Harley Davidson was absolutely superb at limiting output in order to keep prices After all, they had no serious competition for what they were hawking -- that "Harley mystique." (LOL!)
Now, you got me going!
DTDT! And got the T-Shirt!
Actually, Harley had
real big serious competition from Japan in the form of large road bikes like the Honda Gold-Wing, etc, that where way better, faster, smoother, safer, and 100 times more reliable then what Harley was trying to foster off on the public at twice the price.
So, Harley ask for, and received an import tax in 1983 on heavy weight imported motorcycles that directly competed with them.
To provide relief, the ITC recommended the following five-year tariff plan for heavyweight motorcycles: Raise the current tariff of 4.4 percent to 49.4 percent and keep it there for a year; lower the rate to 39.4 percent in the second year, to 24.4 percent in the third year, to 19.4 percent in the fourth year, and to 14.4 percent in the fifth year. After the fifth year the tariff is to return to 4.4 percent.
Buy the second or third year?
Most of the Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and other import dealers had been run out of business all over the U.S.A. Due to the huge import tax on new sales of imported big road bikes.
And Harley once again owned the big bike market they could never compete with against the new & much better Japanese big road bikes.
Harley didn't save itself.
A Government imposed 49% excise Tax on their direct competition did!
Once that was done, you are right.
They then severally limited production output, so new Harley's cost 50%-75% over SMRP, and you had to get on a year-long+ waiting list to get one you wanted.
And used ones sold for almost as much as new ones did for years after.
No mistaking the 'Mystique' plays very heavily on sales today.
But Harley would have been out of business by 1985 or so without the government bail-out and near 50% excise tax on the direct competition to protect them.
rc
