(Reuters) -Harley-Davidson reported a 23% rise in quarterly profit on Thursday, as demand held up for its pricier bikes during the summer riding season against the backdrop of higher interest rates and inflationary pressures.

Shares of the company were up about 5% in premarket trading.

Harley-Davidson has focused on its more lucrative bike models to pad its margins and has benefited from the pent-up demand from riders waiting to trade into its newly launched 2024 Touring models.

"Despite a challenging market, we are pleased with our second-quarter performance, in which we grew our U.S. market share in a declining market, with notable unit growth of more than 11% in the important core category of Touring," said Chief Executive Jochen Zeitz said.

The company's sales from motorcycles and related products rose about 13% to $1.35 billion in the second quarter.

Net profit rose to $218 million, or $1.63 per share, from $178 million, or $1.22 per share, a year earlier.

  Let’s see how things settle out when this new ‘format’ becomes common knowledge:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/article-13664699/Harley-Davidson-American-DEI-backlash-Pride-children.html

   The Bud Light fiasco left Budweiser in financial turmoil to this day, and John Deere has had to do a quick double step backwards in their new WOKE brain disease format. Will HD ostracize their customer base with the same crap, we shall see.

Why any corporation sticks their toes into this kind of thing is beyond me. Especially brands whose customer base is well known to be mostly male, or mostly older, mostly conservative or mostly whatever. Why risk alienating any of your existing customers in an attempt to lure in a tiny group of new ones by pandering to them?

I would guess about 75% of the bikes I see on the highway are Harleys. 

A friend from Vancouver Island was down in the states recently.  His group were riding a V-Strom 1000, his Triumph Triple, and the youngest one has a Kawasaki KLR.  He told me among the bikes he saw on their two week trip, nearly 100% were Harleys.  Makes you wonder WHY the Corporation is having any financial problems.  Too much Corporate raiding of the coffers to appease the shareholders perhaps?

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/29/business/bud-light-boycott-ab-inbev-sales/index.html


https://www.thestreet.com/retail/john-deere-harsh-move-face-scrutiny


https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsegal/2024/07/13/lessons-from-tractor-supplys-sudden-reversal-on-its-commitment-to-dei/


https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/victorias-secret-lingerie-sexy-image-b2432374.html

  More on the backlash of demonic WOKE push:

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/us-tech-giant-yanks-paris-olympics-ads-after-last-supper-opening-ceremony-controversy-101722144719699.html

It was a tame response.  Think of what would have happened if they had mocked the Muslim religion.

Science invites criticism. Religion, not so much..

  If they'd done that with Muhammed in the same perverted manner, Paris would literally be burning. But there we have the big difference. No fires, no stabbings, no backpack bombs. Just people turning off the Olympics, and walking with their advertising dollars.

   And now, a major pushback from Paris Olympics athletes themselves, to drop WOKE theme. Really can't make this stuff up, how F@#*@ing stupid the French, and leftist WOKE organizers are. I honestly hope France loses billions.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-13689121/Olympic-Games-ditch-woke-approach.html

   More on Harley Davidson, on the ground today, at Sturgis Rally 2024. Fully explained:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW34lg-XEz8

   And more on HD from financial analysts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPIHV6xRuqs

  The latest from August 14, 2024, the Harley melt down, and smart pre-emptive moves by Indian, and other bike brands to avoid the stupidity of Harley's CEO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbSuL2wAxIc

Diversity and inclusion is communist gobblygook?  This is good journalism?

   IMO, yes.  BTW, in 2024, modern journalism and media in general, is rife with bias, and narrative. Long gone are the days of Walter Cronkite.

  Gobblygook? I haven't been able to get an explanation on that word.

  Tell me your thoughts on a filling a job requiring certain skills, but,,,,,with DEI, that job is filled with, not the best skilled applicant,  but the applicant with the most "diverse genetic makeup with minority diversity the goal, and sexually diverse disclosure pronunciation" ??
  Regardless of how a person 'feels' about DEI in our modern society, now firmly entranced in socialist public sector government hiring practices, police forces, fire fighter, and military, bringing forth DEI into a private company with a very evident 'old school' conservative customer base, such as Budweiser, John Deere, Tractor Supply, and now, Harley Davidson, this is a recipe for financial harm.  Ask Budweiser how they feel, a full year after their advertising debacle, their #1 beer in sales for 26 years, Bud Light, now permanently forever #3.

Over my career I worked in a lot of workplaces and managed hundreds of people at times.  I recognized the value of diversity in making good decisions at all levels.  If governments hadn't enacted human rights legislation we would still be stuck in the 60's where the boss's son got the job because he was the boss's son.  I've seen what that kind of thinking does to an organization.  No thanks.  Don't want that again.

  Harley Davidson officially backtracks on its DEI push from massive pushback from customer base.


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13759141/harley-davidson-changes-woke-dei-policies-targeted-robby-starbuck.html

  After listening to Nico at Sunday coffee, on his crazy stupid idiotic experiences with notable huge HD dealer locally, during his purchase of near new ( and super cool looking ) HD , having to deal with nose ring’d, purple haired kwack through head shaking incompetence on very basic factory OEM option upgrades.