[Kent]

With the Volkswagen debacle, Ducati is on the block (for sale). Harley Davidson the the company most likely to buy Ducati and it could happen very soon - a 1.5B Euro deal.

Anyone heard the latest on this impending deal? Any thoughts on what it'll mean?

Hope it doesn't result it replacing nice CNC machined Ducati parts with cheap, stamped out steel parts resulting in a 500 pound Scrambler.

Harley is famous for having affordable bikes that look good (depending on your taste) and are very reliable, but they are low on HP and weigh a ton.

 

[dkaplun]

Upside...the accessories market for the scrambler with triple overnight...

...and likely triple in price.


In all seriousness the industry skuttlebutt is that HD realizes that their core population of loyalists is dying out. Millenials are not really buying their entry level motorcycles such as their uneven Street bikes or Sportsters. On the other hand the Scrambler sub-brand to Ducati has been a homerun (not speaking to a friendly crowd here, the sales figures are higher than expected and more newer riders are entering the Ducati brand). In that sense the match makes sense.

Another point to consider--both Ducati and HD have a very strong loyalist brand following, and arguably both sell at least part of their bikes on nostalgia. The Scrambler itself is a very nostalgia inducing bike.

Harley is not really known in the US for reliability, they are jokingly referred to as a marketing company that happens to sell bikes, and arguably Ducati is a company that sells bikes so it can go racing. The HD racing heritage is mostly forgotten but does exist. Plus, HD is known for meddling and ruining past brands or simply shuttering them outright (Buell, MV Agusta, Aeremachi, even Armstrong). That is worrying. But we shall see.

 

[Kent]

Upside...the accessories market for the scrambler with triple overnight...

...and likely triple in price.


In all seriousness the industry skuttlebutt is that HD realizes that their core population of loyalists is dying out. Millenials are not really buying their entry level motorcycles such as their uneven Street bikes or Sportsters. On the other hand the Scrambler sub-brand to Ducati has been a homerun (not speaking to a friendly crowd here, the sales figures are higher than expected and more newer riders are entering the Ducati brand). In that sense the match makes sense.

Another point to consider--both Ducati and HD have a very strong loyalist brand following, and arguably both sell at least part of their bikes on nostalgia. The Scrambler itself is a very nostalgia inducing bike.

Harley is not really known in the US for reliability, they are jokingly referred to as a marketing company that happens to sell bikes, and arguably Ducati is a company that sells bikes so it can go racing. The HD racing heritage is mostly forgotten but does exist. Plus, HD is known for meddling and ruining past brands or simply shuttering them outright (Buell, MV Agusta, Aeremachi, even Armstrong). That is worrying. But we shall see.

I had a really nice Sportster before I bought my FTP (pic attached). I spent a small fortune doing a full Storz conversion, and managed to get the weight under 600 pounds. It had the best suspension available for a Sportster (cerianni forks, YSS shocks) and handled way better than the stock Sportster I started with. But when I got the Scrambler, I thought I'd died and went to heaven!!

 

[dkaplun]

I had a really nice Sportster before I bought my FTP (pic attached). I spent a small fortune doing a full Storz conversion, and managed to get the weight under 600 pounds. It had the best suspension available for a Sportster (cerianni forks, YSS shocks) and handled way better than the stock Sportster I started with. But when I got the Scrambler, I thought I'd died and went to heaven!!
View attachment 20089

Exactly the point. While the scrambler has a terrible suspension out of the box, compared to the entry level Sportster or Street (which was plagued the first year with brakes that would not brake...), it is still far better. But, friend, you are a bit of an outlier; most 'true' Harley riders in the US would not let their friends or themselves ever think or ride anything that isn't Harley. And worse, when Harley had the Buell as their entry level brand, they shuttered it when more people began to be interested in those bikes and HD thought it was cutting into their sales of their core brand. Arguably Scrambler is the Ducati entry level brand, but so far Ducati is supporting and marketing it very well. In HD's hands, who knows...

 

[Deano968]

They could make a push-rod V-twin fit and just clag a HD badge to the tank?

 

[dkaplun]

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