Consolidated Statements Of Operations (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011		Dec. 31, 2010		Dec. 31, 2009
Revenue:
Motorcycles and related products	$ 4,662,264	[1]	$ 4,176,627	[1]	$ 4,287,130	[1]
Financial services	649,449		682,709		494,779
Total revenue	5,311,713		4,859,336		4,781,909
Costs and expenses:
Motorcycles and related products cost of goods sold	3,106,288		2,749,224		2,900,934
Financial services interest expense	229,492		272,484		283,634
Financial services provision for credit losses	17,031		93,118		169,206
Selling, administrative and engineering expense	1,060,943		1,020,371		979,384
Restructuring expense and asset impairment	67,992		163,508		224,278
Goodwill impairment					28,387
Total costs and expenses	4,481,746		4,298,705		4,585,823
Operating income	829,967		560,631		196,086
Investment income	7,963		5,442		4,254
Interest expense	45,266		90,357		21,680
Loss on debt extinguishment	9,608		85,247
Income before provision for income taxes	792,664		390,469		178,660
Provision for income taxes	244,586		130,800		108,019
Income from continuing operations	548,078		259,669		70,641
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax	51,036		(113,124)		(125,757)
Net income (loss)	$ 599,114		$ 146,545		$ (55,116)
Earnings per common share from continuing operations:
Basic	$ 2.35		$ 1.11		$ 0.30
Diluted	$ 2.33		$ 1.11		$ 0.30
Earnings (loss) per common share from discontinued operations:
Basic	$ 0.22		$ (0.48)		$ (0.54)
Diluted	$ 0.22		$ (0.48)		$ (0.54)
Earnings (loss) per common share:
Basic	$ 2.57		$ 0.63		$ (0.24)
Diluted	$ 2.55		$ 0.62		$ (0.24)
Cash dividends per common share	$ 0.475		$ 0.40		$ 0.40

[1] Revenue is attributed to geographic regions based on location of customer.