I brought my girlfriend to the local Harley Davidson dealer last week.  I told her  she would really enjoy the outing, and she did!
I got my first motorcycle 40 years ago when I was 14 years, a Honda 50. I have been a motorcyclist ever since. In those early days a motorcycle dealer was strictly a male only club. No female would have any use for a place like this. I now work in the retail business and I marvel all the time at the business model of Harley Davidson. Only HD has had the sense to take a very limited audience speciality product with a tiny target audience and expand that one image product into an entire lifestyle for the whole family. Honda ran their "You meet the nicest people on a Honda" campaign in the early sixties and saved the motorcycle industry which was slowly dying in the post-war years. The later Japanese idea of expanding market share was to go into snowmobiles, three and four wheelers, generators, personal watercraft and, of course, automobiles.
In the late 1970's Harley was quickly loosing it's last market of Police motorcycle fleet sales to Kawasaki when the plant workers took over the failing company from a disinterested AMF. I remember the images  of President Reagan riding a Harley out of the Milwaukee  factory and making his speech extoling the  virtues of  the  workers  preserving their  jobs  by  becoming  shareholders  in  their  company. That marked the beginning of Harley's return from the brink of extinction that all the other domestic manufactures had already succumbed to. First order of business was to address the quality and reliability problems that had long plagued the company. That was followed by the update of the model line and the new Evolution motor. Harley wisely recognized and capitalized  on their heritage and advantage in the nostalgia market and looked ahead by looking back. Now, Harley's are a modern design that looks like it could have been made 50 years ago.
Having done everything needed to put the company on a good footing for a new millenium the planners finally faced the biggest challenge to the motorcycle industry, how do you do business year round selling motorcycles? Their answer was to go way beyond just selling motorcycles. Now they market an image!
Motorcycles are a small but integral part of Harley Davidson lifestyle. When you drive up to a Harley Davidson dealer you see lots of Orange and Black from a distance. The next things that draws your attention is all the shiny chrome and candy color gas tanks and fenders on the bikes  lining the entryway. Once you enter the store you walk right into Motorcloths! This is where Harley really shows their remarkable marketing insights. Lots of motorcycle companies have long carried helmets, leather jackets, gloves, boots and t-shirts. Harley dealers have that and so much more. There is a whole store within a store prominently displayed which welcomes ever family member into their Harley dealer.  With  a expansive display of jewelry, watches, toys, mens and LADIES as well as kids wear, Harley Davidson reaches out to everyone wanting to show off the Harley Davidson lifestyle even though they may not ever ride a motorcycle.
Before, manufactures carried some form of riding apparel but never dared to venture out into sleepwear, or slippers. Now women who may have a limited interest in riding motorcycles can gladly ride down with their man to the dealership and can always find plenty to interest them rather than sit there bored to tears for hours on end. While men have always wanted to hang out at the local cycle shop, now women can also find a place where they just can't leave without buying something. This has got to be great news for every man out there and a disaster for all the other motorcycle manufacturers. They are all now chasing after Harleys lead but no amount of marketing can ever overcome the brand recognition of the Harley Davidson name! I predict that the new Triumph company will come close with their new iteration of the Bonneville. Back in motorcyclings glory days of the 1960's, the Bonneville and the Sportster were the 2 hottest bikes around but this time around, the Bonneville will never again catch the Sportster.