tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post645776609320033529..comments2024-03-22T18:01:20.065-05:00Comments on Geezer with a Grudge: Stupid Motos for Stupid TimesT.W. Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078254371483458356noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-2599492863459654472009-12-06T12:33:18.205-06:002009-12-06T12:33:18.205-06:00yep the US is strange... i have 2 trans alps. one ...yep the US is strange... i have 2 trans alps. one with a hawk 650 mtr even. then there is the 7 dollar! xt 600 that i rode to canada off-road two months later. the electric start xt everybody hated. have an 86 reflex and ride a suzuki gn 400 as well. ride a bandit 1200 set up with the old suz gs 1150 fairing for trips. yes it is nice to own useful bikes. i like pacific coasts a lot and tdm 850ies are neat too. nice writing. thanks ~ stephanieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-24214355656581313292009-12-04T22:24:49.209-06:002009-12-04T22:24:49.209-06:00Based on HD's accounting situation, I'm no...Based on HD's accounting situation, I'm not sure "sold" is the right word for what they did with their hippobikes. I totally agree with you on all other points.T.W. Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078254371483458356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-30758237224791502202009-12-04T09:36:22.103-06:002009-12-04T09:36:22.103-06:00Look at the numbers though. Way more HDs sold than...Look at the numbers though. Way more HDs sold than anything else. The old adage holds--the way to make money is to imitate a company making money. So, all the Japanese companies make HD look alikes because they sell the most. Hence the marketing types in these companies concentrate on pitching the products that are selling. It's a lot easier to market something that is selling anyway. It then looks like the marketing is working, so you get more of the same. It is an endless loop until something comes along, like the recent economic crunch to shake things up and maybe change what sells. A gas crisis might do the same. The recent gas hiccup spurred sales of scooters, which I think meet your criteria of a two-wheeled vehicle that makes a lot of sense. By the way, I have done enough adventurous, maybe slightly dangerous, things to realize that most people have no burning desire in life other than to be comfortable. They feel more comfortable within a big, warm, fuzzy group than doing something where they have to take a few risks or maybe go somewhere that isn't easy. HD provides that ambience in spades.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-31624732783501572322009-11-29T21:50:23.070-06:002009-11-29T21:50:23.070-06:00"Cool" has the convenient quality of bei..."Cool" has the convenient quality of being immeasurable, so marketing dweebs can waste time and money pursuing it without ever admitting they are clueless. Apple computers strike me as being more cool than useful. Every year, Mac users point to the new Mac designs as examples of "cool" and "new." The processors, much of the software, and all of the peripherals are inferior or equal to all other systems' equipment. The downside is all that cool is easily dated. What looked ginch last year looks obsolete this year. So, the Mac users have to upgrade just to stay cool. And I buy the last generation machine, slap on the software I need and pay $400 for last year's $4,000 Mac. <br /> <br />Yeah, I admit it. I buy second hand clothes, too. Used cars, used bikes, used bicycles, used tools, and anything else I can avoid paying "cool" prices for.T.W. Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078254371483458356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-50808873149798575612009-11-28T09:57:34.649-06:002009-11-28T09:57:34.649-06:00One of the Honda ad men told a story of coming hom...One of the Honda ad men told a story of coming home to find his son and friends poring over a motorcycle magazine, exclaiming at the pictures. He asked them how they would decide which machine to buy. They replied that it would be the coolest-looking one. But what about quality? Oh, no problem, man - anything in the market is up to the level. So that just leaves cool.<br /> <br />KCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-88014828172734833832009-11-28T09:57:17.679-06:002009-11-28T09:57:17.679-06:00I don't know what to think of marketing. On on...I don't know what to think of marketing. On one hand, I have doubts that the results of most marketing campaigns repay the expense. On the other, if marketing does work I have doubts about the intelligence of our species. <br /> <br />Quality, however, is something to talk about. In manufacturing, we have a simple definition for quality: "a product that meets or exceeds the expectations of the customer." Until Chinese manufacturing took over the world, I think most products withstood examination on this standard. Many still do. I have a 3 year old Nokia cell phone that has been in my gear bag for 30,000 motorcycle miles, gets charged once every 3-4 months, has been soaked, dropped, and cursed at and it still works as well as it did the day I bought it. A lot of electronic products are insanely reliable and dirt cheap. <br /> <br />Your column this month was about how dependable and precision FI systems are compared to clunky, imprecise carburetors. I can remember feeling unease at leaving points for the same reason I clung to carbs. In the end, even though I can't repair my FI or my electronic ignition, I don't care because they rarely break. Way more rarely than mechanical systems did. <br /> <br />Maybe the problem is, as I suspect, the quality of most products (outside of food) is so good that there is nothing to differentiate products other than the imaginary lifestyle differences that marketing dweebs promote? That's kind of cool, in a weird way. It wasn't true 20 years ago. Quality was all over the place, especially in US-made products. <br /> <br /><br />T.W. Day <br />http://geezerwithagrudge.blogspot.com/T.W. Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078254371483458356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-77621899506428630352009-11-27T15:51:26.782-06:002009-11-27T15:51:26.782-06:00Everything is life style in marketing, which is wh...Everything is life style in marketing, which is why quality became irrelevant. We must all yearn to appear to be members of specific in-groups, such as the movie version of black street toughs, holding their "nines" sideways and appearing always to be imminently stepping out of their pants.<br /> <br />Gotta be a MAVERICK, a REBEL (dig that yell, Festus), and ya gotta have $20,000-worth of credit for the bike and accessories, But isn't that like being any other oxymoron, such as 'military innovator'?<br /> <br />KCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com