[FloridaSteve]

Best quote from the story.... for lots of reasons.





``It looks like a Japanese bike, like a car with two wheels,'' said Bob Phillips, 53. ``Looks like they're trying to capture some of the rice-cooker buyers. My question is: How are you going to make a chopper out of that?''

 

[dck47]

This question goes out to everybody:



What does a Japanese bike look like?

 

[JoeSquid]

Rice-cooker buyers? Why would someone interested in a food preparation item be interested in a motorcycle? Maybe he meant opposed to fat burger-eaters? Or BBQ-lickers?



Dude, take off the pillow cover and join the 21st century.

 

[alanheng]

Ah ha! So this is how Harley gets away with charging more and giving less of their products.



They cater to bleepin' idiots who couldn't find their way out of a room made of doors!



If a growing demographic of HD buyers are doctors and lawyers, where are all the smart riders hiding?

 

[floundericiousFL]

http://www.3fun.com/harley/harley.htm

I wonder if this motorcycle will look as good as the one in this picture... (yes, rated G)

 

[granny]

I don't care for the cruiser aesthetic but further chopping of a V-Rod could only spoil it. The V-Rod bike convincingly demonstrates that Harley has formidable design and enginneering skill. It doesn't matter that the Harley faithful disapprove of the V-Rod. It is good that the V-Rod will sell to a different marketplace segment since that segment will be one that Harley currently can't touch.

 

[das]

My favorite quote from the article was:



"Industry experts believe that the high-performance bike may improve sluggish sales in Europe, where Harley Davidson does not have the superstar status it enjoys in the U.S. and motorcycles are geared more to speed than style."



Um, wasn't it Europe that threatened to ban the ZX-12 if it went too fast?



Would anyone here say that BMWs or Moto Guzzis, are "geared" toward speed?



Er, I'm not a fashion expert (or a Ducatisti), but you've been dropped on your head a few times if you don't think Ducatis have style. Ditto for Bimotas. (I also happen to think that Aprilia and MV Augusta bikes are pretty sharp looking, too.)



Who are the "industry experts" who actually believe this junk?



Just my opinion, but I'm guessing that Harley's sluggish sales in Europe are due to the fact Europeans expect their motorcycles to function as a means of transportation (possibly in addition to being fast and/or stylish), not merely as a recreational vehicle.

 

[DataDan]

Judging from the discussions that have erupted on the Harley boards, introduction of the V-Rod is the motorcycling equivalent of the shelling of Fort Sumter. A highly vocal majority sees it as treason, bleating about unconventional styling and departure from air-cooled, pushrod, 45-degree tradition. A few think Harley has joined the eco-Nazis trying to deprive them of their beloved hydrocarbon-rich atmosphere.

Performance seems to be irrelevant. Somehow, the fact that Harley will be offering twice the horsepower at about the same price as current bikes has escaped notice.

This is further proof that I don't "get it" and never will.

 

[Gixxerboy]

Guzzis, BMW's, etc. are geared toward high speed grand/sport touring. They ride FAST over there... for more than an hour at a time. Their bikes have to be comfy and handle... funny that... never seen that in a Hardly.

 

[john]

screw them, they won't stop buying. what are they going to do? Defect to Honda? yeah. right. The brand conscious, look-at-me-while-i-am-on-my-harley riders are the only ones who do not like this bike. I bet they didn't even know their evo had a 45* twin to begin with. Harley knows that its loyal sheep would never buy foreign, no matter what they make. There was the same reaction when Buell came out. Screw all of those who would halt diversity and the progress of better handling, braking, and accelerating bikes.

 

[uncleron]

When I rode my old Ironhead XLCH, I got alot crap from neo-Harley riders because my bike was not a big twin, but all it took to shut them up was a twist of the throttle. The V-Rod will be like my Sportster, some people may mouth off about it, but when it comes time to put up or shut up I think the V-Rod will be able to silence its critics. The serious riders don't care nearly as much about what you ride as long as you do. The V-Rod seems like a great bike, but I can't wait to see what Buell will do with that motor.

