Harley-haters

[cjm]

For all you Harley-Haters....a new V-Rod...1/4 mile in under 10 sec. 1300cc.

And a 35 anniversary FX.

Looks like I'll be working more o.t.

MTBATP

[BUBBAZANETTI]

i suppose a royal enfield could do the quarter mile in under 10 seconds if it had an engine designed by ferarri

but i actually don't mind the v-rod, they sound cool and are interesting to look at

[HODAG]

saw the V-rod at my dealers this past week, looked nice until I got to the price tag, ouch

[MarkF]

The only one that interests me is the new Springer classic. Looks like an old knucklehead. Finally a nostalgia bike from a nostalgia company.

[GSTOM]

The only one that interests me is the new Springer classic. Looks like an old knucklehead. Finally a nostalgia bike from a nostalgia company.

Mark, IMO they all look like a hussied-up 1936 knuckle (except the V-rod).
Harley styling reached its Zenith from 1949-1957 with the rigid frame panheads dubbed the Hydraglide series. Styling has been downhill ever since.

The Harley faithful are worshipping at the altar of nostalgia-ism, hence the apathetic response to the freshest Harley (V-rod, with Porsche designed engine) in nearly 70 years.

The new V-rod factory drag bike nicknamed "Screamin' Eagle Destroyer" :

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/Racing/vrxse_destroyer.jsp?HDCWPSession=Cq1ynMhKNnRjSTfC5 2n1n7pdGJnd6nqXpsMm1NQc1sNsLnY81vL9!-1931940399!-387017039&bmLocale=en_US

may be able to keep up with the new K1200R partway down the track.

[scqtt]

That is awesome, it is right on track with the Japanese bikesthe 600cc ones.
Wow, I wonder if the new V-Rod could keep up with a Hyabusa if it had 2600cc?


I would love to have one of those. I think it would be really nice to have a shiny anchor for my boat.

BTW Porsche helped them with the engine.

That is a rich relationship, a legendary auto manufacturer that specialized in air cooled engines for the majority of their lifetime teams up with a Motorcycle manufacturer that has only done air cooled engines for their entire 102 years, to develop a water cooled motorcycle.

Maybe HD should contact Boeing and see if the two of them could develop a bitchinÔÇÖ submarine.

[cjm]

Mark, IMO they all look like a hussied-up 1936 knuckle (except the V-rod).
Harley styling reached its Zenith from 1949-1957 with the rigid frame panheads dubbed the Hydraglide series. Styling has been downhill ever since.

The Harley faithful are worshipping at the altar of nostalgia-ism, hence the apathetic response to the freshest Harley (V-rod, with Porsche designed engine) in nearly 70 years.

The new V-rod factory drag bike nicknamed "Screamin' Eagle Destroyer" :

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/Racing/vrxse_destroyer.jsp?HDCWPSession=Cq1ynMhKNnRjSTfC5 2n1n7pdGJnd6nqXpsMm1NQc1sNsLnY81vL9!-1931940399!-387017039&bmLocale=en_US

may be able to keep up with the new K1200R partway down the track.

The only thing that looks like a '36 kunckle IS a '36 kunckle.

MTBATP

[SHAG]

For all you Harley-Haters....a new V-Rod...1/4 mile in under 10 sec. 1300cc.

And a 35 anniversary FX.

Looks like I'll be working more o.t.

MTBATP

I had a V-MAX 20 years ago with better brakes & suspension
. It was slower though. It only ran 10.30 in the quarter & didn't have the airbox cover grinding on my right knee
I think they're still making it

[braddog]

I'm not going to bag on the Big Twin's or the Sporty's performance, either. My favorite "new" Harley would be the Streetrod model of the V machine. Fits me pretty well, looks better, in my opinion, with the less rake.

In the 9's? Impressive, for sure. But 'tis true, 600 cc Japanese sportbikes can accomplish that as well.

But they're not Harleys. There is only one Motor Company.

BMW riders are proud of their quirky, somewhat odd looking rides. I know I am. Many BMW riders have no issue putting out considerable cash for a new Beemer, yet are critical of Harley price tags.

Harleys are simple machines, Beemers are simple machines, at least the older models were. There are some parallels between the 2 marques. 2 cylinder models, low maintenance drive trains, useable power bands, etc.

In the future, I'll be looking at a touring machine. BMW and Harley Davidson are both in the running.

