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VonYinzer said:I have yet to see a budget level HD that has a fit and finish worthy of the cost. And I've seen a bunch. The Bolt is entry level so yeah, I'm sure it's not a show bike (haven't haf the chance to see/ride one yet). Hell, that HD is 90% plastic. And that awful radiator contraption up front reminds me of the 80s junk "cruisers". It's all a matter of opinion obviously, and to each their own. When it comes down to it, I'll stick with the Yamaha untiln"the factory" spemds as much money on actual motorcycle development as they do on t-shirt designs.
DrJ said:I'd rather ride a Honda Shadow which that bike resembles. Would like to be there when the first 20-something shows up with one at a Harley rally wearing a flannel shirt, repop glitter helmet, pair of Vans and a leather vest with a Sons of Anarchy patch.
ApriliaBill said:The big Harley's (baggers) are liquid cooled this year.
ApriliaBill said:The haters will always hate. I'm glad Harley is providing jobs to Americans, and that the bike sells well. That particular model isn't my cup of tea, but some people don't get why I ride the stuff I do. But I always have at least one Harley in the garage, because my experience with them has always been positive...
When did they knock them down the first time? Sorry man, the fit and finish on the higher end models is good. The paint looks great on most models. But as far as going after the performance market, I don't think Harley is remotely interested. Look how they treated Eric Buell. If they wanted to go fast, they have more than enough capital both monetary, and in their engieering dept. to build a fast bike. But it's cheaper to sell a pretend lifestyle than engineer a vehicle that does something you aren't accustomed to doing. Just my opinion, I could be wrong. I often am, ask the wife. Happy holidays.Zookrocker said:There was apparently alot of confusion about that HD. All domestic-market-bound bikes will be made in KC, all international-market-bound bikes made in India.
I was blindsided...I picked up a copy of Motorcyclist and there was a brief article about them. This is a pretty major move for Harley. A liquid-cooled bike is nothing new, but I thought the big news for this year was the liquid-cooled heads on the FL models, but it is actually these little buggers. Horsepower ratings arent overly impressive for the Street models, but with some tuning and mods I bet we'll see 75-90 HP out of the 750. I think its super exciting, being an old Harley salt.
Like I read on another forum, these bikes will provide Harley a "safe" transition to liquid cooling on the bigger bikes in the coming years, not that I'm an advocate of liquid-cooling, but from a performance standpoint it is an utter necessity in today's high performance market, which is where I believe Harley is going. These bikes also offer some performance potential as well, as the platform is designed with "urban" performance in mind. I'll always own air-cooled bikes, but it'll be fun to watch Harley knock the Japanese manufacturers down again, this time in their "own" small bike market
AlphaDogChoppers said:Not really. Harley refers to them as "twin cooled." They are still primarily air cooled. They just have a little cooling loop around the exhaust port in the head.
There were stories of some of the springing leaks, prompting the nickname, "Showerhead." My personal favorite, however, is "Steaming Eagle." ;D
There are reasons why Harley sells more motorcycles in the US than all over brands combined. That's right, greater than 50% market share for one brand. It's because they build excellent motorcycles. People travel on them, and on the rare occasion that they do have a break down on the road, they have a dealer network like no other maker, and the nearest dealer will have you back on the road, usually the same day or within 24 hours. Have a stator failure on a Yamaha while on a trip, and you will be renting a truck to get your bike home. Your vacation is over. The nearest dealer is not likely to have the part to fix your bike, and may not be able to even get it right away, that is, if they are even willing to put your bike at the head of the service cue to get you back on the road.
krafty said:At $6700 for the Street 500, I'd seriously consider one. Helluva starting price point.
My biggest issue with HD has just always been about the branding. There's a huge dealership near here and its retail clothing and HD-branded merchandise take up at least 10x the space of the actual motorcycles. That being said, they know their markets and are VERY dialed in to getting those dollars. Stop in on a Saturday and the place is packed with tons of 50+ men who drove up in a mid-range to very expensive car, wife in tow, ready to drop $15-20k plus accessories and have their name announced over the P.A. to all the other boomers in the room.