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50 new Harleys

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OOOhhh, I know, a 107 CID dual sport. :rolleyes:

They're going to need to engineer some new engines if they want to diversify much. Around here, UTVs and ATVs sell much better than motorcycles. Maybe they could stick a V twin in a 4x4 UTV, give it that rumble appeal. :rofl:

Here's a thought, a garden tractor. 4x4 with options like front loader, shreader, belly mower, and a 3 point hitch.

Yeah, I've probably been out here in the woods too long. :rofl:
 
Drivers appear to be people unfamiliar with motorcycling overall but might be interested in driving a Harley Davidson.

I'm curious to see if they plan on taking on KTM in performance, Honda in broad product range and quality, Moto Guzzi in elegance, the KLR for price and brute durability, etc. Will they try to make high end cars like BMW or everything from scooters to sports bikes to light utility vehicles like Piaggio?

Since the 80s these guys have made great strides in modular manufacturing and built to their customer base and that is worthy of due praise. But they have painted themselves into a corner with their product mix. It will be interesting if they can get out without leaving sticky foot prints everywhere and if they have the fortitude to stick with the investment or leave after a few years. Considering MV Agusta and Buell, past history isn't a good indicator that they will.
 
Harley isn't going anywhere except to overseas markets of royal heirs, organized criminals (business people with the wealth to buy governments), and big time hard core criminals. How many models does Harley have today? 5 or 6 different engines with different sets of farkles that carry over from one engine to another. All the variety of a Big Mac. If the "50 new Harleys" are nothing more than new paint, labels, and farkles, the project will fail.

Liquid cooled top ends on Harley's classic 45* V-twins would be excellent power for side-by-sides for people who wanted a durable, hard working, go anywhere vehicle. Harley already has the vibration issue solved. The broad power bands, huge torque, and long, slow power strokes with adequate recovery time between thrusts aids traction. Never the fastest, but very easy to drive. Plus, they would sound like a Harley.
 
Knowing the way Harley works this will likely be two new bikes with 25 variations of each that contain only minor differences and are called different models.
 
So we started another thread to bash HDs? Old hat I think. Been there, done that.
 
I sell HD's for a living and even I have no clue what they're planning on doing. It's all speculation until that day comes, and until then, I'll still have an ADV bike or dual sport parked next to whatever Harley I have. I'm not holding my breath that they'll do anything similar to an adventure bike.
 
Hope they open up some new markets for themselves

I am guessing drivers refers to trikes and I wonder if a modern version of the morgan 3 wheeler using the new motor would not go over big in Europe and here as well. Does the Servicar make a return??

Using a larger version of the Vrod motor in a touring bike

Something sporty, other than variations on a sportster theme

I have always liked Harleys, ever since I was a kid and we went to the HD dealer that was in Downtown Houston and looked and the big Electra Glides.
The guys used to take me for rides while dad shopped something about those big ol Vtwins

A flat tracker for the street, XR750 body with a watercooled motor like the VRODS

Somebody tell WilleG I have some plans and to get me to Milwaukee once it gets warm
 
Not trying to bash HD as much as understand and discuss their marketing strategy, specifically in terms of 50 new models. I'd be surprised to learn that Honda had 50 motorcycle models world wide, but that may be core to HDs strategy to grow their business. American buyers have been loath to accept anything but the traditional HD layout. Other markets, where the brand is not as closely identified with a specific style, may readily accept other layouts. Who knows, a visit five years from now to South East Asia could find every up and coming twenty something wanting an HD scooter. Saying that market is still open in five years.
 
budzrex said:
Hope they open up some new markets for themselves

I am guessing drivers refers to trikes and I wonder if a modern version of the morgan 3 wheeler using the new motor would not go over big in Europe and here as well. Does the Servicar make a return??

Using a larger version of the Vrod motor in a touring bike

Something sporty, other than variations on a sportster theme

I have always liked Harleys, ever since I was a kid and we went to the HD dealer that was in Downtown Houston and looked and the big Electra Glides.
The guys used to take me for rides while dad shopped something about those big ol Vtwins

A flat tracker for the street, XR750 body with a watercooled motor like the VRODS

Somebody tell WilleG I have some plans and to get me to Milwaukee once it gets warm
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think you hit it, more water cooled. I could dig the XR750 Flat Tracker Street, buy could really dig Indian's new 750 modified for the street. I think it is water cooled.
 
