What's the problem? No more room in the garage for another Harley? Build another garage. LOL

 

And you can get a shadow 750 or a cbr500 off the lot pretty easy for $1000 less than MSRP. And I used to ride a shadow 750, it's just kid if meh, fairly comfortable ride, good mpg, cheap maint, but lacks power and feels under powered on the highway, but a bit small frame and it feels small with the controls. But my cousin recently got a CBR500, and if I were looking for a sporty bike I would get one. Light and nimble, comfortable ride and riding position. Plenty of power watched him pull a wheelie on accident this weekend, lots of aftermarket support already, 50+mpg like the shadow 750, and it's pretty quick for a twin cylinder 500. Excellent bike for the money and the same instrument cluster as the CBR600's that is nice. The power commander and pipe he (I installed) has on it also made a nice little bump in power.

I wouldn't even consider the street 500 and 750 with those bikes out there if you don't need the Harley name. Cheaper and more fun bikes out there. Most people looking at 500-750cc bikes usually look for a cheaper and more economical bike for commuting IMO.

 

My wife bought one in June. Perfect for her, she's small. I took for a ride and that thing is a blast. Quick and with the six speed fast. Metric just wasn't going to look right in the garage next to my shovel bigger and CVO ultra. Great for me, she's off mine and on her own.
Service is easy. Neutral was tough at first but now she's mastered it. Red sunflower with the black looks good. Agreed horn and wiring look cheap, but I hear MOCO has stuff in the works for that. Face it we all go back for customized stuff

 

The same is true for the larger touring motorcycles as well. That's why a lot of people opt for a Gold Wing over a Road King or Street Glide. If the Harley name has no meaning for the rider then there are less expensive options for them.

 

Boy oh boy, you could not have said that any better!

 

I get what you are saying. I even agree. I just bought a 2009 road king for the same price as I could have gotten a brand new moto guzzi California 1400 just because of what it means to be a Harley.

But...

Harley doesn't have any heritage in this class. There is no mystique to cheaply built, made in India (I think) commuter bikes. It's like Ferrari building a minivan. Their racing heritage would mean very little. So Harley making the street doesn't add anything to the equation, for me anyway. The street really is a bike that needs to stand on its own, and the non Harley owners that have reviewed it don't seem to be very favorable. If there was no logo on this bike and you put a hundred people in it how many would guess Harley?

 

I would disagree. Harley has a lot of heritage related to this motorcycle. It was AMF during the 1970's that launched the Revolution engine development along with the Evolution engine development. The Revolution-X is just a sized down version of the Revolution engine that goes back to it's conception in the 1970's. That's forty years of "heritage" related to the engine.

Additionally if we look back at Harley history it has produced motorcycles of virtually all displacements from 50cc (e.g. M50) and up and in both 4-stroke and 2-stroke designs. The 45 cid flathead Harley of the 1940's was 740cc for example and the Harley Hummers of the 1950's came is several displacement sizes.


It also has extensive history with overseas production with the Aermacchi Harley-Davidsons that were produced in Italy when Harley owned majority control of Aermacchi. I recently spent about four years (and way too much money LOL) on a bolt-up restoration of a 1976 Aermacchi Harley-Davidson SS-250 (2-stroke) to museum quality.





I would recommend that anyone believing there is no heritage related to the Street Harley-Davidsons do a little more research on the history of Harley-Davidson. If we look at the 111 years of Harley-Davidson history it pretty much covers everything on two wheels. Harley even produced golf carts at one time.

I would finally note that while some cost cutting measures were used such as the plastic radiator shroud and grill and the omission of a chrome horn cover to keep the MSRP down that the heart of the Street, the engine/tranny, is top of the line. No corners were cut related to to the engine or tranny. Of course anyone that knows the V-Rod would also know this Harley even if the logos were removed.

 

I cant believe people are still saying what you did on the India thing. At least you did add (I think) All of the Streets sold in the USA are assembled at the Kansas City Plant in the USA, most of the parts are from India.
I think it's great that Harley has a starter bike with a Harley Davidson badge.
When I get to old for heavy Touring bikes, I would have no problem buying one for my self.

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with the bike being made in India. And I know Harley's were smaller too. That lesson was reinforced for me a few weeks ago at the Harley museum were there were some beautiful smaller bikes and of course the older bikes were just smaller by nature. But in my own, limited personal opinion I just don't see a tie that binds the street to those bikes (including that beautiful two stroke pictured above). I'm sure there are but I personally don't see them. One of the coolest things about the museum was I felt I could see so many visual And mechanical cues that linked bikes from each era - not just cosmetic either. And I'm sure you'll be able to point out all the cues I'm missing. But with a triumph bonneville costing $600 more , a moto guzzi v7 costing a $1000 more - and that before any specials that bring both bikes way closer - I can't see buying a street. I'm not even bringing any Honda shadow rs or that new retro Yamaha into the picture. Heck i would even buy another Indian made bike over this one - a royal enfeld. I've ridden all of the bikes I've discussed. I just can't tell I'm on a Harley when I'm on the street.

 

I think they're HD's attempt to swap their fleet of Buell Blasts in Rider's Edge and appeal to this booming market of people who want an efficient means to travel in times of higher fuel prices. Well, the fuel problem's getting resolved so guessing these bike's will be treated the same as Nintendo's ET video game...