A Message From Matt Levatich
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,515
Likes: 444
From: South Florida
Geez, all the whining. Ok, back in the 70s, my parents had a Dresser. The bike was an AMF bike, never broke, got ridden by them for 10 years, then they sold it, and someone else may very well be riding it now.
When the 80s came, everyone was looking the new Dynas. They had RUBBERMOUNTED engines, bushings in the handlebars to smooth vibrations, and all kinds of other things that Harley purists could never get over. Then, they did away with the kick starter in 85. Oh, the heresy.
Why, they don't even look like Harleys anymore. I'd never buy one of the new ones. The Moco is dead.
In 99, when they finally introduced the Twin Cam 88, well, that was surely the end. They don't even sound like Harleys. What were they thinking. Bring back the FXR. There's no way the Moco will ever survive this. Blah blah blah.
In 2017, the new M8 came out. The motor is crap, the new bikes don't even look like Harleys anymore. They killed the Dyna, did away with the rubbermount, single crank, and made them softails with mono shocks? OMG, the Mococ is dead, it's all over, I'll never sell my Dyna, it was the best motorcycle the Moco ever made, waxing poetic, sniff sniff. Issues with the new motor? It's a piece of crap, just like the Twin Cam in 99, or the Evo that pissed oil in 84, or the shovel in 65. In other words, it ain't a real Harley if it ain't a panhead.
Unless of course, you want to bring up the XL like, which was in production since 1957, while the motor itself has been used in one form or another since 1919. So, all you Harley purists out there, better grab a Sporty, before the Mococ stops making them, so youse can has a real HOG!
When the 80s came, everyone was looking the new Dynas. They had RUBBERMOUNTED engines, bushings in the handlebars to smooth vibrations, and all kinds of other things that Harley purists could never get over. Then, they did away with the kick starter in 85. Oh, the heresy.
Why, they don't even look like Harleys anymore. I'd never buy one of the new ones. The Moco is dead.
In 99, when they finally introduced the Twin Cam 88, well, that was surely the end. They don't even sound like Harleys. What were they thinking. Bring back the FXR. There's no way the Moco will ever survive this. Blah blah blah.
In 2017, the new M8 came out. The motor is crap, the new bikes don't even look like Harleys anymore. They killed the Dyna, did away with the rubbermount, single crank, and made them softails with mono shocks? OMG, the Mococ is dead, it's all over, I'll never sell my Dyna, it was the best motorcycle the Moco ever made, waxing poetic, sniff sniff. Issues with the new motor? It's a piece of crap, just like the Twin Cam in 99, or the Evo that pissed oil in 84, or the shovel in 65. In other words, it ain't a real Harley if it ain't a panhead.
Unless of course, you want to bring up the XL like, which was in production since 1957, while the motor itself has been used in one form or another since 1919. So, all you Harley purists out there, better grab a Sporty, before the Mococ stops making them, so youse can has a real HOG!
Road Master
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 749
Likes: 287
From: Detroit area
In 99, when they finally introduced the Twin Cam 88, well, that was surely the end. They don't even sound like Harleys. What were they thinking. Bring back the FXR. There's no way the Moco will ever survive this. Blah blah blah.
This is one of the reasons the Japanese were able to get a foot in the door beyond mopeds and dominate two decades of motorcycle sales in the US. Then one thing happened that I believe really turned the tide for Harley-Davidson. It wasn't the AMF sale or the Reagan speech or the introduction of the Evo engine (All hail the Evo! God save the Evo! Long live the Evo! Long live MY Evo!) First, one sentence of personal history as a prelude. Japanese bikes were all I knew about growing up; I didn't know what a Harley-Davidson was until this event... Terminator 2: Judgment Day. That movie with Arnold riding the new Fat Boy is what changed HD's fortune for good and turned the Harley culture into what it has become (for better or worse, take your pick). No one has to agree, but I can't be swayed; this is what made Harley mainstream.
Personally, I don't think it does Harley or anyone else any good to keep making the engines larger, more complex, and more expensive. They keep getting bigger and uglier; to what end? The Evo is the sexiest of all the engines; long and slender, fitting the frame just right with a little room to spare and plenty of room to tweak lots of power out of it. The air cleaners (stock) keep getting bigger and uglier (from perfect circle Evo to oval TC to rhomboid M8 - barf; looks like the original Goldwing box). The displacement war ended years ago; stop already and do something creative already - like make smaller/cheaper/interesting bikes for a younger crowd. Oh, wait; they might be doing that already. I'm excited to see what the new bikes bring to the table. For HD to survive the future, they can't be an "old man's" bike anymore.
Personally, I don't think it does Harley or anyone else any good to keep making the engines larger, more complex, and more expensive. They keep getting bigger and uglier; to what end? The Evo is the sexiest of all the engines; long and slender, fitting the frame just right with a little room to spare and plenty of room to tweak lots of power out of it. The air cleaners (stock) keep getting bigger and uglier (from perfect circle Evo to oval TC to rhomboid M8 - barf; looks like the original Goldwing box). The displacement war ended years ago; stop already and do something creative already - like make smaller/cheaper/interesting bikes for a younger crowd. Oh, wait; they might be doing that already. I'm excited to see what the new bikes bring to the table. For HD to survive the future, they can't be an "old man's" bike anymore.
4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 8
Likes: 4
From: Idaho
Sad!
Absolutely no sympathy for HD from me. Just when the U.S. is leveling the playing field by renegotiating trade deals to reduce tariffs placed on U.S. goods, HD undercuts the U.S.'s position and announces their intention to move some production overseas. These are American jobs disappearing. Makes one wonder what HD's real long term intentions are by shifting production offshore.
Yup, Trump trying to get other countries to eliminate tariffs and make trade fair. Gives these corporations a huge tax cut at start of the year and they stab him in the back first chance they get. Ungrateful bastages!
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 6,322
Likes: 2,500
From: Tennessee
I don't recall much complaining about the demise of the kick starter.
We did wish that they hadn't cancelled the FXR, but no one was predicting the demise of the company over any of these issues.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 9,332
Likes: 3,873
From: Upstate New York
Personally, I never warmed to the Twin-cam motor. Thats why Im still riding my Evo. Now, I consider the M8 to be a step in the right direction, once they get the bugs worked out and once I decide I can afford $25,000 for one.
Last edited by Uncle G.; Aug 24, 2018 at 11:50 AM.
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