H Harley-Davidson
has just unleashed its “More Roads to Harley-Davidson” initiative onto
the motorcycling world and it’s quite a bombshell. Along with the
previously announced electric motorcycle, H-D is coming out with a
streetfighter, an adventure bike, and a new custom model and they’ll all
be available in the next three years.
For years, Harley-Davidson has been challenged (including by us)
to expand into more than just big, loud, chrome cruisers so they can
really stay competitive with the other big players in premium
motorcycles like Ducati, Triumph, and BMW. Harley has listened and now
it has big plans to introduce new products outside the H-D norm.
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson LiveWire
Let’s start with the part we’re most excited about; the new products. We’ve finally gotten confirmation that the electric Harley-Davidson motorcycle
coming out next year will carry the LiveWire name that was used on the
original electric concept. We also get our first look at a new prototype
of the bike that’s coming out next year which we hope doesn’t change
much when it hits production. The LiveWire will be followed by
additional electric bikes that will come out through 2022. We don’t know
much about the other electric bikes yet, but H-D says they’ll “broaden
the portfolio with lighter, smaller and even more accessible product
options to inspire new riders with new ways to ride.”
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson Pan America
We’ve previously reported and speculated about H-D trademarking the “Pan America” name.
Now we know that the Harley-Davidson Pan America will be a 1250cc
V-twin-powered adventure bike. Yes, you read that right. Harley-Davidson
is coming out with a proper adventure bike to go toe-to-toe with the
likes of the Triumph Tiger, BMW R1200GS, and Ducati Multistrada.
With knobby tires, generous ground clearance, and skid plates, it looks
like it’ll have the serious off-road capability it will need to be
competitive.
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson Future Streetfighter Model
Moving
on, Harley-Davidson is also coming out with a yet-to-be-named naked
bike that it’s simply calling a “future streetfighter model.” The 975cc
V-twin-powered concept we see here certainly looks modern and muscular
and ready to take the fight to the undisputed king of streetfighters,
the Ducati Monster.
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson Future Custom Model
Finally,
there’s an unnamed 1250cc “future custom model” that looks like a
genuinely modern take on classic Harley-Davidson styling. The concept
shown has bronze accents, a cafe-style solo seat, big, fat tires, and an
aggressive stance. It’s nice to see a Harley that looks truly new and
truly like a Harley-Davidson. All three of these bikes; the Pan America,
the streetfighter, and the custom model, will all be based on one
modular 500cc to 1250cc middleweight platform with more bikes using the
same platform coming out through 2022.
The LiveWire is still
slated to come out in 2019, the Pan America and streetfighter will be
out in 2020, and the new custom model will be out in 2021. These are the
bikes we’ve been wanting to see from Harley-Davidson, but we can’t help
but wonder, is the Milwaukee brand too late to the game to make an
impact? The Ducati Monster has been out for a quarter-century and adventure bikes have been a hot market since Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman took a pair of Bimmers around the world in the early 2000s.
If
the products themselves are good enough, Harley-Davidson should be able
to make its mark in these competitive segments. If the new
streetfighter and the Pan America can match or beat the performance of
competitors and keep the pricing competitive, these new bikes could be
the big hit that Harley badly needs them to be.
Unless Indian
Motorcycle already has similar bikes in the pipeline, the H-D
streetfighter and Pan America will be the only naked and adventure
motorcycles you’ll be able to buy from an American brand. Not to mention
the LiveWire being the only electric bike you’ll be able to buy from
any major motorcycle manufacturer. Indian is bringing the stunning FTR 1200 to production and will be available next year, but where are those other non-cruisers we’ve been promised from Indian?
For
the first time in a while, we’re very optimistic about
Harley-Davidson’s future. This announcement may have come a little (or a
lot) later than we would’ve liked, but the brand is finally coming out
with products that will appeal to riders outside of its core fanbase and
we can’t wait to ride them.
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