Way to go Wandell, your plan is really working

Michigan State Police fleet is no longer all-American, as BMWs move in on HarleysFor the first time,

The CHP in California has switched completely to the BMW RT1200RT and one of the reasons was that BMW would lease them to the state for three years buy them back after three and provide all the maintenance required during the three year period. Not a bad deal and my buddy who has been a motor officer since 1980 tells me that this bike rides circles around all the others they have used in the past.

Them BMWs the CHP users are cool bikes. Would love to ride one sometime.

I like the HD rumble and look, but I also love the BMW's. I'd love to own a Beemer K bike inline 4 cylinder with something like 175 horse power and touring capabilities. You've gotta admit, BMW makes great bikes. That said, I'm all for Harley Davidson and those who ride them.

The Police BMWs are without a doubt excellent machines, especially in the environment that the police forces use them in. I don't have any insight to the decision making process that was behind the decision, but I really don't see how it ties back to the discontinuation of the Buell line of even Wendal for that matter.

The Road King was certainly the best bike for the job years back. At the time the Road King was the best choice for a reliable machine that would run forever, but there are a lot more choices out there today that meet that criteria and MORE. Don't get me wrong, I love Road Kings - on my second now with over 200,000 miles between the two and my next bike will be my third Road King. But really if you were choosing a bike that's primary use is stop and go, lots of idling, jumping up to top speed in a short distance, handling and light weight... would you really choose a Road King, or any air-cooled V-Twin for that matter.

I know many police departments are still running Harleys because they always have, but I think more and more you will see them switching over to bikes that are more practical for the job. I would love just as much as anyone to see the police forces continue riding American made motorcycles, but I really can't think of one that would be really practical. If Hartley really wants to stay in that market, which I am not sure how much of a priority that is, they would need to design a touring style air-cooled lightweight motorcycle.

Sorry but we can't blame EVERYTHING on Harley discontinuing Buell.

http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2008/05/22/buell-ulysses-police-xb12xp/  /> See below, the Ulysses was making good progress at being accepted by both domestic & foriegn police departments
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/newsresults/user/2008/january/policebuell/  /> Yes I can

Yep Buell was a nice motorcycle, by WHY do we keep beating this poor dead horse?  Harley shut down the Buell division, its gone!  Harley stock was at an all time low and they made a business decision they thought would be best for the corporation as a whole, as did many companies did during that period.  Many companies got out of certain markets, discontinued lines, etc, etc., and many went out of business for not making the tough decisions when they should of.  I'm sure in a company as large as the HD Motor Co they did not just make the decision quickly, and I'm sure they didn't do it lightly knowing a lot of customers would not be happy with the decision.  They did it after much review by people that understand corporate finance a lot better than someone who sees a bunch of Beulls on the road and assumes it must be making tons of money.  Companies don't shut down entire divisions because they are making tons of money.  So if you are gonna start a sentence with "Shut Down Buell and You Get" you can also finish the sentence Shut down Buell and you get stock prices currently at 5 times the value of when they shut it down.

Now please let this dead horse be and stop beating him.

Hey, you think the people in Sussex were all pissed of when they bought American made bikes instead of European

GoFur;
Trying as best I can (lame I realize) to motivate HD to give a damn & INNOVATE.
Having the State Police, in a neighboring state go foreign is a major insult. Wish Wandell would chain his engineers to their CAD terminals until they came up with a ride having performance comparable to the BMW. - Coincidentally or maybe not so coincidentally that would be the kind of ride I would buy.
I really want to buy one more American made motorcycle before I check out. - Don't care about the badge.
Wish HD had something that brought younger riders into the show room

Don't get me wrong Savage, I certainly appreciate you loyalty and you desire to ride an American made motorcycle. Harley tried it and for whatever reason it didn't work in their business model. They have done fine bringing in all ages of riders from all walks of life with their core line for lots of years. Not everyone in every industry can do everything. You don't see Ducatti designing a motorcycle to compete with the Ultra Classic to give loyal Ducatti buyers a choice as their style changes.

I'm just saying it was a corporate decision they made for reasons people outside the board will never know and that's it. It's over. Harley has gone back to their core business which has made them a very successful company for many years. And for younger riders... I think there are a fair share of young riders on Harley, but again not every company can address every market and Harley has chosen their target.