i have 2 buddies I used to ride with in Alberta on a regular basis. We all were in our 50s to 60s and rode cruisers. Myself? A Victory Magnum....many would say (including Harley owners) one of the best built bikes in modern times. Another buddy rode a variety of older used cruisers, whatever struck his fancy but tended to be japanese for reliability I think...Suzuki, Yamaha type stuff. The last guy is a 2x Harley new Harley owner now, rode a Victory before those. Why did he buy a Harley? He had the coin (I always felt they were too expensive and too much of a target for thieves so never did go there) and the whole "image" of a Harley especially for 35 plus males.. a sign of success, a dip into the rebel pool that's safer than some other pursuits. Now my buddy will say its that and the Harley owner "cult"...he all of a sudden started riding with a Red Deer Harley dealership sponsored weekend group...and honestly..made him kind of a dick. I saw changes in his attitude toward other bike owners. Very weird and disturbing that what bike you ride can change the personality for the worse of a man in his 60s. Shortly after he bought his new Harley we compared notes on my Vic and his Harley. He agreed...Harley more expensive, harder to maintain, not as reliable..But its that Harley name..and that nameplate is the barrier Victory tried to break through and failed at. So Polaris which owned Victory took that tech, killed the Victory that never achieved the "pedigree" of Harley and bought Indian and put the Vic tech, especially the very good Freedom engine, into it trying to go after Harley that way. They have had some success with it, more than they had with Victory, but I thought it was a stupid move. Harley has a declining market share...less and less cruiser riders available, more and more of a limited client base to buy those bikes....and every decade that goes by..Harley's name becomes less relevant. Of course they are trying to appeal now to a younger clientele (late) and trying to create an electric bike success (but a huge part of Harley's success is that loping engine sound). Anyways, in the end it's about the name, the sound and a perception that if you ride a Harley, you are a success in life.
