[CAUT] My take on them, (was The "new" S&S Hammers). John

[Richard Brekne]

Hi John..

You make a good point here... one usually brought up with souped up cars 
instead of bikes... but just so.  The only problem with this reasoning 
is that no one customizing a Harley would even dream of pass it off as a 
stock Harley to begin with.  The custom design features are so obvious 
to begin with they hardly need marking... but often enough...especially 
in the case of hot rod cars... all manner of markings are installed to 
take credit for this that or the other.  And of course... why should 
Harley care about the kind of custom work you refer to.

I am sure it would be a different matter entirely tho if someone started 
importing all manner of counterfeit parts from some low quality importer 
and rebuilding worn out Harley's only to pass them off as nearly new 
authentic HD's.... especially if it started impacting either Harleys 
reputation or economics.

We actually do have a loose parallel in the piano business with Yamahas 
disclaimers relevant to grey market instruments.

Still.. you eloquently illustrate that the issue is not as straight 
forward as it may seem sometimes.

Cheers
RicB



    Sorry, but not exactly...........   Interesting discussion though. You
    almost have to wonder who might be listening in.
    Metaphors always break down, it's their nature, but that's a tough
    one.  
    There are plenty of luxury products out there with a significant side
    business in high profile custom work.  Nothing wrong with a stock
    Harley, but most people think a custom model is better and it's worth
    more money.  A lot more money.   Imagine HD trying to stake claim that
    these bikes are not  Harleys anymore.  More interesting, who would
    really care?  Marketing is powerful stuff. These are expensive luxury
    products the customer bought out of some passion for what they do or
    what they represent.  They are not medications for our health and
    safety.  Granted some customers buy purely as an investment with no
    intention to use them,  but that is ok too.  They are rarely the
    sort of
    customer to request any custom work.  Can custom work go too far?  Yes-
    I think maybe it can, but that is personal. For one person changing the
    soundboard is reason enough to remove the decals.  To another changing
    key ratios might be going to far.  To another, stock parts are the only
    way to go.  Kind of hard to regulate, but I think you can see where
    that
    is going.

    There is a lot to think about here, but there simply isn't going to be
    agreement across the board. I would hate for anyone to think that any
    decision I made regarding service to a piano was out of pride.  
    ouch.....  We learn early on in this business that it's not about
    us. We
    learn to love the low profile but take the responsibility, and not even
    look for mention in the credits.

    thanks,

    Dennis Johnson