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The Street.  (Not Street Glide.)  750cc Water Cooled.  Price point ~$7k.  Built on the V-Rod assembly line.

 

An interesting move.

 

post-4831-0-11562300-1396890789_thumb.jpg

Edited by Darth Saigus
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Looks like they're trying to compete with the Yamaha Bolt.
 

Personally I think Harley should stick with air cooled pushrod power.

*edit - Those sprints were a sweet little Italian bike. Helping an uncle restore one right now

 

Edited by WhiskeyMinion
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Epic fail. That's one ugly hog. It better be under 10 grand. It's going to be a pooch with a 750 V twin. It's almost a step down from a sportster.


http://auto.ndtv.com/videos/harley-davidson-street-750-is-ready-to-rumble-316007

 

cycle world dyno results. 57.6 horse 7955rpm

43.2 lb ft tq / 3790

 

How about 5 grand?

Edited by Stryker0946
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With a little more digging I found this.

 

Price : Starting at $6,700 – $7,500 USD

 

 

cycle world dyno results. 57.6 horse 7955rpm

43.2 lb ft tq / 3790

Those are at the wheel. Still not impressive but not as bad as it seems at first blush.

 

I'm sure that major gains are possible with normal tuning.

 

I admit I like the idea. I've been riding Buells and Harleys for many years. This bike is not for me but I do think the market is there. Especially overseas.

Edited by Darth Saigus
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Yep, it's designed for people outside of the USA who want a harley and can't get one or afford a real one. They are bat shit crazy expensive in europe and India. This will let the kids get their first harely. Kinda like a sportster.

 

They should just limit the sales of this turd to outside north america to prevent losses.

 

You can tune anything to have more power. Problem is that it's still a small displacement for a heavy frame with piss poor aerodynamics.

 

I love harleys but they sure have been whored out over the last ten years. Still make a few nice bikes. Most are fugly and overpriced.

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That might be just what im looking for, depending on the aftermarket. The front looks too raked for me though. My Ninja 650 was a sportbike-looking standard that gets 55MPG and has 70-something HP. Plenty of power, torque, and comfortable on long rides. I just got sick of everyone thinking I was riding a 600cc rocket though. I tried a few cruisers, and while I like the style, they are all just heavy gas-guzzlers with terrible handling and miserable power/weight ratio until they get as big as a small car anyway.

 

What I would really like to see is Honda bring back the Magna completely modernized. Make it lightweight, modern frame design for handling, look good like a cruiser, and drop the VFR 1200 engine in there. A 'power cruiser' (read: cruiser with power/weight almost as good as low-end sportbikes) that doesnt ignore handling, braking, gas mileage, comfort, safety and storage just to shoehorn the biggest engine possible in there.

Edited by mostholycerebus
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I've never been too impressed with Harleys either aesthetically or technically, and this one doesn't really impress me much more than the V-Rod did ("That's a Harley?  Hmm.")  Really the Sportster XR1200 was one of their only bikes that really caught my attention in recent memory, and I think it's because it eschewed all pretense of being a cruiser and was a straight-up naked bike.

 

It looks like this bike features in some Captain America: The Winter Soldier product placement.  Let's hope it's a less disappointing film experience than Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls.

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Only bikes I ever much cared to own were Triumph 650s and Sportys.

Either could be bought as basket cases for a song, miss those days.

 

With the price of bikes now that aint likely to change nor may my rear end be planted one.

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Harley has to expand itself outside of its bread and butter. They almost went water cooled 4cyl in the 80s(http://www.bikerenews.com/AntiqueBikes/CodeNameNova.htm), and they were pushing in this direction with the Vrod to begin with. Bound to happen.

 

Personally I'm a fan of smaller bikes anyway. Keep the Machismo, Early bikers(the ones now emulated) were proud as hell to just get out on two wheels.

 

My father is as dyed in the wool harley as it gets, but remembers fond childhood memories with his father cleaning his 305 Dream.

Ken_Fisher_Honda_305_Dream_068_cropped_o]

 

While I won't be going out of my way to pick one up, I don't own a bike over 900cc. Hell the newest is the smallest, and was picked up to settle a debt.

 

1959 XLCH (900cc)

1975 xs650 (650cc)

1980 xs650

2002 buel blast (500cc)


If Harley DOESN'T change, it'll be overtaken by Indian. Polaris has been getting rave reviews with their new touring bikes, and has them marked at a price point that will get attention.

