Let's talk...

Hello MotoReaders!

Hey folks, I want to apologize for my absense lately- when I realized that it had been almost two months since my last post, I knew I had to write something and write it quick. Not to make any excuses, but as many of you know, writing this blog and writing the occasional piece for H-D Forums, does not pay my bills. Actually, if anything, the few bucks a year that I do happen to make from writing slideshows for the forums just barely offsets my cost to maintain this blog site. But, my point is that I have a 40+ hour a week "regular" job that demands the majority of my time and lately, it has been very demanding. 

Let's be clear on something- I don't want your money.

It seems like everything we encounter these days is just a ploy to get into our wallets. It aggravates me to no end that I can't even answer my phone without having some jackass on the other end trying to sell me something or steal my info so that they can drain what little I have in my bank account. Just getting on the internet for five minutes exposes us to a constant barrage of advertising and click bait. Seriously, how many times have you seen this picture with the caption "20 unbelievable vintage photos - number 19 will blow you away!" You click the link to see who the chick is and it's a slideshow with so many ads on each page that it takes a half hour to get through the whole damn article, only to find that they never even showed the picture of the girl, much less identified her! Honestly, it's enough to drive you insane. Truth be known, that's why I don't write more than I do for H-D Forums- the only assignments I get from them are slideshows. By the way- the picture of the girl is, from the very brief research I've done, taken from a postcard from the Phillipines from the 19th Century.... there ya go, no need to click on that one ever again. 

You may be wondering, then, if I don't want your money, why do I have a Patreon site? Simple- why not? Look, truth be known, I've seen a lot of folks making YouTube videos, writing blogs and making a living off of their content. When Google first sent me the email telling me that my blog was "eligible for Adsense"... I got a little caught up in the moment and signed up for it. I figured, what the hell, I can let a few advertisers put some ads on my page... my readers can decide if they want to click or not. Before my site had generated enough for me to actually get a check though- Google closed my account. That little setback frustrated me, but in my aggravation, I had an epiphany- my readers don't come to my blog so that they can get bombarded with ads about gross hygeine products, computer virus software or rain gutters- they come here to read about motorcycles, life and finding happiness in the simple things. 

I signed up for Patreon so that if someone likes my site enough that they want to help me keep it up and running, they can have a safe way to do it that is legal, easy and most of all- OPTIONAL. Look, I can't stand watching a YouTube video and having to sit through 5 minutes of commercials... if I wanted to see frickin' commercials- I'd watch television! So, as long as I can do it, my content will always remain ad-free and it won't cost you anything to enjoy. But, if you want to help me keep it going, I'll try to do my part to give you a little something as a thank you for your support. I started this blog site so that I could write about the things I wanted to write about, without being dictated by someone holding a paycheck over my head.

So, where've I been lately? 

I've been busy at my regular job and, when I get home, I've been riding as much as I possibly can. With the Autumn weather slowly moving in, as soon as I get home from work, I get on the bike to get a few miles of mototherapy before dinner. With my current schedule, I don't get to ride as much as I used to, so I try to get in the wind every chance I get. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you may have seen that I've posted a couple of short Reels to let you know I'm still here. On top of work stuff keeping me occupied, I've also had a lot of family stuff going on lately that has really been weighing heavy on my heart and that, of course, has zapped my creativity. I started writing my first installment of "Tales from the Asphalt" a while back and then just lost all interest in finishing it. I'm still not sure if I'm going to, after all, my "Bike of the Month" feature fell flat on it's face after just a few months, so my "feature" ideas are just sort of simmering on the back burner for now.

 

And what about the swag?

