As it ramped up production, premiums on many models disappeared. Chief Executive Officer James L. Ziemer says Harley wants to “narrow the gap” between supply and demand in order to curb the long-standing—but fast-diminishing—practice of selling bikes at a premium.22 The V-Rod’s $17,000 price tag has also failed to win younger buyers.23
To that end, Harley has poured money into developing new, youth-oriented models. The V-Rod—a low-slung, high-powered number known formally as a sport performance vehicle and colloquially as a crotch rocket—was meant for hard-charging youths. Harley has also tried to go young with the Buell Firebolt ($10,000), its answer to Japanese sport bikes, and the Buell Blast ($4,400), a starter motorcycle.