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Living in Phoenix I wouldn't mind some liquid cooling.  My Fat Bob (high compression 103) runs ungodly hot in the summer even with the heavy duty oil cooler.

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@ Darth, Some Amsoil and she'll be fine.  I built a 120'' once that would run 300+ degrees in the summer.  Does your oil cooler have a thermostat?  Some of the O.E. ones do which isn't doing shit for you.  Make sure its free flowing in the summer, put a leather wrap around it when its cooler out...

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I like the late 90's dyna wide glides.  I rode a mid 70's AMF Harley 175 2cycle as a teen.  I liked that thing bad thing was I only had rear breaks and they were well worn and the clutch cable broke.  You got used to shifting down fast to slow down and walking it into first gear to get going as to not kill it.  Didn't have a battery on it so it was kickstart only.

 

I am only permitted to own a Harley due to family being bikers, which is fine with me I like them.  

 

I have the inlaws that thing Harleys are overpriced piles of constant repairs.  And think I should either be riding some import cruiser or some rice sportbike.

 

Everyone I knew that road harleys kept the required tools for roadside adjustments but those were the old 70's and earlier that I know needed adjusting after so long.  Easy to repair on the side of the road too.

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EPA regulations are pushing them into liquid cooled for reduced engine noise emissions.  About like everything else good we USED to have in this country.

Exactly the reason HD went water cooled. Damn EPA.

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small Harley big Harley, they pretty much won't save you when some idiot who is texting while driving runs you over in their truck or SUV.

 

at least in a car you have a chance of surviving, not so when a tire rides over your head and  pops it like a over-ripe casaba mellon.

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Hey, if HD sees a market segment they think they can fill a need for, I say "Go for it!"

 

Personally, I won't buy a motorcycle here in OH... I've nearly been hit 5 times in my cars! The drivers on the roads today are freakin' clueless.

I've owned bikes before, and enjoyed it, but don't want to risk my life that much these days.

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small Harley big Harley, they pretty much won't save you when some idiot who is texting while driving runs you over in their truck or SUV.

 

at least in a car you have a chance of surviving, not so when a tire rides over your head and  pops it like a over-ripe casaba mellon.

 

Yeah there is that, got to where I swore there was a target on my back when riding.

 

Didnt help that the price of these things went though the roof. Thanks .gov

 

Worst of it was the damned helmet, yeah yeah I know but anyone who has ridden to any extent without one will tell you, one can hear MUCH better see MUCH better and react faster without that blasted thing.

That is the core of being safer.

 

So when do people in cars get to wear one? After all most fatalities in cars are head injuries after all...

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I have lost so many friends over the years.  And there is a common denominator.

 

Every friend I've lost was not wearing a helmet.  Most Harley people here in AZ don't wear them.

 

I've seen with my own eyes 4 bike accidents where the rider lived only because of a helmet.  That was back in my sport bike days.  We rode stupid but we wore helmets.

 

I've also seen 2 fatals where the guys would have lived with a helmet.  With my own eyes I saw them die.

 

I ride with a full face helmet and I can see fine. 

 

You will never tell me that riding without is safer.

 

It's your choice (at least in states where it is your choice).  But don't blow rainbow smoke up my ass about it being safer.

 

Safety on a bike comes down to awareness.  Constant and unrelenting awareness.  No matter where you are, know your escape route.  If that car changes lanes into me, where will I go?  If that truck pulls out in front of me, where will I go?  Never let your mind wander.

 

Never ride beside another vehicle.  Just don't do it.  Stay in the far right or left lanes so you have escape room.

 

Loud pipes do save lives.

 

Watch the wheels.  If a car starts to move you'll see the wheels turn before you see the car move.

 

Always assume you're invisible.  Even if a driver looks directly at you, they won't see you.  But ride with your bright on in the day to give yourself a better chance of being seen.

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Also be aware of pickups or dump trucks with stuff piled up in them. Back when I had a bike in AZ, I was riding down the road and came up on a slow-moving dump truck. It looked like they were remodeling a house or something, with all kinds of building-material scrap in the back. On top was a 3'x4' piece of particle board, bouncing along unsecured. I dropped back and slowed down, and sure enough it came flying off the top! If I had not been that far back, it would have landed right on me.

 

To their credit, they did at least stop and pick it up.