I'm hoping Back to the Future. Maybe revive an enduro/scrambler line as in the Aermacchi days. A big adventure bike is surely in the works. Even HD cannot ignore that expanding market.

First Harley I ever lusted over. I wanted one so bad when I was 12, honestly I actually cried over it. Was less than $600 brand new from dealer and I had my own earned money in the bank but got vetoed over and over by the parental unit.

3ddf6e4f1a050fda92c2ddfa99ad21e5.jpg


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Will they be fifty more overweight, under-engineered, underpowered models with horrible exhaust, horrible suspension, horrible breathers, ancient air-cooled pushrod motors with separate oil tank systems that leave in a quart of dirty oil when you do an oil change, and THREE separate fluids to change instead of one lubrication system?
 
Ron Stromer said:
Will they be fifty more overweight, under-engineered, underpowered models with horrible exhaust, horrible suspension, horrible breathers, ancient air-cooled pushrod motors with separate oil tank systems that leave in a quart of dirty oil when you do an oil change, and THREE separate fluids to change instead of one lubrication system?
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That is quite a rant. I will give you bonus points for being the first person to say that they have a horrible exhaust. I think the exhaust is one of, if not the most, positive aspects of Harleys.
 
SilverBullet said:
I'm hoping Back to the Future. Maybe revive an enduro/scrambler line as in the Aermacchi days. A big adventure bike is surely in the works. Even HD cannot ignore that expanding market.

First Harley I ever lusted over. I wanted one so bad when I was 12, honestly I actually cried over it. Was less than $600 brand new from dealer and I had my own earned money in the bank but got vetoed over and over by the parental unit.

3ddf6e4f1a050fda92c2ddfa99ad21e5.jpg


_
Click to expand...

My first dream bike too. Dad said I needed to start out on a four stroke which meant Honda in those days.

The more I think about it, the more I'm hoping that they focus on foreign markets first. I'm not sure of all of the dynamics that ended Buell, but the sport bike riders I knew who had one switched to Japanese and the Harley focused riders went back to Harley.
 
pdef said:
That is quite a rant. I will give you bonus points for being the first person to say that they have a horrible exhaust. I think the exhaust is one of, if not the most, positive aspects of Harleys.
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The stock exhaust? I'm hardly the first. There is a billion-dollar industry vested in replacing it. It's completely overweight and inefficient which is why you only see 10% of Harley riders still lugging it around. The rest have it replaced it with aftermarket systems (avg $2500 when you add in a tuner, labor and dyno run), usually pushed by the dealerships themselves at the time of purchase to get the bikes to run properly. They blame EPA regs.

If the stock exhaust "is one of, if not the most, positive aspects of Harleys", that is not saying much about Harleys.

I've had two of them. I took the exhaust off my 700-lb Fat Bob and it probably weighed 45 lbs. The exhaust on my 850-lb Road King tipped the scales at 65 lbs easily. I replaced it with a V&H system that weighed a third of that, however the bikes still ran like crap. The Road King especially with that famous Harley death wobble above 80mph that HD has known about for years and continues to deny. I couldn't get rid of that thing fast enough. The brakes on both bikes were downright scary!!

The fact that 90% of Harley riders gave me the cold shoulder because I was some freak who would show up on a Harley for one of their ten-mile rides in full gear and not a pirate costume is another conversation.
 
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Ron Stromer said:
The fact that 90% of Harley riders gave me the cold shoulder when I owned them because I was some freak who would show up for their ten-mile rides in full gear and not a pirate costume is another conversation.
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Try being the guy who shows up in full gear AND on a Sportster. I LOVE Sportsters. Not a popular opinion on Harley circles. Oh well!
 
Ron Stromer said:
I was some freak who would show up for their ten-mile rides in full gear and not a pirate costume is another conversation.
Click to expand...

When you say "full gear", I assume you mean proper gear, not piss bucket helmet, chaps, fringed vest (with no shirt under) & a DOT approved bandana?

Do you still have your get-back whip from back them days?
 
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