Just in: After careful consideration, Harley-Davidson will replace their current board with select HD Forum members. Based on forum opinions, feedback and overall except advice, the motor company has decided that their customers should lead the company into the future. No economic or manufacturing background required. Don't contact us, we'll contact you.
1. Now you're being obtuse. "Enthusiasts" may have coined the phrase (but I doubt it) but they didn't create the machine to do it on.
No. Someone else coined the phrase. Motorcycle enthusiasts invented the touring class by slinging saddle bags over the rear fender, tying a bed roll to the handlebars, and setting off across the country without a destination in mind. They probably didn't call it "touring".
2. I think you meant to say, these days "there are many different options for touring.... That was not always the case. To say otherwise is fake news.
No. There have always been options. Any motorcycle will do, be it a Harley, and Indian, a BSA, or a Triumph. As far as "fake news" is concerned, you clearly do not know or understand what the phrase means.
3. So then it's just profits, not sales numbers that are sliding downward? If Harley "dominates" the market then they really don't need to come up with anything new. When something works just stick with it and the pigeons will come home to roost.
There is no need to get all apocalyptic is the point. Harley is doing fine, selling lots of motorcycles, and dominating the highways and byways. Will this slide reverse or accelerate? Time will tell. But, right now... there is no reason to panic.
4. "Harley's competition is basically surviving on the scraps left behind...."? Please, go back to the POD and pretend you know what you're talking about. Don't bother the grown ups.
It's pretty clear at this point that you have no idea what touring is all about either. Now, stop wasting my time.
apparently you've never ridden a stock Sportster or dyna for that matter. Talk about rearranging your spine.
Also the FZ07 has an upright seating position, which is also better than the vrod as you're not sitting on your assbone with your legs in front . Ignorance at it's finest.
The FZ07 also has rear-set footpegs which I can't tolerate for more than a few miles. I can ride my Road King all day long without having to re-position my feet.
The FZ07 also has rear-set footpegs which I can't tolerate for more than a few miles. I can ride my Road King all day long without having to re-position my feet.
fit is always subjective, but OP was trying to use the VROD as an example for younger riders. I'm just trying to say that is not what they want for all the reasons I've posted and probably a lot more.
No. Someone else coined the phrase. Motorcycle enthusiasts invented the touring class by slinging saddle bags over the rear fender, tying a bed roll to the handlebars, and setting off across the country without a destination in mind. They probably didn't call it "touring". Now you're talking about the concept of long distance riding. In your other post you were talking about a class of motorcycles. Make up your mind.
No. There have always been options. Any motorcycle will do, be it a Harley, and Indian, a BSA, or a Triumph. As far as "fake news" is concerned, you clearly do not know or understand what the phrase means. No, there hasn't always been options and no not any motorcycle will do. You clearly stated and I quote, "other brands in its class." Indian stopped making heavy weight motorcycles in 1953, the Gold Wing didn't come out until 1975 and BSA and Triumph never made anything bigger than 750cc's until Triumph "launched" the Rocket III in 2003.
There is no need to get all apocalyptic is the point. Harley is doing fine, selling lots of motorcycles, and dominating the highways and byways. Will this slide reverse or accelerate? Time will tell. But, right now... there is no reason to panic. "We'll see" said the Zen master.
It's pretty clear at this point that you have no idea what touring is all about either. Don't take yourself so seriously.
BTW. When you have some of your valuable time to spare, please post a picture of your motorcycle and don't forget to put a broom in the photo so nobody accuses you of offering an internet harvest. I've got a dollar riding on this.
Never saw a Vrod on the road because no one buys a Harley sport bike when you have 4 major Japanese manufactures that specialize in making them cheaper and faster stock.
FYI, the V-Rod was a raked-out power cruiser and not intended to compete as a sport bike. With relatively good performance and unique looks, it more than holds its own against it's direct Japanese competition, i.e., M109R.
FYI, the V-Rod was a raked-out power cruiser and not intended to compete as a sport bike. With relatively good performance and unique looks, it more than holds its own against it's direct Japanese competition, i.e., M109R.
I think that was kind of his point. Power cruisers are a really niche market, and there have never been more than a few production bikes in that category because, well, it just isn't a very useful type of motorcycle. That may sound funny coming from a guy who is known for riding power cruisers, but I better than most people know their limitations.
And Harley's attempt with the VROD wasn't that great. It had a decent engine, but its other performance characteristics were sketchy, even when compared to other power cruisers. About the only thing it was good for was styling on the boulevard to pick up chicks. The competitor bikes were even more powerful, but could actually handle and were generally more comfortable. In the end, there just wasn't much of a market for it.
The new Fat Bob is hideously ugly, but it's a step in the right direction. Sort of...
It's got okay power, plus it has inverted forks, dual disk brakes, and is a bit lighter. So that could help it appeal to younger riders. However, it's a cruiser which lacks a cruise control, it's still pretty expensive for what it is, and it's graced with quite possibly the worst designed exhaust ever seen on a production Harley. Yikes!
The new Fat Bob also has one other big problem: while it actually handles okay for a stock Harley, the options for improving the lean angle are not good because Harley removed the side shocks and made it a softail. WTF! So no adding Ohlins in the rear. As many reviewers have railed about, the new Fat Bob is an interesting machine which is handicapped by Harley's almost complete lack of understanding of how to design a modern motorcycle. The bike could be a blast to ride, but they killed it with a ***** lean angle and forward controls, which is pretty much a deal breaker for anyone who wants a performance Harley. The end result is the Fat Bob is okay, but that's about all it's ever going to be because they designed it so that it would be hugely difficult to mod. I've yet to see a single 2018 Fat Bob modded so that it might attract some non-Harley riders. Harley got 50% of the way there, and then just totally dropped the ball and said, "Well, that's that. Let's go to lunch."
That's really frustrating, because there are a lot of people like me who would jump on a Harley performance machine in a heartbeat if it wasn't gimped with some ridiculous fail which would require $20k to fix. I've ridden the new Fat Bob, and I like where it could potentially go. But it needs way better handling, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to lighten it by replacing some of the heavy fenders with some badass carbon fiber pieces. Put the VROD engine in it and it would be nice, but that isn't going to happen. So just make it handle better and get the weight down.
When you get right down to it, the new Fat Bob is basically a bloated attempt at a Ducati Monster. There's no money in power cruisers as it's just too niche. But a legitimate Harley competitor to the Monster could be a huge seller, assuming it didn't cost $25k...
07-10-2018, 09:07 AM