This is one idea that I had
(please don't steal it)

This is another one
 (again, please don't steal it)

You may be wondering, what ever happened to the swag that I was having made? Well, I'm still working on that. I was talking to some friends about having some shirts and some decals made up from a couple of designs that I came up with, but it just didn't work out (for a few different reasons). I decided to pump the brakes on that stuff for now and re-focus on establishing some semblance of a real logo, not just some crap that I sketched out on a notebook on my lunchbreak one day. After all, if I'm going to do this, I want to do it right. My niece is a talented graphic designer and I'm enlisting her help in coming up with something fun and cool for me. I suppose that we'll just have to see what happens after that. Currently, everything that I've done as "the MotoWriter" has cost me money, so it's tough to justify making another investment into t-shirts, decals, pins or patches. T-shirts are especially tricky, because I'll have to order a bunch, in a variety of sizes, for anyone that might actually want one. If I do get any "patrons" to my Patreon site, maybe I can offset some of the cost with that. If not, the swag idea may end up falling to the wayside like my other ideas have. I really hope not, though... because I like to look at the "stats" of my website to see where everyone is visiting from and it's pretty damn cool to see that there are readers from, literally, all over the world that are visiting my little corner of the world wide web and I'd love to be able to send y'all a little something to wear while you're out riding or to stick on your helmets, windows or back fenders of your bikes. 

Thanks for your continued support, even though I don’t show you any boobs.

To be completely honest, I have never really considered myself a "writer," not by any means. I'm an overthinker and, for lack of better terminology- "an observer of the world". As I see different things, have different interactions with people or have new experiences, I get ideas- ideas for stories, advice or insights and, I just seem to have a knack for articulating those ideas into the written word. Ironically, my half-ass ability to manipulate the English language into something, even slightly, interesting to read has been revealed to me at a time when videos and pictures reign supreme and words are nearly dead. I suppose if I started each one of my YouTube videos (which are few) with a short video intro of a girl with big boobs about to lose her modesty on camera, I’d have a much more popular channel. I saw a video in the last month or so, about some kind of motorcycle upgrade and it was so gratuitously sexualized that I had to turn it off. Look, I’m not a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but come on, is your motorcycle content really so crappy that you have to turn it into soft-core porn in order to get people to watch? Well, actually, disregard that question because the video of the well-endowed woman that didn’t seem to know the difference between a box-end and a crescent wrench that was fumbling around a motorcycle, had tens of thousands of views compared to my best performing video, so I suppose the joke’s on me. Sex sells, but modesty and morality will get you into heaven, and I’ll take the latter because it lasts longer. 

Look, I know that I may have missed my “ideal time” to explore this idea of being a writer, but it’s pretty encouraging to see all of you clicking over to my site to see what I have to say, and doing it without the promise of seeing some skin. That tells me that you guys are more than just the conditioned sheep that are led by photographic pheromones, but you are true intellectual motorcycle enthusiasts. In other words- you are my people and I’m proud to be your writer. I've always believed that the motorcycle community is vast, supportive and universal and you, my readers, prove that to me every time that I log in to my computer and I see that you’re still there, even when I haven’t been.

I really appreciate all of the support and site visits, more than you can know. It's honestly a little overwhelming for me to look and see that the MotoWriter site has had over 22 thousand site visits in just over a year of being active on the interweb, and that it has reached countries big and small, literally, all across the globe. I’m a very humble person, by nature… I always have been, so when I see so much interest in my words and commentaries, it’s a little bit shocking. So, thank you. Thank you for taking the time, your time, to read my blog and thank you for checking in. I’ll try to do a better job of keeping new stuff coming, and coming more frequently. 

Till next time, ride safe and make good choices!

An Open Letter To Harley-Davidson Executives

An Open Letter To Harley-Davidson CEO Jochen Zeitz And The Rest Of The Milwaukee, USA Executives

As a blue collar, working class customer that has spent well over $100,000 on your motorcycles and products... I humbly request your attention for a moment.

Dearest CEO Zeitz and all of your fellow purveyors of Milwaukee's finest Steel Horses,

I hope this letter finds you well- happy, healthy, stress and COVID free. I am writing this "open letter" to you on my blog because, well... simply put, I'm sure that you get more mail and letters than you can possibly keep up with and I have no doubt that you likely don't have enough time in your busy days to read any of them. I also have a few readers of this blog and I'd like to think that I can speak for them, when I say that we need to talk. I'm writing this letter "openly" so that I can share it with my readers, as well. 

