The average Harley Davidson rider puts only 1,150 miles per year on their bike - you believe that?

Question

I met someone that used to work as a marketing consultant for Harley. He said that in the study he was commissioned to do for HD, they found out after doing a pretty intensive survey, that the average Harley owner puts only 1,150 miles per year on their bikes. I didn't believe him, but he said that for every new Harley owner that puts 10k miles a year on their bike, there's 8 new owners that put about 600 miles a year. Simply put, a ton of people buy them, and never ride them. I still have a hard time believing it, what do y'all think?

Answer 1

That seems about right to me - Ride a Honda - "Wear" a Harley. The vast majority of Harley owners don't know much about motorcycles (or they wouldn't have bought one to begin with) They are lawyers and doctors that like to play dress up - I call them "halloweiners" They put on full leathers and drive 10 miles to "bike night" at the local bar. Occasionally they will ride in a poker run. They are also restricted to how far from home they can go because they are always breaking down. We ride pretty much year round out here in California - my GL1200 Goldwing just passed 117,000 miles. Mean time to overhaul for my engine is rated at 250,000 miles - so I still have lots of miles left on it to enjoy. I've owned it for 5 years and it had 80,000 on it when I bought it - so I've been averaging 7K a year plus. My main expense is tires. All I have had to do to is this year is new brake pads and a oil change. I wouldn't think twice about planning a 2,000 mile round trrip.

Answer 2

Spot on! 1,150 miles seems right. Lets do the math. Say average 5 miles between any bar. At each bar you have 2 drinks. You can ride after 10 drinks (or walk for that matter). That is 50 mile round trip, or something like that. Now you can do two a week Friday and Saturday, that makes a 100 miles a week. Winter, rain ect cuts in to riding time but that is 11 weekends a year. Totally believable.

Answer 3

I always figured the number was closer to 2,000, but I guess I gave all those leather wearing homogenous individuality types too much credit. I've also read that a good % of people that buy Harleys buy them as their first bike. And then they go about spouting how Harley is the best thing ever. All while riding 600 miles a year and having never really ridden any other brand. Just more proof that ignorance is bliss.

Answer 4

I would think he's correct. For the most part, motorcycle riding is seasonal. Most people that can afford a Harley have job's and family. A 50 mile trip on the weekend is a good ride for a working/family man so to speak.
On the other hand, a hard core biker that rides an older Harley probably spends more time working on his bike that riding it.
There's an old saying that goes with the hard core Harley rider planning trip. He must find at least one biker with a Jap bike to travel with the other Harley's so they have at least one reliable cycle that can chase parts for the rest.

Answer 5

Most riders RIDE. They enjoy just being on the open road regardless of what type of bike they ride. I know guys and gals who have Jap cruisers that let them sit or trailer them and do the POSER rides as well as H-D owners. The survey should have been average H-D owners not riders because the Riders do put the miles on its in our BLOOD!! Unfortunately as the story says for every 10K plus rider there are 8 that are just owners who dont ride except to the bar as others have said here. So my point is if ya are gonna ride then get out and RIDE and dont worry about the posers who dont. They dont have any idea what they are missing.

Answer 6

Sounds believeable to me - thats about 6 trips for the bike total, being pushed into the back of a truck and trailered to a ride location, then actually ridden, and only back and forth to a local bar, then back into the truck for the ride home. So yeah, 1150 miles sounds about right.

I do 1300 a month - and thats is I ONLY commute. If I go pleasure riding, I can add about 400 more miles to that in a month.

Answer 7

It is true. Many people buy their Harley as a status. Naturally to feel as if they are bikers they put on loud pipes spend a mint on their fake tattoos and biker costumes. Isn't the reason to ride to be free and independent, but dress, look and act like everyone else?

I've gone to rallies just to see people trailer their bikes in, cruse main street, park just to be seen and not put on 10 miles the whole weekend. Many don't want to get their gem dirty, scuff their leather or sweat off the fake tat's.

$20,000, leathers and 20 miles don't make you a biker.

But then again, a Harley and Loud Pipes...it's all about ego.

Answer 8

Oh, I find that completely credible. Riding on I-95 near my hometown, I see plenty of trailer queens and pickup daddies - bikes that still have the little nubbies on the tires. It's hard to put the miles on when you haul your bike everywhere.
It also explains why so many Harleys require inordinate amounts of shop-time ... bikes that are not ridden have a lot of problems - metal parts that seize or corrode because they don't get run often enough, lubricants that sludge up from age, bolts that loosen just from the daily temperature variations in the garages where they live.
Sure, there are the Harley guys out there who do 15-20K a year. But for every one of them, there's some doctor/lawyer/injun chief who bought a bike on a whim, and keeps it in his garage to smile at every month or so.
So year, I believe it implicitly. It gibes nicely with my own observations.
Cheers.

Answer 9

Completely believable. Lots of middle aged, first time riders buy Harley as a status symbol .
I'm amused by the guys who ride to the "biker bar and grill", then spend the afternoon playing the motorcycle ride arcade game.

I also know someone who rode an old RoadKing from Oralndo to South Texas in under 23 hours. He'd never heard of the Ironbutt Assoc.

Answer 10

Sure, why not? This could very well be true for any type of bike, not just harleys.

I've never actually calcuated my mileage per year, but that may not be far off for me.

Some reasons why include that it's not practical (for me) to ride to work. I'd have to deal with helmet hair and toting around work clothes to change into. I don't always feel like riding after work because I may be pooped. Which only leaves weekends, and there I have to fit rides in between household stuff.

And of course I'm in Wisconsin so the riding season is short. Sure, I could buy all kinds of heated clothing and accessories, but what for? Brrr.....

Damn! My life sucks.