I agree whole heartedly. I’ve tried to convince myself that I’m a cruiser guy but the naked bikes are always going to be my favorite. I’m new to Harley (but have always kept up with them regarding stats) and I actually like where they are headed. As a self loathing millennial the fact that they’re coming out with choices just shows me that they are willing (in their own way) to branch out and bring the dwindling amount or riders left to come checkout what they have to offer. Granted they are dipping their toes into the waters of giants, but if they can’t beat them, like you said maybe they can carve out their own niche. That being said my buddy works for Harley and has been up close to the new bikes. He said the street fighter has a giant tank and a radiator the size of Texas. I showed him a Suzuki B-King and told him to shut his mouth. He said out of everything he likes the Panamerica (aka Dirt Glide) and thinks that it will be the one to last. As long as they don’t get discouraged too soon I’d like to here their name when talking about something other than cruisers.

 

HD's new Street Fighter doesn't need to put out 170 hp like the Super Duke, it doesn't have to weigh a hair over 400 lbs like the Ducati Monster, and it doesn't have to be priced as low as the Suzuki GSX 1000, around $10k. I'm not expecting this Street Fighter to have the tech of the BMW R1250R or Aprilia Tuono, and I don't think it's going to perform as well either. I'm ok with that though. The European naked's run between $15k and $18. Japanese naked's run from $10k to $13k (with one exception that I'll get to at the end). I'd love it if this bike is on par with the European bikes at about the same price point or less, but I think what we'll see is a quality bike with excellent fit & finish that overall the falls somewhere in between the Japanese and the Europeans. About 135 hp, great low and mid range torque, very good handling but not elite, a dry weight of about 450 lbs, and priced at right around $14k. It'll be very disappointing if they build a $14k bike and price it at $17k or more. That said, If I wasn't on a tight budget and looking for another street fighter I'd be willing to spend an extra 2 to 3 thousand and go with the Ducati Monster or Aprilia Tuono instead of HD's street fighter, but for a lot of people that additional money is a major factor in their decision. What I'd really do is go with the Kawasaki Z900 that sells for under $9k. At 948cc is right on par with most liter naked's. Best bang for the buck in the naked bike market.

 

From a business standpoint, I hate to be negative, but these new models are just not going to translate into increased US sales volume. Re the above poster: Why would HD want to try to target Ducati's sales clientele? Ducati's total US sales in 2018 of all models was just 7843 units (link)! Say you got lucky (lol) and captured some of that with the Bronx, say half of that - wow projecting 3000+ sales is not worth investing in tooling!

The whole adventure bike phenomenon is false news. I ride a lot and travel a lot, all over the country visiting parks and recreational areas. I just don't see hoards of these adventure bikes crawling all over the country in numbers large enough that I could make a case to the moco management to invest millions in a production line. Large numbers of guys ripping around up on some mountain trail on a big vtwin beast? Heck, most who do that just buy dirt bikes, or for darn sure would not even think of buying a HD for that - for one thing, their peers would harass them, and the press they read will be constantly flaming them, and like it or not the lemming effect is real. In the last big rally I attended, I saw zilch adventure bikes. I did not see one adventure bike when I visited Colorado or Utah the last time - NOT ONE! Flame me if you want. There is just not this huge bursting floodwater surge of guys out on adventure bikes. It's the pet rock syndrome all over again.

Most motorcycle people just want to tool and putt around with their mate on warm summer evenings. Like I said in another post, zinging up and down the main drag dodging cars hanging off the bike in curves and splitting lanes acting a twerp stretched up over the tank with my nose on the gauges and my gonads crammed up against the gas tank by one of those jacked up seats that let the rear tire spray mud all up your back? Good luck to HD selling that stuff in a profitable way. The target audience for that is short lived due to Darwin, derides HD since that's the cool attitude now, and has no money anyway,

 

Still keeping my eye on it. The article below states "at least 115hp" from the smaller engine used in the Bronx. Can't wait to see test reviews and ride one for myself.

https://www.rideapart.com/articles/3...evolution-max/

 

The Bronx will pull from any manufacturer currently making naked street bikes. Kawasaki's Z line, Honda's CB bikes, and Yamaha's MT series are making big money for them, and that is the market they will pull from. Since Ducati isn't using their L-Twin engine as widely in their lineup anymore, I would say that the KTM Duke line of bikes are the closest comparison.

I see "adventure" style bikes every day, so the market is definitely there, but they are usually used at high-riding commuters. I would say I see at least 3 every day going to and from work.

Most Harley riders might just want to putt around on warm Summer evenings, but that isn't the market they are going for with these bikes. You really should open your eyes and look at what the market is actually doing. If HD only sticks with making "traditional" HD's they won't be around for much longer. Having new markets open to them will increase their revenue stream in the long run, and the technology being put into these new machines will trickle down to the rest of the line and improve them as well.

 

As a motorcycle rider I understand your passion. As a person coming from the new-business product development side of things, well all I can say is the V-Rod did nothing for their revenue stream, neither did the Buell or the Blast, and those Streets aren't selling like hotcakes. That's what you get when you start swimming out of your lane just because zowie farout that's cool let's build those; that will fail every time. The fanboys in the press will rave, Jay Leno will buy one, but that won't keep Kansas City open. What's the answer? Open my eyes to the actual market? If I did that I should downsize or merge or sell out, because the market trend is bleak. Blunt, harsh, but reality. Nobody wants that, just sayin.

 

So what you’re saying is “Why even try?”. Im not sure but don’t most other motorcycle manufacturers have quite a few choices when it comes to what motorcycles they offer? BMW, Ducati, Triumph and all the Japanese manufactures have gobs of different styles of bikes to choose from. Why chastise Harley for trying to keep their brand relevant with the times. So what if all the bikes fail. Isn’t part of owning a business trying to expand your brand to more and more people? Buell failed due to lack of marketing and Harley not caring about that sector of the market. I commend them for trying. Hell i never really cared for them until they killed off the Dyna and brought out the M8 softails. The Vrod was a hideous motorcycle but I can’t deny the power numbers. If they just sit back a rest on their morals the rest of the competition will be there to shovel dirt on their grave.

 

ALOT of people on here really need to read this book...

 

Nah, they would rather keep their heads in the sand and only deal with what they are comfortable with and know well.

This is exactly what Harley needs to to........adapt and expand their horizons/customer base.

 

Harley has as close to 100% market share in the big cruiser/touring market as practical.

Everyone on here complaining about the LiveWire, Bronx and Pan America... You gotta understand: you're already here! They've already got you. And you've already bought your Street Glide or Road King. What they need to do is appeal to folks who AREN'T you. They have to make bikes that you don't want to buy. That's the only way they can expand their customer base.