The whole scene is interesting. That is, there is a symbiotic and cultural relationship between HD riders who refuse to ride fast, and HD, the company, which refuses to build a bike that corners well.
Back in '71, when I was looking at buying my first new bike, I came close to buying a Sportster instead of my Commando. Sportsters mid-range snap was awesome; the magazines usually found them quickest in the 1/4. That fact forced Norton to compromise top speed and highway comfort with 19 tooth countershaft sprockets.
All HD had to do was fix the ground clearance issues of dragging pipes/primary, go to a double leading shoe brake, and put tires capable of turning a corner on them. The XRs proved it possible. With those simple fixes, Sportsters would have run with the bikes of the Brit invasion and HD might have a different image and product line today.
Somehow, the fools running AMF wouldn't drop a few bucks on that project, their core customers didn't seem to demand it, and the rest is history.
A guy I know just bought a new hog, paid north of $40K. He had maybe $50K in his old one, got $15K on the trade in. He can afford it, he's happy to pay for the image and self identification factors.
As a study in marketing, it's crazy interesting. The planners never learn, you just can't predict what the people of the market demand.