Harley going backwards.....

Sidecar Flip said:

Jamie.....

Other than a Rotax powered yellow Can-Am, Spyder, I haven't see a new Rotax Buell at all. .

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So you have just answered my genuine question about the 1125R's (TM)reception/perception in America

Motorcyclist had a half a page "preview" article on it a couple of issues ago, but nothing since then that I have noticed.
Yet, virtually all European weeklies feature a one-page ad about it this week: "Trilogy technology" (???)... "liquid-cooled 1125cc Rotax V-twin"... "Showa 47mm fork"... "Quiet Zone" fairing ( ???...in English in all language ads that I have seen, sounds to me like Ford Edsel advertising hype ) and an "8-piston ZTL2-type front brake" (???).

Oh, I almost forgot: "The most powerful Buell ever built"

WTF is a legitimate question, therefore, isn't it? Jamie

I guess this means fewer pirates on the roads.

fastfreight said:

"Mr. Antonius noted some of the drop in Honda’s motorcycle sales have been offset by increased sales of scooters.
“Scooters,” he said, “are flying off the shelves.”
Wonder what a Harley-Davidson scooter might look like?"

In my part of the world (NorCal) I'm starting to see a lot of new scooters ridden by people motivated by gas savings who have no idea what they are doing and obviously have not bothered to get MC endorsements on their licenses. They wear beanie helmets and flip flops, riding 35mph on 50mph expressways. About six months from now I expect to see newspaper articles about the alarming rise in deaths and injuries from scooter accidents.

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I'm even seeing that around here. I was in Monroe, Mi on thursday (had to get a new AGM battery for the Bonnie). I was riding the KLR and observed a grey hair (not that I'm not a grey hair....) riding some kind of bright yellow scooter (I think it was a Kymco) against traffic on Dixie Highway (55mph road). No helmet in shorts. Michigan is a mandatory helmet state. People are buying scooters that have no business whatsoever riding anything but a Raygo electric mobility chair. Kids are buying scooters because they can't afford to buy gas for their mommy's and daddy's cars anymore. The news will lump rising scooter deaths and accidents right in with motorcycle accidents and fatalities and legislators in their infinite wisdom and limited mentality will legislate new and tougher laws and regulations that will make doing what we do even less enjoyable......You say that won't happen, I beg to differ. When there is an accident involving a truck, does the media ever differentiate whether its a commercial truck or a pickup......no. Just a truck and people surmise it's a tractor trailer when most times it's a pickup truck. Same scenario with motorcycles. I see that coming.

Pig9r said:

HD still sells more bikes in the US than any other bike maker. They are a very cash rich company also, which is good in skinny times. Who is going to suffer are the dealers that had to build the big Taj Mahal dealerships. The purchase of MV might be a good way to borrow some technology and to move some US dollars to Euros.

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Most likely excahnge worthless FRN's for Euro's. I don't know what or if HD subsidizes their retail single line dealers. They must do something because all exclusive HD dealers are of the same theme in building and decor. Whatever happened to the HD dealers that existed when I was a kid...Greasy counters, dingy showrooms and real people.

Jamie said:

So you have just answered my genuine question about the 1125R's (TM)reception/perception in America

Motorcyclist had a half a page "preview" article on it a couple of issues ago, but nothing since then that I have noticed.
Yet, virtually all European weeklies feature a one-page ad about it this week: "Trilogy technology" (???)... "liquid-cooled 1125cc Rotax V-twin"... "Showa 47mm fork"... "Quiet Zone" fairing ( ???...in English in all language ads that I have seen, sounds to me like Ford Edsel advertising hype ) and an "8-piston ZTL2-type front brake" (???).

Oh, I almost forgot: "The most powerful Buell ever built"

WTF is a legitimate question, therefore, isn't it? Jamie

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I never understood why Erik Buell used the HD engine in the first place. I always thought the bike was kind of a quandry....Very progressive and stone age at the same time.

Hd/2009

The Harley 2009 model line is now shown on the company's internet site. Quite high on verbosity but extremely low on novelty.. Jamie

Jamie said:

The Harley 2009 model line is now shown on the company's internet site. Quite high on verbosity but extremely low on novelty.. Jamie

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Like Captain Kangaroo said...........

If you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bull****te..........

Ntr > roflmao

Sidecar Flip said:

Like Captain Kangaroo said...........

If you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bull****te..........

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Indeed, Flip .

Excerpts:

"The all-new (?) V-Rod 'Muscle' brings urban energy to the VRSC cruiser platform"

"Under the skin, our 2009 Touring models are essentially new motorcycles"

"We are able to retain the character of each model while significantly improving the riding experience in many ways"

... and my favorite:

"The (Heritage) fuel tank is adorned with glass-filled 3D badges"



Jamie

Sidecar Flip said:

I'm also wondering how the Itallian acquisition will bear on the company. HD don't have a 'small' bike, neither does the acquired company. Should have bought Piaggio instead. Scooters are hot, Hoge are not.

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How do you say Potato....Potato....Potato.... in Italian