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Harley has to expand itself outside of its bread and butter. They almost went water cooled 4cyl in the 80s(http://www.bikerenews.com/AntiqueBikes/CodeNameNova.htm), and they were pushing in this direction with the Vrod to begin with. Bound to happen.

 

Personally I'm a fan of smaller bikes anyway. Keep the Machismo, Early bikers(the ones now emulated) were proud as hell to just get out on two wheels.

 

My father is as dyed in the wool harley as it gets, but remembers fond childhood memories with his father cleaning his 305 Dream.

Ken_Fisher_Honda_305_Dream_068_cropped_o]

 

While I won't be going out of my way to pick one up, I don't own a bike over 900cc. Hell the newest is the smallest, and was picked up to settle a debt.

 

1959 XLCH (900cc)

1975 xs650 (650cc)

1980 xs650

2002 buel blast (500cc)

If Harley DOESN'T change, it'll be overtaken by Indian. Polaris has been getting rave reviews with their new touring bikes, and has them marked at a price point that will get attention.

 

 

THAT is an absolutely awesome bike. I love the styling of old Japanese bikes - I currently own both a '82 CB650 and a '70 Trail 90 (bored to 106cc, wow).

 

I love the Harley sport bikes of many years past, but Harley no longer produces anything like that. The HD of today look the same to me, every single one, down to the last model - for probably the past 50 years. Fat, ugly, gaudy, (mostly) slow and unwieldy.

 

If I were going to buy a Harley, they would have to basically copy a Triumph design. Everything else HD makes is absolutely boring to me.

Edited by mancat
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I am fairly certain I've no desire to blow anything in your direction sunshine.

 

What I am saying is to wear a helmet or not has positives and negatives no matter the choice.

 

There are no statistics on accidents that did not happen are there sunshine?

 

Awareness is impeded by a helmet, is that even debatable?

 

Yeah hit your head it may be better to have a brain bucket but even better is to avoid impact altogether.

I can point to a few guys with broken necks that might contest that a helmet helped.

 

Either way it is no one else's biz but the guy on the bike.

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I am fairly certain I've no desire to blow anything in your direction sunshine.

 

What I am saying is to wear a helmet or not has positives and negatives no matter the choice.

 

There are no statistics on accidents that did not happen are there sunshine?

 

Awareness is impeded by a helmet, is that even debatable?

 

Yeah hit your head it may be better to have a brain bucket but even better is to avoid impact altogether.

I can point to a few guys with broken necks that might contest that a helmet helped.

 

Either way it is no one else's biz but the guy on the bike.

Helmets impeding awareness is not just debatable, it's moot.  At least one comprehensive study has found helmets do impact hearing or visual acuity enough to affect the wearer's awareness enough to contribute to crashes.  Nor were helmets found to fatigue or distract wearers to a point where their awareness was diminished.  The effect is also not manifest in crash data.  In Michigan, for example, the rate of helmet use is 73%.  The appearance of helmeted riders in motorcycle crashes is just under 75%.

 

As for the cases of the broken necks, was it determined that their prognoses would have been better but for the helmet?  It seems like it would be a fairly narrow threshold for a crash that would result in a severe injury while wearing a helmet but a less severe injury without one, but if it has happened multiple times, that strikes me as something to be on the lookout for.

 

Anyway, I concur that whether or not to wear a helmet should be the rider's choice and that a helmet cannot protect a rider from a vast swath of the injuries a motorcyclist is likely to encounter .  In fact, I think helmets' greatest weakness could be in instilling a false sense of security, especially in the already vulnerable inexperienced.

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Three bikes in the garage, and live in a state where helmets aren't mandatory.

I wear one most of the time, but not always. On open highway trips , the helmet takes a backseat.

In city highway traffic, almost always wear a helmet. Having Bluetooth equipped helmets makes wearing the helmet decision a little easier.

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In Spain, the helmet law was worded as that you "have to have a helmet." So you would see riders everywhere that just have their helmets locked to the bike, but never actually wear them.

 

I've seen enough nasty photos of completely lost faces from those wearing brain buckets.. One of the nastiest ones was where a guy survived, but basically had his entire lower jaw sanded off by the asphalt. I choose to wear a full helmet no matter how dumb it might look at times.

 

There are already some rear-view capable helmets out there. The technology will only get better, perhaps including things like electronic noise elimination to allow you to hear certain key sounds while filtering out others.

Edited by mancat
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