Harley to build smaller bikes

A recent article from the Illinois State Journal-Register theorizes, with the help of local dealer Stan Hall, that Harley-Davidson will soon be building bikes smaller than the Sportster 883. These smaller Harleys (maybe modern interpretations of the “Hummers” of the Forties, Fifties and Sixties) will be designed for new markets in Asia and Europe.

The Motor Company has not confirmed the rumor but according to Timothy Hoelter, vice president of government affairs for Harley-Davidson, “… growing popularity overseas shows that Harley is an international language understood by people of all cultures, incomes and genders.”

You never know what companies are going to do but the increasing price of fuel has motivated an increasing number of people to consider riding versus driving – and this is good news for enthusiasts. As I’ve mentioned before, Harley has done a great job in marketing and selling to people looking for American v-twin power with a bad boy attitude. The thing is there is a market for other types of bikes, and Harley, like any good business, will be looking for ways to grow market-share. The acquisition of MV Agusta is one example and there will likely be many more to come.

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Commuting with the Sportster XL1200

I typically work from home but had the need to go to the local office the other day and used this as an excuse to get a ride in on the Sportster. The ride is about 30 miles with the majority on secondary roads that make for pretty good riding (low traffic, some curves, and nice scenery). The last 10 miles are unfortunately on the multi-lane freeway which can make for interesting riding. When I left for the office it was midday so I did not encounter any major traffic. I did expect traffic on the way home so chose to wear my full face Arai helmet and Harley-Davidson Switchback jacket.

When I left the office I hit some major rush hour traffic, stop and go for miles and miles. It was a hot afternoon I didn’t like the idea of roasting the Sportsters engine by sitting at idle so did some lane splitting to get to my exit. Personally, I am not a fan of lane splitting (which is not illegal in California) but will use it as a ‘necessary evil’ at times. I always stay within 10 mph of the surrounding traffic so I can respond to any bonehead moves from the drivers around me.

This day was particularly bad. The heat and high fuel prices seemed to be getting to the drivers in their cars and trucks. At least a half dozen drivers threatened to move into my path as I wove between car doors, mirrors, and truck beds. I’ve never experienced so many people moving the vehicles into my path intentionally. To be fair, many drivers saw me coming and moved to give me more room – much appreciated, thank you!

Over the previous weekend I had removed the Sportster’s windscreen and saddlebags. The Harley-Davidson clip-on windscreen is literally a snap to remove, just pop the four clamps and off it comes. This is one of the nicer accessories for the Sportster that I’ve come across from Harley. Having the windscreen off was another reason for wearing the Arai, it helps avoid taking a bee to the face at speed. The Arai combined with my Panoptx riding glasses made the trip easy, doing a decent job of filtering the setting sun.

One thing I hadn’t considered was the significant temperature difference between my home on the coast and the office inland. It was a good 15 degrees and the Switchback jacket was warm with all panels attached. If I’d had the saddlebags on the Sporster I could’ve removed the panels and had a more comfortable ride but that was not the case. I did find that the Switchback’s vent system works well around the torso (no vents on the arms) and kept me pretty cool.

The curving roads on the way home made the trip worthwhile. Nothing like the view of a lake, the smell of citrus groves and the sound of Screamin Eagle pipes to put a smile on my face.

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Sportsters we need

The Summer 2008 issue of Harley-Davidson Enthusiast magazine got me thinking about Sportsters we need. It started with a brief on the XR1200 which is only available in Europe. I had written on the XR1200 previously. The Enthusiast article provides details on the new Sportster’s specifications which include:
Downdraft fuel injection, massive 43mm inverted forks, and dual four-piston front brake calipers.

Harley claims the XR1200 is “dirt-track inspired” but I would say it appears more supermoto; this is not a bike designed for dirt but it does capture the look of dirt-bikes converted for track use. The Sportster XR1200 is definitely a bike we need in the States and hopefully Harley will make it available here soon.

The same issue includes another Sportster that we need, a modern version of the 1958 XLH. This bike was built for off-road racing and did not include bits like head- and tail-lights. The bobbed fenders, simple design, and single seat would make for an awesome modern Sportster. Harley is currently on a “dark-side” kick with models like the Nightster; these are great looking bikes but a look back at the history of the brand shows that great design can be colorful. Harley-Davidson seems to have forgotten its racing heritage with its commercial models. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to buy a Sportster that combined the racing spirit of the XLH with the capabilities of the modern machines? I certainly think so.

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Screamin Eagle slip-on mufflers

I've cleaned the Sportster and temporarily stripped it down; removing the windscreen and saddlebags. I was feeling nostalgic for the more simple sporty appearance and riding of the bike. It's amazing how much the windscreen changes the look of the bike – not to mention the feel of wind-in-your-face riding. In the attached pictures you can see the Harley-Davidson XL with the Tour Master saddlebag center strap across the rear fender. Later, I loosened the seat and removed the center strap.

