.......... or maybe he just started drinkin' early ?

 

Anybody thought that wasn't happening is in serious denial I predicted this **** 2 years ago ...................

 

You would think they could hide the radiator better! Just the logo will sell a lot of bikes. I do not think they are looking at just the female market, more the young kids that are wantabees. They will need two versions...one slow and one fast. Good luck with that. They better not style it like a Japanese bike or it will die. Should look like one of Sands Sporties. Cafe racer looking.

 

Buell Blast

 

It's the new Harley Tandoori!

 

That's what they did with the VRod, way too much money> If it would have sold for around the price of a Sporty it might have done well. This needs to be $5k or less. Probably do well overseas.

Makes a Fugly look like a rock star.

 

It's India. The bike has an Indian plate.

 

With the demise of the Buell/HD connection, the inventory of Buell Blasts for training has dwindled. The RidersEdge programs use the Buell Blast, which are 500cc. The MOCO knew that eventually there was a need for something to replace the aging fleet.

I'm not saying that this was the sole reason for the development of what we're seeing in these pictures, but it's part of the equation. While I was at RidersEdge Instructors class last year, the topic came up from our trainer... He would only say, "Be prepared for a new bike". He couldn't or wouldn't expand on it, but it sure seems this is what he was talking about.

Harley had a small but distinct niche with the Buell's and I'm sure they see this as a way to get a foothold in the smaller displacement market, if not in the U.S, in the rest of the world.

+++ So I typed the above BEFORE reading the article linked. Apparently, all I did was say the same thing! oops. Well at least I didn't fly in the face of the article!

 

I'm sure financially it makes a lot of sense. They'll just have to be careful so it doesn't cut into 883 sales. It would be great if it had a lower seat height (25" or so) than a Sporty to make it easier for beginners/shorter women to handle. My wife is ready skill wise to move up to a Sportster, but they all feel too tall to her. A Fatboy Lo is perfect, but she's intimidated by the weight and its way out of her budget.

 

Parts made in India? I'd go straight to a Japanese bike dealer without even looking at this if I was interested in something that size; any other good points it might have wouldn't make up for that.