Should Harley’s Legendary Knucklehead Make a Comeback?
Retro is hot in the motorcycle and car world these days. Thus, would an ailing Harley profit from a Knucklehead revival?
When you’re talking about the most beloved, collectible, and iconic Harley-Davidson models in history, few live up to the legendary Knucklehead. Thus, it’s no surprise that values of these revolutionary and distinctly-styled bikes are beginning to skyrocket. Thus, it’s worth wondering if a financially struggling modern-day Harley-Davidson should consider bringing back the legendary model. Which is exactly what Harley-Davidson Forums member edteach was wondering recently.
“Would a limited run of Knuckleheads sell? A newly made retro bike? Is it even possible?”
Unsurprisingly, our members have a lot to say about this touchy subject. But as LQQK_OUT notes, you can basically already build your own today.
“Open up your wallet and call S&S for one of their KN-Series engines. 62 Horsepower, 86 ft-lbs torque, $9,500.”
The real question, of course, is whether or not building a new Knucklehead makes financial sense for Harley. And TriGeezer doubts that it would.
“There is no way Harley would sell enough to amortize the fixed costs so they could be affordable.”
But as rhino1250 points out, retro builds have been hugely successful for other manufacturers.
“Mother Mopar just brought back the 426 Hemi, so why not?”
And plenty of folks, including hvacgaspiping, would love to see it happen.
“An email campaign to HD might be the ticket. I`d sure like to see a modern version of the Knucklehead.”
Quite a few people, however, wonder what the point of such an exercise would be. After all, could a new Knucklehead compete with modern Harleys in terms of performance? Member bustert thinks so, but there are a few caveats.
“From an aesthetics point of view, they do have an appeal. Could they be modernized, well sure.
Case in point, take the Cooper/Bessemer compressor. Designed back in the 40’s and it was a popular unit by today’s standards. Obsolete but there are plenty still out there. Being a 2-cycle, they have issues with emissions and fuel wise. But along came the computer, and now these are viable units even today.They not only meet standards for pollution, but they also increased their power output. Although HD has changed their style and materials, the older stuff is basically the same when it comes to basic functionality. Still old pushrod and forked rods. But would I buy one? Nope, I would rather have an original. It would be like having a real ’65 Mustang vs a Chinese knock-off.”
And maybe, as Architect notes, we’ve already got a modernized Knucklehead available for purchase right now.
“If you modernize a Knucklehead you know what you get??? An M8!!!! HD has constantly evolved over the years, you can still see a little bit of the first OHV engine in the M8. The only thing you could do would be to build a replica, and then what is the point.”
Truthfully, we kind of like the idea of Harley bringing back the Knucklehead. But these are all valid points, of course. Still, we want to know what you think. So head over here and tell us if you believe a Knucklehead revival is just what Harley needs to drum up more interest in the brand!
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