I've finally recorded the Sportster with the Screamin Eagle mufflers. The mufflers are very easy to install, only requiring the loosening of the clamps, the removal of the four mounting bolts, and the loosening of the lower bracket for the rear pipe. Removing the original mufflers required the application of a little force and some twisting. The Screamin Eagle mufflers provided the sound I was hoping for and based on seat-of-the-pants measurements improved the throttle response.

According to the Harley-Davidson dyno metrics the Screamin Eagle mufflers for the Sportster add about 5 or 6 horsepower and 10 foot pounds of torque. Pretty good price/performance results for bolt-on parts. With the slip-on mufflers the Sportster has great sound, not too loud in the lower RPM range, but with a twist of the wrist they provide a great result. I use the added sound to 'notify' drivers when I'm passing them, especially if I see them on the phone or not paying attention to what is going on around them.

BTW, after doing some research I decided not to add the Screamin Eagle intake. From what I've read on Sportster related forums the performance gains from the intake are minimal given the comparative costs. Upgrading the intake requires either taking the Sportster to the dealer for an update to the engine management computer or buying and tuning an aftermarket engine control unit. Given the cost and hassle of the two options I made the choice to take the less complex route. I may change my mind in future though I am more inclined to update the rear shocks and front springs with products from Progressive Suspension.

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Harley-Davidson to acquire MV Agusta

Harley-Davidson announced the acquisition of Italian motorcycle company MV Agusta a couple of day ago (not sure how I missed the announcement). That's a pretty amazing combination of capital and design. MV Agusta have some of the most amazing designs in the sportbike market, and prices to match. Here's an except from the press release posted on Autoblog:

"MV Agusta Group adds two lines of motorcycles to the Harley-Davidson, Inc. family: a line of exclusive, premium, high-performance sport motorcycles sold under the MV Agusta brand; and a line of lightweight sport motorcycles sold under the Cagiva brand. MV Agusta's F4-R motorcycle, powered by a 1078cc in-line four-cylinder liquid cooled engine, is rated at 190 hp."

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Saddlebags and relocating the tail lights

I’ve received a couple of questions regarding the “need” to relocate the rear light assemblies when installing saddlebags. There are a lot of bag options available and the smaller bags will fit with the stock rear light assembly. When selecting bags I recommend thinking about what it is you want to store in the bags and taking some measurements so you can make sure you buy the right size. I went with a larger size bag because I wanted to be able to carry my jacket which, with armor, is pretty big. I had hoped to be able to carry my notebook in the saddlebags but this would have required a monster-sized bag. I also preferred the look of the slant bags to the standard bags but would have had more usable room with the standard configuration.

I really like the setup with the Tour Master bags; they provide the space I need and enough ‘extra’ room for water bottles, etc. on longer rides.

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Comments

Due to comment spam starting to appear on Harley-Davidson-Sportster.com I’ve decided to turn on some comment moderating features in blogger. I’m hoping these are not too annoying for people that want to leave legit feedback and annoying enough to stop the knuckleheads.

My annoyance for the day: FXRG back armor is on backorder for Harley Davidson. You can buy a great riding jacket from Harley, my Switchback is awesome, but you can’t get the $25 foam pad to protect your spine. Go figure.

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Dry summer

It’s been a while since I’ve written about my bike; been a busy 6 months and I’ve not had much time for blogging or riding for that matter. It’s a real shame that summer has pretty much past by and I’ve not had more than a day of riding. I do plan on getting out this weekend for at least a couple of hours; I could use some time on the road, focused on the ride. There’s no better way to clear your head then to get out and ride.

I will post some updates on the bike. There’ve been some changes since the last posts including Screamin Eagle pipes, and some other accessories. I’ll get a video clip of the bike running with the pipes so you can compare the difference in sound. The sound from the pipes is great, not too loud but you can make yourself heard when needed.

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It’s about time

I had coffee today with friend Mark Demos of Demos Watch. Mark had just gotten back from Sturgis where he had launched his new line of watches. Mark promised to send some pictures of the event and I’ll post those when they arrive. In the meantime I wanted to make mention of his line of watches which are pretty unique. Mark has designed watches for the two-wheel enthusiast and has done a great job of capturing the essence of motorcycling. The Demos watches features bands made of sprocket chain or tread-like rubber. Very cool stuff.

Mark has a very cool watch that would go well with any Harley-Davidson, it makes a pretty bold statement both in size and with the chain-style band. I know, I know, Harleys are belt drive; I’m still trying to convince Mark to use a carbon fiber belt pattern for one of his new watch models. Let me know if you agree, with enough positive feedback we might just have a great new generation Harley watch (and I don’t mean the wimpy Bulova watches the Harley dealers sell, ugh).

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