Originally Posted by dyna mo

i wasn't disagreeing with you, merely sorting out something i used to wonder about.

but i do disagree that BMWs aren't status symbols due to prestige of the brand identity and price. rolex riders stroll into a BMW shop just like the do a h-d shop and go straight to the accessories department. BMW is a second in merchandising, right behind harley.

i was recollecting the year(s) of the harley tariff by summarizing it as in 1986. my point was it increased the cost of harleys by 50%. going along with what your view was, that in the 1980s, harley had an uptick in reliability, they also had a very large price increase, i was suggesting that both combined to create the rolex rider.