Surprising to see H-D’s 1st quarter earnings reported on yesterday’s NBC Evening News, highlighted because of disappointing financials leading to layoffs and more temporary shutdowns.

TMC’s spin defends the nearly 13% drop in sales by pointing out it’s not as bad as the general slump for heavyweights pegged at 14% give-take. Ohhhh-kay. More grist for the mill; per share earnings for the year expected to be off 20%. And although revenue was up nearly 11%, Q1 net dropped 2.5%. Overall, the brand expects total shipments in ’08 to be off by 23-27,000 units.

Those are the financials. Here’s a thought about the uncontrollables, in this instance the unintended by HD crossbranding by Schering-Plough’s heavily promoted Viagra. You know these spots, set to a reanimated Elvis warbling about the drug with lyrics set to Viva, Las Vegas.

The ads feature a gaggle of presumably “still vital” mostly white guys who seem so thrilled by the prospect of getting it up “for up to 4 hours” that they invariably head for some duck shack in the swamp and bang on the drums by themselves until finally – and here’s the rub – saddling up and heading for the, what, nearest titty bar? Mode of transportation in the inaugeral spot? Softail. Overall method of here’s how we roll? Cruiser.

Not convinced about subliminals? If you’re not the drug companies are. And they’ve got the focus groups to prove it. The message here is about as clear as an anvil through stained glass – as if real life sagging demos weren’t enough to contend with, along comes a King Kong marketer to bolster the notion that cruisers are the prime domain of solo boomers with a problem getting wood. And that’s gotta’ hurt Harley’s image pitch to their core market.