At about 100 lbs less then a Superglide it was not much of a weight savings for a bike with about half the displacement.


I have always supported HD coming out with a light weight 500cc bike. Entry level model make people own a Harley for their first bike. Not everyone can handle a larger bike right off the bat. Or have the money for a Sportster.


Though as with the Americhi's. When you walked into a dealer it did not matter that they came in the same colors as the big twins they did not look or sound like a Harley. Or perform as well as the Jap bikes. This is why not many Americhi HD's were sold.


Then HD came out with the Vrod. Great engine in a bike that does not look, feel, or have the seat position as what makes Harley desirable to own.


Does Harley learn from their past? No. They have a great Vrod engine that you would think they would offer as an option on all of their Big Twin bikes. People complining that the 96 and 103 engines throw off too much heat then the 80 to 88 engines and all that heat with less horse power.


Buying public has not bought ugly Harleys. Evident with the Americhi's and Vrod's. Harley's classic style is huge part of their selling point. So when Harley adds two new models, the 500 and 750, they make them look like Mini Me clones the Vrod.


How do people get the jobs running large corporations that grossly over pay them to make such poor decisions?

 

I also noticed the lack of visibility in the lane directly behind me riding my Street and it somewhat annoyed me until I rode my Sportster and noticed I really couldn't see behind me on it either. The mirrors on a motorcycle are designed to provide visibility of the lanes to the left and right (i.e. your blind spots) and not to the lane directly behind you.


Riding my Street is like driving my old Chevy van that has mirrors on the left and right doors but not on the windshield and I can only see the lanes to my left and right behind me in the mirrors. Perhaps it's because I'm so used to driving my old van that the fact I couldn't see directly behind me on my Street didn't seem to matter at all in the end.

 

The history of the Aermacchi Harley-Davidsons isn't all that well known but to claim that they were out-performed by the Japanese bikes simply misrepresents the facts.

Quote:

In the early 1970s, Harley-Davidson bought the ailing Aermacchi factory near Milan, with the aim of selling a range of bikes from 125cc machines to the traditional big V-twins. First, they marketed Aermacchi's horizontal single cylinder four-strokes, and then began to develop their own two-strokes. They hired (Walter) Villa for their racing effort in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing circuit. The Italians developed winning machines that took Villa to victory in the 1974, 1975 and 1976 250cc world championship, and the 350cc in 1976.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Villa


Four consective years of world championships for the Aermacchi Harley-Davidson hardly speaks of a motorcycle that wasn't very fast and they were certainly competitive with anything coming out of Japan. There were unquestionably sales problems with the Aermacchi Harley-Davidsons in the US but that wasn't because they were inferior to the Japanese motorcyles but instead it was because of poor marketing by Harley-Davidson for these motorcycles.

 

My real question is why do people want to compare the H-D Street to a Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Triumph or other motorcycle brand at all? There is one thing all of these other brands share in common.... they're not Harley-Davidsons.

If you want to own a Harley, which is why all of us own Harley's, then are these quality Harley-Davidsons in the 500cc and 750cc class. I say they are quality motorcycles based upon owning one plus my limited tear-down of my 750 so far. The only real complaint I have is how they buried the battery because it's a pain in the butt to remove (so is the one on my Sportster but not quite as bad).

If we honestly compared all models of Harley-Davidson to all other motorcycle brands I believe we'd find that Harley-Davidsons are not the "best" motorcycle but they are Harley-Davidsons while none of the other brands are.

 

I think it's because with other Harley's, except maybe the vrod - appropriately- this is a Harley that if you stripped the badges and gave it to a 100 Harley riders who were not aware of it the majority of them would not guess it's a Harley. I've owned every family of Harley except soft tail and now street and I'm sure I could tell I was riding a Harley if you put me on the newest soft tail. There is absolutely nothing about the street that identifies it as a Harley to me other than the badging and the price vs. value. I'm not going to convince you so let's just chalk it up to my opinion.

 

I don't disagree with your assessment but would also state that if you put one of today's riders on an old JD Harley they wouldn't recognize it as a Harley either. If a person's only ridden Road Kings a lot wouldn't recognize a Sportster as being a Harley either by just riding it. I would guess that a V-Rod owner would recognize the Street as being a Harley.

What I think many do is try to base their opinion on their limited knowledge of Harley Davidson motorcycles. Harley has produce everything from 50cc motorcycle to the 110cid and both 2-cycles and 4-cycle motorcycles. As I previously mentioned even the water-cooled Revolution engine has it's roots from about 45 years ago when AMF started development of the engine although it wasn't introduced until 2001 with the V-Rod. Water-cooled motorcycles really hit the market in the 1970's which is exactly when Harley-Davidson began development of a water-cooled engine. Harley was just late in getting on-board with the technology and took a long time to bring it to market.

