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Will they leak oil

Thread comment in jest, but I hope they don't ruin a promising product. Maybe the cash will speed up some of the shortcomings with electric bikes.
 
Thread comment in jest, but I hope they don't ruin a promising product. Maybe the cash will speed up some of the shortcomings with electric bikes.



Hopefully it will be. It’s going to require somebody willing to invest big bucks on R&D with no established market in place. That’s a risky thing to do.

Zero seems to have been doing a good job of making steady improvements as they go, but that range/power/weight/cost breakthrough just hasn’t come yet. That’s a tough set of things to bring into balance, but that’s what is going to have to happen for electric bikes to become more than a niche product.
 
The Alta's are already serious bikes I got to test ride a couple at TJs demo
day at Powell MCP a few weeks ago 40hp and 120ft lbs of torque is one
serious off road bike
 
I'm confident Harley will manage them as successfully as they managed Buell.

The more important questions are;

where does the get-back whip mount on the bike?
will I be able to buy matching bandanas & butt-less chaps?
how soon will obnoxiously loud aftermarket pipes be available?
will doctors & lawyers be as drawn to them as traditional Harleys?
 
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The people in charge of HD 10 years ago are no longer there. I assume that HD realizes the market is changing.

Electric makes so much more sense in a cruiser than sport bike:

  • High Torque, low HP
  • Less concern on weight
  • Less concern on aerodynamics
  • Less concern on top speed

However I believe that every cruiser should also be a touring bike. Once the range gets to around 500 miles on a charge, that will win most folk over.
 
The Alta's are already serious bikes I got to test ride a couple at TJs demo

day at Powell MCP a few weeks ago 40hp and 120ft lbs of torque is one

serious off road bike



I’m sure they’re great bikes, but cha-ching! They’re just not an option for anybody other than someone quite wealthy who likes it for the novelty or environmental factors.
 
if hd is looking to diversify, this aint it. it will just be a further financial drag on the company. hd needs to either batten down the hatches and economize their operations if they are to stay with the same direction to wait out the low sales storm, or go further in with the decision to offer more broad product lines. yes , more flat tracker styles and dare i say off road. (at a lower price point to lure in a broader curious public).
 
I’m sure they’re great bikes, but cha-ching! They’re just not an option for anybody other than someone quite wealthy who likes it for the novelty or environmental factors.

Actually, a new Alta MX is basically the same price as a KTM 300 today, not saying that is cheap but they have brought the price down quite a bit this year

Not like I can afford a new 300XC right now either
 
Thread comment in jest, but I hope they don't ruin a promising product. Maybe the cash will speed up some of the shortcomings with electric bikes.

I thought it was funny. :thumb:

There's an old joke about British cars:
Why don't the British make television?
Because they haven't figured out how to make them leak oil.
 
Actually, a new Alta MX is basically the same price as a KTM 300 today, not saying that is cheap but they have brought the price down quite a bit this year

Not like I can afford a new 300XC right now either

They lowered the 17's, but the 18 dualsport is back at 13000+.:giveup:
 
The people in charge of HD 10 years ago are no longer there. I assume that HD realizes the market is changing.

Electric makes so much more sense in a cruiser than sport bike:

  • High Torque, low HP
  • Less concern on weight
  • Less concern on aerodynamics
  • Less concern on top speed

However I believe that every cruiser should also be a touring bike. Once the range gets to around 500 miles on a charge, that will win most folk over.

Most of the cruiser riders I know could easily deal with the current range and recharging issues of an electric bike. Unfortunately most of them also think noise is a virtue.
 
I think HD has boxed themselves in. Their business model has cultivated a specific clientele that is not open to new bikes, designs or innovation. They sell big, heavy, loud, obnoxious cruisers. They would totally have to bring in a new class of customer, on an incredibly large scale. Barring a complete reformation of the brand, that's gonna be impossible IMO.
 
A zero would be perfect to commute to work on. I could do a round trip if I wanted to on the high end ZERO with the long range battery pack. Since I work 24 hour shifts I can easily "plug in" at work and have a full charge by the time I need to go home the next morning. But I can't justify that kind of money on a single use bike that I can't sport tour or ADV ride on. I'd have to replace a bike in the garage currently so they'd need to find a way to get charge times down to a manageable level. If they could find a way to get charge times down in the 20-30 minute range (or shorter would be better) without the addition of big dollar power inverters/converters I'd be down for one.
 
I think I have deleted it but I got an email from Alta ( I signed up on their web site last year)stating the 18MX bike price was lowered. Never looked at the DS model
 
I'm confident Harley will manage them as successfully as they managed Buell.

The more important questions are;

where does the get-back whip mount on the bike?
will I be able to buy matching bandanas & butt-less chaps?
how soon will obnoxiously loud aftermarket pipes be available?
will doctors & lawyers be as drawn to them as traditional Harleys?

You ask:
"Where does the get-back whip mount on the bike?"
All electric bikes need them as tow ropes to get to next charging station.

"Will I be able to buy matching bandannas & butt-less chaps?"
They were never matching before, so why start now? And, don't knock butt-less chaps until you use a pair wearing nothing but your skivvies on a hot Texas day.

"How soon will obnoxiously loud aftermarket pipes be available?"
They are called "Playing Cards." Haven't you learned anything?

"Will doctors & lawyers be as drawn to them as traditional Harleys?"

You better hope they do. If not, electric bikes may not survive.
Just imagine how fast the market would expand if gangs of business people started electric bike clubs and these people will have AAA. No need for "thaaa whip."
 
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