It's considerably more bike than a Sportster or arguably the cheaper Softails. Remember this appears to be an apex model of the new Sportster line and additional (cheaper and possibly lower displacement) models are on the way. I love the old Sportster and might still buy another. But I'll not get all defensive about it considering what this has to offer. Oh the Scout was Indian's shot across the Sportster bow, this is an excellent see you and raise you reply.
I"d imagine prices will go up on the other models to keep it 'entry'. As the new engines roll into the other models.
It's gonna be considerably faster than any of the Softails. The lightest Softail is still around 150lb heaver, has ~40-50 less bhp, but about the same torque. Actually, I think this new bike should handily be the fastest bike HD builds.
Did you say that backwards? Presumably the other models will include smaller displacement versions. Perhaps no RDRS standard or no cruise or different brakes. I still think this in the apex of the new Sportster line. Unless there's a "supersport" or something aimed more at the FTR But why would they introduce a new Sportster line with the entry level model? Nah....
Yeah, I realized that after I posted that the Pan Am isn't that much heavier than the Sportster S...stock for stock. 150hp per 560ish lb vs 121hp per 505 lb. I always just assume ADV bikes are going to weigh 700lb
Should have been clearer. I think the big twins are going to have a large price increase. Folk have shown a willingness to pay 30k+ for cvo's, so the factory will 'push' those bikes at the same time pressure is on to do away with air cooled engines. Same pressure has been on them to actually make a competitive motorcycle; Tq, HP, abs, lighting, sound, nav, suspension out of the box. The intersection is price. The new CEO has stated he wants the brand to be exclusive, which they will succeed at. Thankfully the used market is full of moderately priced, low use bikes. That said, I think its short sighted on HD's part.
$15,000 for a sportster that still needs a couple grand spent to get it set up to carry a passenger and a set of throwovers seems like a weird move towards attracting younger buyers. I don’t know why harley keeps sticking these massive high exhausts on the bikes. I like that they’re going in to modern tech, but I wish they would go back to the ergonomics/blank slate setup of 90’s bikes. I finally got to a financial position I could justify buying new, and was getting sick of the realities of riding high mileage 30 year old bikes, last year. I was looking at the regular low rider before it was discontinued and I just couldn’t justify spending that much and immediately giving them an excuse to avoid warranty claims by spending even more on an exhaust just to get space for bags
The solution is to buy a low-mileage 30 year old bike and keep the extra $ in yer pocket. I can't get excited enough over the Fat Baby to consider laying out mid-to-upper teen$ for one. I want to buy a BFN bike, too. My new priorities include weight MUCH closer to (or below) 400 lbs, and do not include hp >100. And "No Fat Chicks" - this thing looks like it has it's own event horizon and could be called the "Black Hole".
I would like to think so But is that the reality? Sounds like an interesting experiment of torque and HP. I'm pretty sure I know which would be the king of lean or rollicking through frost heaves at speed.
I just haven’t figured out how to ride the snot out of the 30 year old bikes and have them stay low mileage, although I guess my fxr’s odometer hasn’t gone up since I took it off and put in a drawer. The appeal of a newer bike to me is not hearing the word “obsolete” when I need to get parts in a hurry away from home. I’m working on getting a 20 year old bike soon so we’ll see how that goes
Just like the LiveWire. This is an all new bike. Why do so many think the tooling costs should be absorbed? R&D?? Where have you all been? Oh My GOD<<<<<a Harley-Davidson is expensive!!!! That's never happened before.
They should recoup that outlay, yes. My thought is that HD is leaving a lot of room underneath for other manufacturers to play in.
All, Ready to get back on Sportster, specifically a 1200 evo. Looking at a 98 and 01 I can't imagine there are any note worthy differences in these two years? Both one owner, under 10k mile bikes. 98 01
If memory serves correctly the 01 has sealed wheel bearings and the better Kelsey-Hayes 4-pot caliper (up front, not sure about rear). That would be significant to me. PS, that's hilarious. I literally found CycleSmart NJ today when I was out with the wife. It's right next to a Verizon store where we're going back tomorrow for an appointment. Anyway I was gonna stop in to CycleSmart tomorrow if you want to me to check it out. Funny I looked at everything on their website a few hours ago lol.
K, Noted on bearings and caliper. If that's the case, it is note worthy. If you are nearby, put some eyes on it if it's not too much. Distance is probably prohibitive for me on this bike but I do prefer the mags/color of the 98. Too bad you are not headed to Arkansas or the south anytime soon..... Thanks for the note.
I was looking through a box of my old motorcycle magazines yesterday and ran across this catalog. I picked it up at that dealership when I bought my first leather motorcycle jacket.
I'll stop by tomorrow as long as Verizon doesn't take too long and PM you. I prefer the mags too and the color is nice.