There is something more than paint colors coming in the Harley touring range for 2014. http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US/projectrushmore/index2.html# Rumors of a new fairing design on the Streetglide, LED lighting, a new touchscreen stereo with Bluetooth and a new gauge and dashboard design to go with it, all these and more are floating around the HD forums, including a drawing from what looks like a 2014 service manual that shows a new radio and gauge design. I'm hoping for a power adjustable windshield myself, like the Vision and the new Chieftain.
Adjustable windshield would be nice. H-D is long overdue for a better audio system. What I love about H-D and their use of technology is how well they integrate it into their designs. Much of it is invisible and seamless so as not to detract from the visceral appeal of the bikes. This usually leads to uninformed idiots slamming Harley for their "1950's engineering and designs", while completely missing things like the flawless ride by wire injection, ABS sensor built into the wheel bearings, etc. I like what Harley-Davidson is doing. Interesting to note they are gaining more popularity here on Advrider too. I don't own a Harley currently, but might again one day.
I'm not surprised more people are getting into the HD touring bikes, I really really enjoyed the 2100 miles I put on a rented Limited a couple weeks ago. Now there are reports from the dealer show that the 110" CVO's and the trikes will be air/liquid cooled. I bet next year all the touring bikes will go liquid cooled. The 103's may have more power and torque, at least in the touring bikes. That's good news for me.
Buddies of mine have various Harleys and they (three of them) are looking at Street Glides. One of the points/reasons given to get SGs was radios. I was like WTF once you put the loud pipes on that you know you will because all three of you have them now you won't be able to hear the friggin radios anyway! None of these guys ride much farther than 50-60 miles when they do ride anyway so what is the use? The bikes they have now have been lowered and the suspensions been made so harsh to keep them from bottoming that they are not enjoyable to ride and they will do the same with new bikes.
You will be before a radio is important to riders, owners like the shiny stuff more than the important stuff!
This. HD has the nicest, most thoroughly thought out wiring harness around. I hear a lot about the new dashboard...this is a cool idea, and probably a neat option, but on the rank and file bikes I see it as too much. If they did it, it'd pop up on the Ultra Limited, or a CVO or something similar. The fairing in the background has a fairly fancy paintjob - might be a CVO, Rushmore might reference extreme personalization associated with a new paint program.
I never had tunes on a bike (other than ear buds on a long highway ride) before the Limited I rented, I kinda liked it. I made some MP3 cd's with enough songs for most of a day, cruised to my favorite tunes. I liked it.
Apparently there will be a Street Glide Special model with the new fairing/electronics and a High Output 103. Not sure about the other models yet.
I've had bikes with and without. Not a needed accessory, but it can be nice for passing the miles on a lengthy interstate drone. As for Harley, if they are going put radios in most of their touring bikes I'm glad they are (likely) upgrading the system. I'd rather have no radio than pay for the existing system.
Why would someone have an issue with a radio on a motorcycle? I commute on my dual sport and would love to have a radio. In fact I've been thinking of a Street Glide for that reason. We all listen to a hockey/ball game in our cars, why not bikes??
After seeing the carnival that was downtown at Indianapolis last night...I'm waiting for Harley to offer a 30" front wheel before jumping back into the cult. I thought I'd seen plenty of stupid shit, but 30" front wheels with a slammed rear is the latest in, "sure that's stupid, but can you top this?" .
Gosh, that's terrible. Somebody should do something about it!!! I'm glad you brought this to my attention. Wait until you hear a bagger with a stereo louder than the exhaust.
https://www.facebook.com/OaklandHarleyDavidson/photos_stream New luggage shape isn't doing it for me. Lots of nice colors. I dig the sandy Fat Bob.
Harley introduced today it's 2014 motorcycle line-up. It included the usual new paint, upgraded electronics, elimination of a few models, and.......a liquid cooled engine in the Ultra Glide Limited model. A liquid cooled Harley (that isn't the V-Rod). Hell may have just frozen over. Info here. http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US/Content/Pages/home.html
The CVO ($38,999) and the Electra Glide Ultra Limited ($25,899) will now have liquid cooling, as will the Trike. That sound you hear is Willie G. screaming somewhere in his retirement castle. The batwing is improved, and the electronics are upgraded with a touch-screen that encourages the rider to take hands off of the handlebar to answer the phone, etc. Other air-cooled bikes get cam upgrades, plus sparkly stuff and electronics. And vents in the batwing. The MoCo has jumped into venting technology with both feet. No adventure touring bike again this year, unless you consider riding a motorcycle that costs more that a Lexus ES an adventure.