People have a general resistance to change even when the change is for the better. I'm not a real fan of the style of the V-Rod or the Street but when I look at the engine I see a real gem. The engines are far superior to the historic air-cooled v-twins in performance and reliability from everything I've read. Nothing wrong with the air-cooled engines we typically associated with Harley but the Revolution and Revolution-X engines are a change for the better. I can change the style of the motorcycle but the engine is the core and I'm one to embrace the improved engines that started with the V-Rod's Revolution engine that is carried forward in the smaller Revolution-X engine of the Street 500 and 750.

There was a lot of resistance to the introduction of the V-Rod in 2001 but that was 14 years ago and we should be used to the V-Rod by now. A large percentage of Harley owners today never even owned a Harley prior to 2001 and the V-Rod has always existed for them. We'd think that they accepted the V-Rod as a "true" Harley because it pre-dates their ownership of any Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

For the rest of us the 14 years that have passed should have been enough time for us to get over our earlier reluctance to accept change within the Harley-Davidson line of motorcycles. It's sort of like holding a grudge. How long do we hold a grudge without any real reason for it in the first place.

Ultimately the Street is really just a down-sized V-Rod for all intent and purpose. The V-Rod provides the historical Harley heritage for the Street.

 

I agree.

 

I am new to this forum but not new to Harley's. I am also a service tech at a mid size HD dealership. I am the tech who has set up and ridden the 3 Streets that we have on our floor.I have enjoyed each of them and am considering one to convert to a dual sport.

Will the Street out perform my FLTRX? No, but I have a lot of time and money invested in it. Will it make a great commuter bike? Yes.

I find the Street much more comfortable than a Sportster.

 

That same thought crossed my mind (if I get rid of my F8000GS), but I'll have to wait for a wrecked 750 to show up on the market.

I saw them for the first time a couple days ago - they seem tiny. I think it's a step in the right direction, but they've got a tough row to hoe:

The build quality seems much worse than it is when surrounded by higher end Harleys.

Dealers have used Sportsters on the floor at the same price, or sometimes cheaper.

Jerks wandering around the showroom floor (who showed up together in an SUV) talking loudly about how they aren't real Harleys.

Now, if they came out with a stripped down cafe' racer version to compete against the Thruxton that might work....

 

Hi.

The Harley Davidson Street 750 is on the short list to replace my Suzuki C50 Boulevard. I've poured over the specs and sat on it at the Progressive Motorcycle Show.

Likes:
+Liquid cooled
+749cc
+Fuel injected
+Belt drive
+Six speed
+Front and rear disc brakes
+Not too big or heavy
+Decent seat, so it seems. Maybe could sit a little taller. A tall boy seat is available.
+Nice height
+The handle bars and hand controls seemed to be in a good position
+Okay footing. Maybe could be a little more forward and lower for open roads. Highway bars and pegs are available.
+Not super loud.
+Overall good styling
+The fit is good. The finish goes under dislikes.
+Price. Maybe.
+It's kind of a blank canvass. I ain't no custom bike builder, but I see it and think, "It'd be cool to..."

Dislikes
-Finish. That wire harness is hideous, but I got ideas. Some of the other wiring is less finished than other HDs or Japanese bikes. Same for the brake and clutch lines.
-Brake pedal should be angled up some. I had to roll my foot forward to press it all the way down.
-Pegs are too small. Larger pegs are available. Floor boards, maybe? I got spoiled with those and a heel/toe shifter on my C50.
-Knees up kind of high. Wait, what did I like about the footing? Oh yeah, feet not behind me and legs not fully extended.
-Manual adjust valves. At least they're screw and nut. Too bad they aren't as easy to get to as Honda's CTXN. 12,000 mile interval, says the internet.
-Fuel. Tank needs another gallon. 41mpg seems low, but if it makes enough power over the C50 or CTXN to be worth the sacrifice...
-Price. Local dealers are $1,000 over MSRP. Maybe they added goodies. I've only talked briefly to them and not been to a shop, only the show.

What do I intend to do with it? I intend to ride it! I'm a motorcycle commuter. Nearly 60 miles a day of streets and highway. Sometimes interstate. I also do poker runs with some buddies.

It's between the Street and the Honda CTXN, but not the DCT. Be there any Street 750 riders out there (smokindownthehwy) or anyone else? I'd like to hear your experience with the bike. There aren't many actual rider posts on the net yet.

Thanks.