Looking here lately the soft tail line is losing some models. The only bobber they make (CrossBones) is on the chopping block. The Rocker which has awesome potential but lacks design from the factory is dead next year. It seems the focus is on the highway crusers like the street glide. Is Harley just out to make bikes like the 883 nightster ? I saw this new soft tail and I have to say it looks like a bunch of parts thrown on this frame and screams high profit for the factory and lots of future mods for the new owner.

Why not just let the customer build the bike from the frame ... You know pick what you want . Order it as you want... Wow that might seem out of the box but there doing it with the sportster but not the soft tail.

 

Lol your to late thAt starts next year mang

 

Probably just a trend. The market dictates what the MoCo designs. The hot items these days are guys dropping big bucks on the Touring bikes because there's alot of value there when compared to Softails and Dyna. Think about it, 103 engines, bags, radios, cruise control, ABS for not much more than what they are asking for the Softails. We also see a pretty large demand going towards the Sportsters, which are the economical choice as entry level bikes from the pricing perspective. As the economy turns and people become a little loser with their coin, we'll probably see more "fad" type Softails with more options in the mix.

 

PERSONALLY....
I think they actually got it RIGHT with most Softail models! How the heck could anyone improve on a Softail Deluxe, Heritage Softail, or a Fat Boy? I think these are the best looking bikes H-D makes...

I DO think they suffer some(same for Dynas) because they are "in the middle" in terms of price.. Most can either barely afford a Sportster OR can get whatever they want and buy a bagger... The Heritage Softail USED to be H-Ds most popular bike....NOW it's the Street Glide...

 

That's exactly what it is! Hopefully the design crew will grow some brains and bring back the Night Train or at least a comparable model that does the Softail line some justice.

 

so where is the proof that the x bones is gone?....i havent seen it....please post a link thats not from here..................

 

I finally saw a blackline today in person looks Pritty sick!!! I thought it looked like butt on the pics but in person me likes

 

Yeah. I like the Blackline, too, the more I look at it. It's a simple, clean and compact ST design and I think it will move well for H-D.

To the OP:
That's a damn sick FB bobber you've got there. You ought to black out your wheels or PC 'em fire engine red. How cool would THAT look???

 

I think they are *starting* with the sportster, but this is likely an experiment to see how it goes, this is typical Harley and its smart. Its the same way they introduce new technology to their bikes, start it out on one line, then expand it.

 

I think the Bones and the Rocker represent the WORST designs in HD history.
Not that the ideas weren't good, but HD blew the design just to be able to build the bike with current parts and inventory without investing in new parts.
To me, these were designs Harley did on the cheap...

Rocker.
The Deuce tank doesn't flow at all, and really looks like it was plopped on top and left for dead. It seems as if a designer said "Hey, what do we do with this tank now that we've killed the Deuce"? It ruins the bike.
The rear fender/seat design killed the bike. Heartland redesigned it and properly fixed the flow for them.
Good idea, bad choice of parts and rear design. Spend a few bucks MoCo and design "new" parts that flow.

Bones.
Great idea, but again, MoCo cheaped out by just grabbing the same bobbed fender that they have used for years on the FX. The seat, while looks old school, again looks like it was just squeezed out of a plastic machine and dropped on the frame.
17" on the rear and 16" on the front? Nice job robbing current tires and that don't flow.
No wonder these bikes weren't accepted by the buying public

If Harley wants to truly come up with a winner, they need to dedicate the design and parts to each individual model without worrying as much about available inventory.
JMO.