Harley-Davidson released a statement on Monday renouncing DEI and other controversial company initiatives in the wake of social-media outrage and withering pressure from longtime loyal bikers. ... Harley-Davidson had faced grumblings for years from longtime customers, including hard-core bikers, who claimed that the Milwaukee-based company "used" them to build its "bad--s" brand, then abandoned them as the motorcycle's popularity expanded to upscale riders. The dissatisfaction exploded in July when social-media influencer Robby Starbuck outed several controversial internal woke policies at Harley.
I just don't care about any of that, and don't understand why "real bikers" would care about it either.
The bikes are good, or they're not good.
Harley-Davidson has a reputation for making very good motorcycles.
I don't choose to watch or not watch movies starring Sean Penn or Jon Voight or Jane Fonda or James Woods because of their politics. Why would I choose to buy or not buy a motorcycle because of the company's politics?
Yes, there are hypotheticals where I would make such a choice -- "our company donates 10% of its profits to revivifying the American Nazi Party and setting up camps in the southwest for the eventual second Holocaust" -- but outside such hypotheticals, I just want goods and services that I evaluate as "high-quality."
But hey, maybe there's an even bigger sell-off of used Harleys at low prices coming due to rider tantrums over politics. I already see quite a few heavily discounted Harleys out there. If someone wants to sell me a working/running Iron 883 in good condition for $500, I'll take the deal.
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