The board software inserted a space after the hyphen in harley-davidson in the url. If you want to see the link, remove the %20 from that spot in the url. VBulletin doesn’t like long strings of text without breaks in them, even if it doesn’t show up.
The traditionalists will presumably hate it, but so friggin’ what ? It’s not as if their vintage models will be phased out.
H-D is apparently looking to expand their customer base, and that bike is presumably aimed at the market currently inhabited by BMW R1200C, Valkyrie or perhaps even V-max bikes. The tests I’ve read mention good handling, good suspension, etc. - to which one can only say 'bout bloody time. And I guess a touring bike with the V-Rod engine is on the drawing boards somewhere.
One can of course worry about the archetypical “baby boomer weekend bikers” all of a sudden having 115 HP at their disposal instead of the usual stock Harley 60 HP, but getting in trouble on a high-powered bike is the privilege of anyone with enough disposable income to buy one. And on that note, the price tag looks a bit stiff to me. Still, kudos to Harley for producing a modern bike.
Of course I’m a squid who thinks carbon fibre equals style, so what do I know ?
I’m a (sadly former) Harley owner, and I like it! It looks kinda like a chopped V-Max. Sure, there will be traditionalists who hate it, but there are some guys who sneer at anything that’s not a kick-started hardtail. I wonder if Buell is going to do anything with this new engine? They might be able to build something to make the Ducati owners (hi Spiny!) take notice.
It’s not going to be available downunda for another few months at the very least, but one of the Melbourne papers ran a double page story on it last week.
My immediate reaction was jaw-flappin’ amazement. Purely on looks and reviews, I want one! For a test ride at least - no way I could meet that price tag. Damnit.
The look is something else, isn’t it? The best comment in the whole review, as far as the Rod’s appearance went was, “looking like a refugee from Akira…”
On performance, the reviewer basically said it rocked; pretty good power, good handling - something that surprised me a bit, given dimensions and the raking on the front.
The only real problem they mentioned was the ground clearance; one hard corner, the pegs are scraping the ground, and you’re severely at risk of bottoming out the radiator shroud.
Oh Santa Claus, if I’m a good, good girl… :bats eyes in cute and appealing manner: …is there any chance…?
