Peterson HD had a Nightster sitting in the showroom a few weeks ago at their annual BBQ. It was HD Orange, and it looked very cool. Sitting on it was even cooler, it has big wide handlebars, perfect controls placement, and all you see up front is the top of the headlight and a big fat tire. People were walking right by bikes costing twice as much to look at it.
When I was a kid, only the old farts (like me now) rode the Big Twins. Anybody under 30 got a Sportster, and until the CB 750 came along, it was faster than most anything around. Sportsters were the platform of choice for choppers too; you could make a really clean installation with the unitized engine/trans versus the two-piece drive train. That was the "look" back then, small engines with so much room around them you could stick your head through the frame.
Funny how the "Harley" crowd looks down at the Sportsters nowdays. When I worked at HD, 90% of them thought of it as a "girls" bike, and I know women are a big part of the Sporty buying community. It was fun to see the looks on their faces when I'd tell them the Sporty was the fastest, best handling bike in the store, barring the VRod. Actually handles better than the standard VRod in my opinion, I can't stand forward controls.
Nice going HD, I respect and appreciate your ability to make what's old and obselete continue to be new and interesting. Nice article, MO. Your multi-media capability is what can truly set you apart from the printed magazines. That's two articles in a row with cool videos.