Great article. I have a Harley and an Apple. One thing HD does to maintain brand loyalty is to consistently provide free food, and other social gatherings for its "family" as they refer to their customers. They keep you returning too for the fashion wear that is a snobbishness of sort. I refuse to wear Tommy Hilfiger or any of the other trendy brands but I do wear my HD clothes in that it is in some subtle way, rebellious. I did read somewhere though that the extended maintenance by HD is the best one of all the bikes.

As for my Apple, i find it really great to have a dependable reliable computer that does graphics really well. It isn't perfect but is so far out distances itself from Windows with their constant failures that it really is worth the extra price. Although Apple employees do not me by sight as do the HD folks, and I certainly don't drop in for an occasional free lunch, I do like the fact that they will help me with a problem longer than a week after I leave to store.

You would think that in America, with our perrenial love of the automobile, that manufacturers and sellers of the "next, improved" product of our technological necessities and luxuries would realize...

that we want something more than the bare minimum; that we want to identify with our prized possessions; that we express our identity with our ownership; that we want dependability; that we want what WE can easily learn and use; and that we want what makes us smile and gives us occassional joy of ownership.

But I guess the marketers of the "cheapest product" and "best buy", and the experts who tell us what we should want, and the manufacturers of planned obsolescence...just don't understand.

Being an Apple user both at work and home and a motorcyclist I found the article interesting. As you pointed out, although there are historical simularities, Apple has striven to be the techology leader while Harley has chosen 50 yr old technology and nostalgia for an historical period which actually never existed outside of a few B grade Hollywod movies.
I use Apple computers because they have a slick interface that allows me to get my work done with a minimum of hassle. I find Windows to be very buggy, clunky and counter-intuitive. I ride Honda and Yamaha machines for the same reasons I use an Apple, dependability, I need to depend on them to get me to work every day, rain or shine, with a minimum of hassle. I wouldn't trust a Harley to do that without a chase vehicle to pick up the pieces.

Bill, I think you're selling theHarley's short. I've owned Hondas, Suzukis and Kawasakis. They were fine bikes and I loved riding them but once I got my Sportster, I never looked back. I've had my bike since '90 and other than a faulty regulator about ten years ago, I've had no problems. The UJMs seemed to be made for a race track but the Harley seems to be made to ride on real roads. I'm sure you would blast past me if we raced, but when it comes to my daily commute I couldn't ask for a better ride.

I've often thought of similarities between Harley and Apple and I think the key concepts for both are simplicity and elegance. When they combine the two they create products that have a synergy that's difficult to explain to others. Just my 2 cents.

Ironic that you compare Apples to motorcycles, and perhaps the definitive article on the mindset of Mac users also quoted "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance."
That article was written by Del Miller back in 2001 (it's the article I always cite as the one I wish I'd written), but he recently gave me permission to post it here: http://www.hinkles.us/chuckbo/CurrentEvents/tool_using_mammals%20copy.shtml

Dear Ephraim,

Excellent comparison and contrast between the two companies. Glad someone remembers the Lisa; I'd add the Newton and exploding series of laptops to the Apple Black Eye list.

There are as many canals as roads where I live, and I'd add Boston Whaler and Grady White boats to the cult list.

BW itself has also gone through some ownership travails, but has come back strong, while experienced boaters' voices drop when they talk about G-W's legendary toughness.

My boss was a big Harley fan and noted that the factory tour in Pa. was a great experience for the faithful. I'm too chicken to ride a bike, but did go to the Ben and Jerry's factory tours a few weeks ago while in VT.
Best,
GT

Interesting. As noted, both Harley and Apple have managed to give their products a sense of identity for their owners. A PC, be it a desktop or laptop, tends to have (for the average user) a purely utilitarian function, no more than a blender or anonymous subcompact commuter car. A PC is a PC, but every Apple owner views their machine as unique, despite it being a production line creation.

I was a longtime PC user who made the switch to Macs about 5 years ago, and not by choice. It didn't take long for my initial resistance to wear away. Since, I've taken great pride in my Macs, and couldn't imagine going back.

Macs have a certain distinction and elegance that makes them more than a computer. Same with HD--there's tradition and uniqueness built into every one of them. As a user, you feel more like the owner of an expressive, artistic creation than a simple machine.

And perhaps there's the attraction, and the revulsion. How many of us see a Rolls Royce drive down the road and make assumptions about the owner being snobbish, but secretly long for one of our own? I can attest that in my previous, Mac-hating days, my dislike of the brand was rooted in jealousy.

Maybe that's why some people will never own an Apple product. To them, a hammer is a hammer, and a Rolls is just another way of getting from point A to point B. Others see the hammer as an extension of their self, and see the journey as being as important as the destination.

It's the difference between being a tradesman and a craftsman. Passion. As long as Apple, or HD, create and sustain a passionate following, the brands will endure.

Interesting article, but I must pick nits on two points you made: One, Apple's first business machine was the ill-fated and star-crossed Apple III, not the Lisa. Second, from the late '70s to mid '80s, Apple dominated the market in terms of number of apps. I remember going into computer stores back in the early '80s, and looking through the New York-phonebook-sized catalog of Apple II software. By the mid '80s, the tide had turned towards the IBM PC, but not until then.

Great article. I do think Harley is on the right track with their strategy. The recent launch of the latest Buell is very targeted at the Japanese Superbike category. Harley already dominates in the cruiser market (most cruiser owners TEND to have grey hair and leathered faces).

Good comparisons though.

I love Macs, and yes I was one of the early users of the Apple II. I love their user interface and engineering. I've also ridden motorcycles for 35 years including Harley's. While they do have a style that is hard to argue, when it comes to reliability and high tech engineering, I will be riding a BMW. (Belts drive tractors, not motorcycles)

Call me different. I tolerate Windows, my love would be UNIX (though a MAC friend says the MAC is a UNIX box with an Apple GUI). My bike is Italian. They make great motorbikes, some are good touring machines. Can't say the same for their cars.

Choosing a Harley or a Mac does not make one a craftsman nor does choosing a different brand make one a tradesman. That's just the arguement of a snob trying to make himself feel justified over spending more money than he should have. I've been in the computer field since the seventies and I've used them all. I've also owned bikes since the 60's and I've also tried them all. It all boils down to using what you want, not what you think makes you look good in the eyes of the people around you. 99.9% of people are just sheepole, they do what they do based on how it looks to other people. If you were the last person on the face of the earth, what would you drive, ride, etc...? Most people won't answer that question honestly because they can't admit they aren't their own person. I've owned Harleys but I don't ride one now (I do still ride, every day) and I don't own an Apple either and it's not because I can't afford it. It's because I use what I want to use, not what I think makes me look cool to you.

I'm not sure how you could ride a Harley and not feel like just one of the crowd. Everybody and their brother (and sister) have one. I would think that the whole idea would be about being an individual. I'd go for something totally different, and much superiour, like the Triumph Rocket III.

Anyhow, with Apple, I think there is something to be said there, they do have a superior machine and operating system, however, you are at a disadvantage because of the dearth of applications compared (notice I said COMPARED) to the Windows family.

For all their quirks---and yes, the quirks are the things we love, or, at least, learn to defend---Harleys and Macs have one more endearing feature in common: They're easy to use. Although my daily ride is a Japanese sport bike, I admit that I see the appeal in not having to worry about keeping both wheels on the ground. My PC at home makes me glad for the lack of fiddling I have to do on my Mac at work. Some times it's nice to just pull your boots on (or boot up) and go somewhere.