates on her blog and a Facebook page was created for extended friends and interested individuals to follow progress.

Being home is an incredible boost to the human spirit, but it’s not the end of MC’s recovery.  There will be another 12 weeks before he can truly put his entire foot “in the dirt” and before that it will require another surgery to remove that bulky frame on his foot along with physical therapy.

However, I wanted to provide a quick shout-out to all the folks who for the last 12+ weeks provided prayers and positive vibes.  You’ve all been awesome and I want to personally thank you for your kind outreach.

Photo’s courtesy of S.B.

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NY Event Casts Dark Shadow On 27M Motorcyclists

Sport bike “brake checked” the SUV driver

I delayed writing, not wanting to initially pile on, about the incident that occurred in New York City on Sunday, Sept. 29, involving an SUV driver and some motorcyclists.  But, I’ve received a number of emails on the topic and thought now was an appropriate  time to weigh in.

You might recall that the video (which was recently pulled down from YouTube), showed a dude riding a white sport bike who clearly pulled in front of the SUV and “brake checked” the driver.  The SUV is surrounded by bikers and had little space to maneuver, and bumped the white bike.  That seemed to be the issue that sparked a number of poor choices.  Later the rider was arrested and charged with “reckless endangerment, reckless driving, menacing and endangering the welfare of a child” and then bailed out.

My first thought is that if a rider chooses to brake check a SUV on a 3-lane highway within a few feet of the front bumper… getting hit is a reasonable expectation.  No motorcyclist deserves to get hit by a car and I’m not advocating the SUV driver was right in doing so.  There are a number of other videos posted by the same guy who put up that original SUV video, which indicates that riders were rolling down the sidewalk at speed, blowing a dozen red lights en masse, traveling on the wrong side of the road, and surrounded and beat on a Toyota Prius. 

It was an average Sunday afternoon motorcycle ride that started as a celebration to mark the end of the summer.  However, prior to the SUV incident, the police got notice of the massive riding group and set up checkpoints to inspect bikes and their riders at bridges and tunnels going into Manhattan. At least 15 people were arrested (mostly on vehicular charges), and 55 motorcycles were impounded which actually served to help break up the massive informal ride and sent splinter groups riding off in different directions.

We’ve all seen these “street stunt rides” where 100’s of motorcycles are observed forcing vehicles to stop or move to the side of the road while riders perform various “stunts” and record each other to then post onto the Web.  Unfortunately they’ve become fairly common.

I wasn’t there, but I was troubled by the serious injuries caused by the SUV driver and the escalating actions by some of the motorcyclists who apparently decided to take the law into their own hands.  

There is an estimated 27 million motorcyclists in America.  This incident, fueled by the media sensationalizing the story has helped create a false image of all motorcyclists in the general public and truly damaged the recreational sport.

Like many of you, I ride responsibly and do my part to represent motorcycling in a positive light.  And many of us who ride support rider education and are involved in rides to raise funds for charitable causes in our community.  Having a good friend recently be involved in a motorcycle accident with an automobile driver trying to “beat a red light” has made road safety, especially for motorcyclists, an acute concern to me and I don’t support the actions of this riding group.  On so many levels these motorcycle riders were wrong PERIOD.

Nobody deserves to be hit and the guy in the SUV might have been able to defused the situation, but not being there or knowing his frame of mind about the safety of his family, it’s not unreasonable to expect the SUV driver to panic and take off when surrounded by dozens of angry guys who have been riding very aggressive and reckless.

To date, four motorcyclists have been arrested with more arrests in-flight over this incident.  I would anticipate they will be used as a legal poster-child for a gang-like assault in court.

Photo courtesy of YouTube screen grab. 

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