Not only was the V-Rod marketed wrong, HD didn't take advantage of the engine and use it in other platforms. Also add in that dealers (or salesman) I visited when the V-Rod first came out were openly hostile to it. Pretty much the same thing with the Buell. What type of idiot trashes their own product when he has a guy standing there wanting to buy one?
I really hope HD can market the new bikes properly and the dealers will embrace selling them.
Yea, well, this goes on in the car world as well. Back in 2015 I wanted to order a 2015 Mustang with a manual and the Sales Manager tried several times to talk me out of it and then refused to put the order in for several weeks. The reason was simple....if it comes in and I refuse it he is "stuck with it because everyone wants an automagic"' Also, if I were to trade it in "he would not even want it."
This is likely playing in on this situation as well....you are interested in a new VRod but what if you want a Softtail next year? Gosh, he may be stuck with it if you want to trade it in...or at least you will despise the offer they give for the value.
All the times we have all been to a Harley dealer...where are the Streets? At my local dealer all 2 of them are in the back corner where you cannot find them unless you are working really hard at it. You have to climb over the Specials, the Bobs, the Classics, and the Limiteds to even see them back there. Why was I looking for them? At the time I had this wild crazy idea to take a Street Rod and turn it into a scrambler. When I found them there were 2...a new Street 750 and a used 500...not even a Street Rod to look at.
I am bracing for the day when I go in to look at the Pan America and have to go fishing for where they may have that one hiding...
It has to be affordable and perform, all there is to it. HD is notorious for making bikes heavier and more expensive, thereby screwing themselves over. It has to stop, turn, and have a free revving engine with the best of them in order to be competitive. In the meantime, I'll hang on to my 1125R, the minimum benchmark HD must beat IMO.
Test rode a Zero DS (dual sport) 14.4 on Saturday. Anyone here ever ride a 500 lb bike with 150ft. lbs. of torque?
It's a whole different ballgame, folks.
While I'd like to see a lot of performance from the SF I am tempering my expectations. I look forward to the release and if this is more than just hype I expect it to be my next purchase. Honestly, I'm not holding my breath. Sad but true.
…...A test ride will determine if I knock the KTM on and replace with the Indian or wait for the Streetfighter perhaps? Indian are onto something with the flat-tracker derivative I think?
Test rides are not to be had, Indian shipped a few bikes over to the UK for the dealers to have open days of the new model launch. Rumour has it that only 400 of the FTRs are coming to the UK this year. Pulled the trigger anyway. Demand is strong as my local dealer had already sold 13 of his allocation of 16 units for this year before his open day launch. I think demand for the SteetFighter when it arrives will be just as strong. Pricing, availability and technical details swung the decision over the StreetFighter for me but if for any reason I decide to move on I don't think I'd suffer too much loss at this stage.
From the pics ive seen that streetfighter looks wide as ****... it really all depends on price and performance.... Now the Indian,,,,,,, The price is ridiculous and it looks like ****. If we got what were teased with yeah id buy one but what we got in final form is a deal breaker for me...could have at least kept the high pipe
I have some seat time on a couple of nakeds. I’ve never rode a Buell but I have rode a Ducati 1098 Streetfighter. In my honest opinion that bike is perfection on two wheels. I’d never own one for the maintenance cost alone but what that bike brought to the table regarding sound and performance put a huge smile on my face. If that is the benchmark that Harley is shooting for I wish them luck. If this is going to be a world fighter it needs to standout in one of a couple of areas. Price, power, performance or weight. If it can out due the Competition in any one of those areas it may stand a chance. This is coming from a person that bought a brand over performance numbers with my speed triple.
I have some seat time on a couple of nakeds. I’ve never rode a Buell but I have rode a Ducati 1098 Streetfighter. In my honest opinion that bike is perfection on two wheels. I’d never own one for the maintenance cost alone but what that bike brought to the table regarding sound and performance put a huge smile on my face. If that is the benchmark that Harley is shooting for I wish them luck. If this is going to be a world fighter it needs to standout in one of a couple of areas. Price, power, performance or weight. If it can out due the Competition in any one of those areas it may stand a chance. This is coming from a person that bought a brand over performance numbers with my speed triple.
I wish them luck on that as well. But I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for Harley-Davidson to ever produce a motorcycle which could even begin to compete with a Ducati Streetfighter. That bike is legendary in the naked community, and for good reason.
The Harley Streetfighter looks like a modern version of a glorified sportster. If I were to speculate based on the pics and specs which have been teased so far, my guess is that it will be underpowered, top heavy, and lacking the world class brakes and electronics found on super nakeds such as the Super Duke, Monster 1200R, etc. Judging it head-to-head against the new Ducati Streetfighter V4 would probably be cringeworthy. The Ducati will look better, sound better, and outperform it in every single way a motorcycle can be measured.
All that said, judged on the basis of what it is instead of what it isn't, I think the new Harley has a fighting chance of finding an audience as kind of a cool retro naked. At least in the US.
11-29-2018, 12:12 PM