[Fritzc]

I think this is a funny story. My wife was in JoAnne Fabrics tonight and spotted an "Outlaw" biker with leather, beard, earrings, tattoos, Red White & Blue do-rag, wallet on a chain, older chopper Harley parked in front, etc etc. He was purchasing a product called "Magic Wand" which is some kind of degreaser or spot remover. He was telling everyone within earshot how great this stuff was for removing grease stains from fabrics. FYI and pass it on!

[kbasa]

For all you Harley-Haters....a new V-Rod...1/4 mile in under 10 sec. 1300cc.

And a 35 anniversary FX.

Looks like I'll be working more o.t.

MTBATP

You left out the part about it costing $40K.

[kbasa]

That is a rich relationship, a legendary auto manufacturer that specialized in air cooled engines for the majority of their lifetime teams up with a Motorcycle manufacturer that has only done air cooled engines for their entire 102 years, to develop a water cooled motorcycle.

Maybe HD should contact Boeing and see if the two of them could develop a bitchinÔÇÖ submarine.

I don't think there's been an aircooled Porsche in better than a decade now. Prior to that, they had the 928 nearly 25 years ago and the 924/944/968 started their line up in 1980 or so. Porsche has a long history of water cooled engines.

Considering that Porsche didn't really start developing vehicles under their own nameplate until the 50s, I think it'd be fair to say that they've been building water cooled cars for nearly half of their existance.

I think HD is completely missing the boat by not making a bike that recalls one of the most successful racing machines of all time, the XR750. This bike has dominated flat track racing for decades and the closest HD can come up with is a Sportster with an orange tank. No high pipes, no carbs hanging out on one side with the trick heads, not cool little tail section, feet under the seat and flat bars. Just a gussied up Sporty. Sad. Even sadder is that the vast majority of HD owners have no idea that the XR even exists.

Instead, Mert Lawwill is making the bike I want HD to make.

[Whiplash]

Anybody who hates one brand or another is not a true motorcyclist.
The only thing I hate are some peoples attitudes.
The best bike is the bike you are riding.

[cjm]

I don't think there's been an aircooled Porsche in better than a decade now. Prior to that, they had the 928 nearly 25 years ago and the 924/944/968 started their line up in 1980 or so. Porsche has a long history of water cooled engines.

Considering that Porsche didn't really start developing vehicles under their own nameplate until the 50s, I think it'd be fair to say that they've been building water cooled cars for nearly half of their existance.

I think HD is completely missing the boat by not making a bike that recalls one of the most successful racing machines of all time, the XR750. This bike has dominated flat track racing for decades and the closest HD can come up with is a Sportster with an orange tank. No high pipes, no carbs hanging out on one side with the trick heads, not cool little tail section, feet under the seat and flat bars. Just a gussied up Sporty. Sad. Even sadder is that the vast majority of HD owners have no idea that the XR even exists.

Instead, Mert Lawwill is making the bike I want HD to make.

But H-D DID make that bike in the middle '80's and it was called the XR-1000! According to one magazine it had "the strongest brakes of any bike we have ever tested...not just street bikes but any bike"....after riding one and grabbing a lot of front brake on 17S in Charleston and standing the bike on the front wheel, I believed them! But Harley riders wouldn't buy them. Same with the 1977/8 XLCR. I think this is why they don't build that type bike anymore.

The owner, Phil Schoonover, said they found which side their bread was buttered on and tended to THAT side.

Before I bought the RT I called Harley and inquired as to whether they would build somelthing like the RT based on the V-Rod engine. No chance. I just thought if they had the Italians design the fairing, use Bosch ABS, and listen to people like myself who want a bike that does what the RT does that they would have a winner. Nope.

Anti-lock (big reason), anti-dive, anti-squat, 6.5 gallons, weight <650 lbs., 100mph all-day-long ability. The only motorcycle on earth that has ALL of that. Hello R1150RT.

MTBATP

[kbasa]

Yeah, I know about the XR1000 and the XLCR. I always wanted an XLCR, but they couldn't give those bikes away, either of them, actually.

I think a lot of that might have been that they could hardly sell any of their bikes at that point in time either. They were still AMF then. I remember walking into the local dealer to look at the bikes about 1979. They had nice drip trays under each of the bikes. Brand new, right out of the factory, they were leaking oil on the floor.

The XR came later, but looked like a Sportster with high pipes. No feet under the butt, no neat little tank and tail piece. That's the look, and HD should know allll about the look.

I think the market might embrace a cleaned up Sporty that was actually sporty. The new Sportster motor is nice and makes decent power (and would probably respond to some tuning pretty well).

In the meanwhile, I'll keep casually looking for a wrecked Sportster so I can do this to it.