Now, I don't honestly expect my simple little blog, being written down here in South Mississippi, to be read by any of the powerful executives in the ivory towers of the Motor Company of Milwaukee, but as I've said before- nothing will happen if nothing is done, or in this case- if nothing is said, so I have to at least try.

First of all, let me begin by saying that this is NOT a letter of dispute or animosity, but rather, an honest, working class evaluation of your products, marketing and business practices. 

Motorcycles are a major part of our lives. We ride them, some of us race them, many of us wrench on them and some of us even customize and build them. Some of us can afford to buy new ones, others can only afford to buy used ones, but we all find our own ways to get out on two wheels. For many of us, our ultimate goal in motorcycle ownership is becoming the proud owner of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. 

A little over ten years ago, I bought my first Harley-Davidson motorcycle- a brand new 2009 Road King Classic. I traded in my 2006 Yamaha Stratoliner "Midnight" in January of '09 and rode home on what seemed like one of the coldest nights of the year. The Stratoliner was the first brand-new motorcycle that I had ever bought- the Road King was the second. As the years went by, I began to have some minor electrical gremlins in my Road King- the speedometer and cruise control would sometimes stop working and the "check engine" light would randomly come on. I brought it to the dealer a couple of times, but they could never seem to find the issue. It didn't matter, not really. I racked up around 35k miles on it in over the next few years until I happened to walk into the dealership one day in 2013 and found myself ogling the new bikes. You can probably imagine where the story goes from there. I ended up trading in one bike for another over the next 4 years, starting with a brand new, 2013 Road Glide Custom. I moved on to a 2012 Wide Glide, then finally settled in on a 2011 Road King Classic. I truly believed that I would keep the '11 Road King until the wheels fell off. Unfortunately, I got on my trusty Road King one morning and noticed that the rear brake pedal was locked in place. As it turns out, the ABS system was failing, apparently due to moisture in the system. The year was 2017 and the month was July. I had already seen the new Milwaukee 8 and test ridden a new Road King Special, so when I got the brake diagnosis... it was a pretty easy decision to make- trade in the '11 and ride home on the '17. 

Needless to say, I've spent quite a lot of money on Harley-Davidson motorcycles, as well as parts, accessories, clothing and other products, in the past 11-ish years. Even though I've dealt with some mechanical issues, I've stayed loyal to the brand. Not because I have some unhealthy or unreasonable obsession, but because I like your motorcycles and I want to support an American company that has been able to stay afloat since the early 1900's. That being said, I think it's extremely important for you all to remember that, much like many of your customers, I am a blue collar, working class American. I don't make a lot of money, so I prioritize my spending on the things that I enjoy the most- one of those being riding my motorcycles.  

An honest review

When I bought my 2017 Road King Special, I had come to terms with my motorcycle addiction and settled in on the, very real, possibility that I could end up trading it in on another bike within a year or three. I came close a couple of times, but the sheer beauty of the bike (and power from the 107 M-8) has kept it safely parked in my garage for the past three years. If any of you are actually reading this, then I would encourage you to click here and check out the video review that I did on my beloved 2017 FLHRXS. I wont get into all the details in this post, but I will just tell you that I have some complaints about some of the quality and craftsmanship issues with this bike.

Make no mistake about it, I'm not about to run down to the Indian Dealership to trade it in (although those Dark Horse Springfields do look pretty badass and that new Challenger is quite intriguing), but I paid a premium price for, what I thought was supposed to be, a premium product and that's where you guys failed me. Harley-Davidson motorcycles have long been known for their quality fits and finishes (at least since the buyback) and every one that I've had before this one hasn't let me down. In my relatively short time riding this gorgeous scooter, I've seen trim parts fall off, painted parts rust through the finish and other parts oxidizing or rusting. I know what you're thinking- I keep it outside, right? Wrong. This bike (along with all of my other ones) rests safely in an enclosed garage every night. While I'm not a fair weather rider, I do try my best to avoid riding in the rain and I do a better than average job of keeping it clean. The bottom line is, somewhere along the way, someone in the MoCo started authorizing corners being cut and the people that suffer the consequences are blue-collar working folks like me. 

