As the world unravels…

[GTM®]

Oh boy:

 

[Raven]

There's a flop waiting to happen! Can you spell sell out?

 

[Sempervee1]

I said 30 years ago the day would come they would run out of old fat white guys to buy air cooled tarted up 2 wheeled 71 VW beetles!
I know of what I speak having owned 14 of them! To survive and flourish they need to come up with something new and attract a different clientel and apease a worldwide client base. The Electric MC market has flopped so far for them like everyone else. Had them spinning off and then taking back control of that mistake.

 

[Moto-Uno]

My first experiences with H-D failures began when they originally got Aermacchi and tried to stuff them down dealers throats , then
of course we had the V-Rod ( I had to go to the factory for service training, they were a variation on a Yamaha vision 550) and then
of course the 750 made in India ! And of course there's nothing we need more than another disposable Chinese motorcycle ! Well , that's
my rant for the day . Peter

 

[Nordicnorm]

Over the years HD drew a circle in the sand around themselves, their products and their followers. Nobody on the outside wanted in, and nobody on the inside want out. Anything they ever tried to market that did not involve shorty duals and a peanut tank was a dismal failure, yet they seem to think they can make motorcycles for those on the outside, and that this time they will be successful.
Buying a new HD in 1990 was one of the great disappointments of my riding "career". There was simply no magic, just a very average motorcycle where every piece represented form over function.
Still love my Buell, which did not fit inside the circle either.

 

[Ralph Glorioso]

My new year's wish is that all ventures between the USA and China should crash and burn. Imagine, an American icon like Harley Davidson climbing in bed with the US' #1 enemy, joining Wal-Mart, Apple, Nike, and on and on. We have no pride, no shame, no common sense.

Ralph

 

[GTM®]

Based on all of the words above, maybe there is hope!
The Made in India Street-joke was a head-shaker for me when they launched it at EICMA 2013. And more laughing stock when they seriously put it on the American dirt-track ovals against Indian’s purpose-built FTR-750 (which I was well connected with the development on). Now this. Oy.
It does take me back to the B(e)last, but at least that was Eric Buell on American turf and development. I think I’m with Scott. Bury my head in the sand in Italy when I call it quits, or Portugal has been calling.
Fun conversation, keep it going.

 

[TennesseeSmith]

I think it makes sense to make bikes in China if you intend to sell them in China. But you can't compete long-term in China. They will set up competing factories to build knock-off bikes.

I think Harley is flailing about and the end is near. Folks who like that kind of bike have found the new Indians to be better. There is not much of a market remaining for Harley.

They had such a great opportunity with the V Rod. But they didn't know how to market the bike. Or maybe they were afraid to market it properly for fear of offending their loyal fan base. They should have put that motor in something like the Road Glide. They could have been nearly two decades ahead of the Indian Challenger.

 

[GTM®]

They should have put that motor in something like the Road Glide. They could have been nearly two decades ahead of the Indian Challenger.

Agreed, however the V-Rod was terribly directed from the compact/tiny VR1000 road race engine (below) that was developed with Porsche, but was still way down on power against the competition. I really thought that they would’ve handed it to Eric Buell. Instead they turned it into the bloated V-Rod. Eric and I had many conversations in person about this at the track, as I was racing the Buell Lightning Series with NASB Pro (c1996-97) during the time they were running the VR1000. I wish HD had helped leverage to purchase Britten -- that would've been simply amazing. I spent time on the lift at AMI in Daytona next to the Britten Team in ‘96.

The Challenger was developed as a Victory in 2009 or so (another I was remotely part of knowing), and side-burner'ed when they knew the Indian deal was a possibility in 2010. Then clean sheet of paper design ensued to deliver the Thunderstroke 111 in March 2013, and the bike line unveil at Sturgis later that year.

 

[Mindis]

Not a bad looking bike in my eyes, with some work and angle grinder I wouldn't be ashamed to ride it, as long as I could hide everything that says it's a Harley... unless it's overweight and underpowered, overrated and overpriced like the rest oh HDs, like my ex...

 

[maverick9611]

i can never get harley guys to ride with me in the mountains. they want to ride with their own i guess. i'll ride with anybody.
here is one of harleys adventure bike projects to appeal to the masses. liquid cooling too!

 

[scottmastrocinque]

This has all the chance of success as the Buell Blast.

The motor company has no memory whatsoever…

 

[buzglyd]

Will the Chinese Models even be sold in the US? My guess is these will only see Asian markets where small displacement bikes rule.

 

[GTM®]

here is one of harleys adventure bike projects to appeal to the masses. liquid cooling too!

This bike answered the question no one asked in the HD community and is still fugly to me. However it sold out early on. I don’t understand why people want a 150 hp overweight ADV bike that will never be ridden off road, and big knobbies on these type of bikes is an even bigger laugh. The bike they didn't release below, probably would’ve had far more interest.

 

[GTM®]

Will the Chinese Models even be sold in the US? My guess is these will only see Asian markets where small displacement bikes rule.

Good question. I’ll say I hope not. I thought that about the Made in India models, and those did land here. Guess we’ll see.

 

[Moto-Uno]

Sold out , clearly you're not making reference to B.C ! Deeley is probably one of our largest dealers and
for years the sole importer to Canada (of H-D) and not 3 months ago I went in to talk with some guys I used to work
with there, and the show room was empty , Except for 4 of those dirt bikes (adventure bikes) on the floor ,
absolutely zero customer interest ( and did I say kinda pricey ) . Peter

 

[tobinh]

I don't really understand why Harley tries this stuff. they have a built-in, rock-solid brand identity, why chase this nonsense? do they think they're going to out-Honda Honda?

why can't they just make a better sportster? I see a dozen 'new triumph' bonnevilles at every cafe, surely they can pull at least some of that market? why this enormous pig on wheels adv bike, why not something more akin to a V85? just some kind of sportster-based scrambler thing?

with engine tech the way it is, they don't have to worry about chasing performance anymore. every bike has enough power, it's not like the 80s where the argument against buying a Harley was literally 'well, I'd like to be able to pass a truck up a hill without $5k in aftermarket upgrades'.

 

[GTM®]

Sold out , clearly you're not making reference to B.C !

I was only referring to the silly market here in SoCal. They had a waiting list for them, despite the outrageous price. We did an exhaust for a very early arrival, and he even bought all of the stock bodywork new to do custom paint, and keep his stock parts. Can’t figure people out sometimes. Ha.

 

[Ralph Glorioso]

What is it with this current fad of slanting fuel tanks up or down but not horizontal except for retro styled bike? That H-D that never made it to market is pretty good looking but the tank seems off-kilter slanting down in front.

 

[Sempervee1]

This has all the chance of success as the Buell Blast.

The motor company has no memory whatsoever…

When everyone was going DualSport I always questioned why they did not bring out a Sportster engine dual sport? I sat on the Pan American and even as I owned two Suzuki DL1000 VStroms for 45,000 miles, I think the PA is too bulky and big.