Passionate riders, few buyers

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Nine jets scorch the hot summer air above Airdrie, their brilliant red formation rocketing above the Alberta prairie as the Canadian Snowbirds conduct an air show performance.

But outside an A&W burger joint not far from the airport, few people so much as cast a glance skyward. More precisely, few even hear the shrieking jet engines.

That's because it's a Wednesday night, and Wednesday nights on this piece of asphalt just north of Calgary belong to what anyone here will tell you is the prettiest thing on two wheels.

The fact that the dozens of Harley-Davidson motorcycles parked at the A&W may also be the loudest thing on two wheels concerns precisely no one. Nor does the fact that there is a recession going on. For the riders here, it would take an economic catastrophe far beyond the current malaise to countenance parting ways with their hogs.

"There's a house and a wife to go first," laughs Dan Reid, a former Army Corporal who wears the leathers of the Veterans Canada Motorcycle Club.

But far away, Harley-Davidson Inc. is facing a much different picture: a fight to stave off massive losses.

The Milwaukee-based company reported a 91-per-cent plunge in second-quarter profit earlier this month and announced the layoff of 1,000 workers.

High unemployment and low consumer confidence are the main culprits, said chief executive officer Keith Wandell, because potential bike buyers are cutting back on discretionary purchases.

Mr. Wandell says the big powerful machines fall into the same category as boats and camper trailers, which have also fallen on tough times.

At Harley-Davidson, the new round of job cuts comes on top of about 1,500 cuts it made earlier this year. The company started 2009 with just over 10,000 employees. The layoffs will be accompanied by a cut in production, as the manufacturer will make about 30 per cent fewer vehicles this year than in 2008.

In key U.S. markets, Harley sales are off 35 per cent. The company's woes are less severe in Canada, but there are also signs of weakness here, dealers say. At Steve Drane Harley-Davidson in Victoria, B.C., owner Steve Drane said that by this date in the past two years he was sold out of bikes. "This year, there is more product left on the floor, it's as simple as that," he said.

Over all, in the past 12 months Canadian sales are down 21 per cent from the previous year, Harley-Davidson Canada spokeswoman Alex Carroni said.

Online sales websites like Craigslist and Kijiji are filled with Harleys listed for sale. The brand has long commanded both incredible loyalty and incredible desire - but neither of those factors has been sufficient to sell Dan Ghaney's 2005 Night Train, a black beauty with custom spokes that was first posted in April.

He's already dropped his price by $2,500. It hasn't worked. Even the king of motorbikes just isn't selling the way it used to.

"I've had a number of calls," he says from his home in Calgary. "But nobody's actually come out and looked at it and tried to listen to it or anything."

Harley has spent the last few years courting a fresh breed of newly flush riders - people who haven't fit the conventional image of the brand. Harley shops are stuffed with all manner of apparel - everything from chrome accessories to bandanas and jeans - and it's not uncommon to find someone who has spent as much on accessories as on a bike itself, all in the name of image maintenance.

"When that doctor or lawyer jumps on that Harley, guess what they're wearing: a leather jacket," says Mr. Reid, who has bought, sold, repaired and customized nearly 30 Harleys.

Take Jan and Alison Sorensen, a Calgary IT professional and bank worker, respectively, who bring both their Harleys, complete with HISHD and HERHD licence plates, and their two young daughters to the Airdrie parking lot. Both parents are wearing Harley gear - Jan admits everything he has on is Harley, save socks and underwear - and both are crazy about their bikes. Jan has already bought an OURHD licence plate for the Harley he and his wife plan to buy to tour on.

"I love everything about it. From the clothing to the environment to the people you meet and just the instant friends everywhere you go," he says. "It's not a toy like anything else."

But long-time motorcycle enthusiasts say that after years of successfully courting riders like the Sorensens, Harley finds itself in a difficult position.

"The loyal guys will never fall off the wagon. But as the generations move forward, they are not as loyal," says Marcel Coutu, the president of Canadian Oil Sands Trust. He is an avid rider who owns a stable of bikes too large to count without embarrassment.

Competing product, both from Harley look-alikes and from new styles of adventure touring bikes, may make the hogs less appealing, Mr. Coutu says - and that's not to mention rising insurance rates, which are making motorcycle ownership more costly.

"Harley has such a big market share that it's theirs to lose, and there's not much to gain," he says. "And the motorcycle itself, on a performance basis, is not as good as all its competitors."

Yet even Mr. Coutu admits to being somewhat seduced, after buying his first Harley this year.

"When you ride a Harley you feel a Harley. When you ride a [Honda]Gold Wing, you don't feel anything," he says. "Their [Harleys]engine has a soul. And a lot of Japanese bikes don't have soul."