 

[056]

Yeah, what's up with that?

In my few conversations I've had with Harley guys, there's some kind of mystical fascination with the "big twins". What's the big deal?

 

[lesb]

Amazing water cooled! Where does Harley get all this cutting edge technolgy. Never seen so much news, ( CNN, Local paper and someone else said on Discovery Channel.) on a company that is a century behind. I guess I will never get it. Other motorcycle companies make big advance and you never hear a word from outside the motorcycle news sources. Like I said before I do not get it and I am going to stop trying.

 

[schillhog]

So, if you don't "get it", why are you reading Harley boards? And if you were, which ones?



Performance is only relevant to the degree that it enables, or enhances, your cycling experience. Its all a balance, my friend. I'd say the same to any of my Harley brethen, even those who see travesty in the V-Rod.

 

[ruralwales]

This bike is undoubtedly a radical departure for the company that, more than any other, has traded on its heritage (translation: makes bike "like they used to be"). It's quite possibly a watershed for the company, but IMHO shouldn't be seen as cutting links with the past (they're not that daft) but having an extra string to the H-D marketing bow.



Look at the British bike industry - it was reluctant to change, to improve and compete, and it died. The new Triumph factory makes well styled watercooled machines, most of which owe more than a nod to their forbears, in styling at least. Mechanically they're far, far better.



The guys who moan about H-D deserting them need to realise that the company isn't made for them, that the world keeps turning. If companies listened to the old grouchers we'd never have central heating, colour TV, comfy, warm and reliable 4WD cars, the internet and so on. Life wasn't always better in the "good old days". This development path can only be good for H-D.

 

[marc]

i've often said, "when harley builds a real motorcycle (stops, turns, goes), i'll buy another one". they got close with this one, but...feet forward frame with a race-bred engine? not my ideal yet, but lots of potential. perhaps they haven't just been counting all the money...the faithful will still buy the pre-restored classics. the ones who realize it is actually the 21st entury will be getting these machines. it is odd that the engine that struggles to get 10th place finishes on the track will probably win in the marketplace. i'll probably still end up on an aprilia.

 

[Sparky]

Couldn't have said it better!



Not to mention it spoils the old arguement (when embroiled in a debate reerformance bike vs. harley) "I don't want or need that power, I'd probably kill myself".



If fundamentalist Harley riders embrace the VRod, then they'll probably kill themselves.

 

[FloridaSteve]

Is it just possible maybe that one of the reason that the traditional Harley air cooled "purists" are upset is that if this bike actually catches on that the resale value of their overpriced-to-begin-with "investments" might drop like a stone..... just curious....

 

[LimeSqueezr]

People who buy Harleys for "investment" and know what they're doing are very few. Most people buy Harleys because they simply want one and the low depreciation is just one of the excuses they use to justify it. But many of them spent *way* too much for their bike and thus are obliged NOT to like anything that seems offers more for the same money. They will like it better after the dealers start adding vaseline tax to it.



As for long-term, note that Meriden Triumphs in cherry condition now sell for far more than they ever did new, sometimes fetching higher prices than new Hinckleys that are light-years ahead of them. Same will be true for Harleys (TC88's are way ahead of shovels, panheads & knuckleheads but sure hasn't hurt resale of the old ones).

 

[NickdaBrick]

Think Long-Term

I don't think the new Harley is primarily a short-term attempt to expand HD's customer base. I think it is the opening volley in their campaign to survive as a motorcycle manufacturer. Tightening noise and emissions regulations will eventually mean the end of the air-cooled pushrod twin. "Sorry, Knucklehead, old boy. You've been a good and faithful friend for lo these many years, and you've been with me in good times and bad. But now I'm going to have to take you behind the barn and shoot you in the head."