Seize the opportunity to improve

You have a unique opportunity at your feet right now. With the global pandemic threatening the very way Americans (as well as bikers from across the world) ride our motorcycles, you have a chance to set things right. Want to know what riders want? Just ask us, I promise we'll tell you and we won't hold back. Fly me to Wisconsin for a week and I'll give you some ideas that will increase sales, reach more customers and improve customer satisfaction... and I'll even let you take all the credit for them... more or less. 

One thing we'd like to see- better quality and more attainable bikes. I know what you're thinking- "we can offer 84 month financing to make the $25k motorcycle more attainable", but I'll stop you right there. You're not going to be able to sell too many people on the idea of financing a toy for the same amount of time it takes for their kid to go from kindergarten to junior high- it's just not reasonable. Why does a Road Glide Special cost nearly $30,000? Why does an 883 Sportster need to cost almost 10 grand? I know why... because somewhere along the line, somebody heard the term "diversify" and went nuts, making tons of T-shirts, jackets, pants, belts, wallets, watches, hats, etc, etc, etc... and that's just the apparel side of the house. The diversification of the company's products extended into motorcycles and motorcycle parts, too. I mean seriously... how much sense does it make to kill off the entire Dyna line, a line of bikes that had (and still has) a cult following, to save money... just to replace it with a whole new line of bikes that were an absolute failure (I'm looking squarely at the Street line of bikes). I would love to see a Milwaukee 8 powered Wide Glide or Super Glide, but no... someone in a corner office in Milwaukee made the failed assumption that H-D fans are too stupid to realize that the new Softail Standard and the Softail Street Bob are the same bike.

Let's look at this reasonably- Harley-Davidson motorcycles has the largest aftermarket of any brand... do you really need to have your hands in the pockets of the aftermarket companies? You sell the bikes, those companies make them better. If I want to replace the shitty stock grips on my Road King (and I do), I can spend around $60 for a nice set of premium Avon grips, or I can spend $150 for a set of similar grips that say "Harley-Davidson" on them. You guys spend more money trying to flood the market with your own parts, just trying to steal a few extra bucks away from companies like Kuryakyn, Avon, K&N, Vance & Hines, etc, when you could have spent that money maintaining the quality of your bikes, or even lowering the price a bit, instead. 

Instead of screen printing a half a million T-shirts every year that you are just going to stuff in your dealerships with $30 price tags, or re-branding $180 HJC helmets with the H-D logo and trying to sell them for $350 (yeah, we know you guys don't make your own helmets), why not save that dough, reinvest it back into the company and drop the prices on these bikes by a few thousand bucks, instead? I may be a simple nobody from South Mississippi here, but I can tell you that it makes a helluva lot more sense to sell 100 motorcycles for $20k each, than it does to sell 50 at $25k each. Not only would you make more money, but you'd also get your product out there to more people, thereby increasing (and improving) your brand recognition which would increase customer demand for your bikes. More bikes on the road means an increase in maintenance services and more sales of maintenance parts. Hell, you'd probably even sell significantly more motorcycles when folks realize that they can more easily justify the cost of them. If you think that keeping prices extra high to promote the "premium brand idea" is the wisest choice to make- let me remind you of how that worked out for the Stellican Ltd. Indians. They were beautiful, expensive failures because only the uber rich could afford to buy them. 

Look, I could go on and on, but then we might not have much to talk about in the Harley-Davidson Headquarters' board room after we negotiate the terms of my consulting fee (I'm more affordable than you might think). The bottom line is that I, along with millions of other avid motorcyclists, love the Milwaukee Motor Company and we love our bikes. We just want to see future generations be able to buy and ride them, too. 

It would be a damned shame to see the legacy of William Harley and Arthur, Walter and William Davidson, wither and die because of a few too many bad decisions made by those men and women who were entrusted to keep the company alive. 

I'll be waiting to hear back from you on when to expect my flight and hotel reservations to come through, but in the meantime- be safe, make good choices and enjoy the holidays.

Sincerely, 

J.D. aka, the MotoWriter