issue 187
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So the big day for the Harley-Davidson Model Year 2023 and 120th Anniversary models came and went. But in the release video, Jochen Zeitz’s final words were the big teaser, “one or two” more models will be released at the 120th Anniversary Homecoming Festival in Milwaukee.
Now it only seems like yesterday when 17 issues ago in 2020, I wrote that the Pan America 1250 and Bronx 975 Streetfighter would be released as MY21s. The Pan Am 1250 has made it. And the old 883/1200 Sportster’s replacement, the Nightster RH975 came out in 2022, while the updated Special RH975S was just now released.
Then as far as the electric bikes are concerned, Jochen said all Harleys will be electric in 20-30 years. Sorta, I think, he just shuffled off that problem to his replacement like the Toyota CEO is saying about pure electric cars. You want an electric Harley, well go to livewire.com for the LiveWire One and the S2 Del Mar.
POSSIBILITIES…
But what happened in the Big Twin business? I am afraid to say the M8 engined bikes have settled down with the release in 2022 of the ST versions of the Low Rider, Street Glide and Road Glides, and a few more Specials along the way. Oh, and the long overdue Road Glide 3.
I believe that the only completely new M8 models will be the Icons, Apexes, Enthusiast and Revivals. While the 120th Anniversary models have stolen the centre stage, the CVO is down to only one Road Glide, with perhaps more coming this year. What is the writing on the wall for Milwaukee at the 120th Anniversary Festival?
Again, as Jochen said, there will be two new model releases this year. My bet is that one will be the next Icon, a tribute to the 1966 FLHFB Electra Glide Shovelhead. Some say it may be a tribute to the 1965 model, the final year of the Panhead. Elvis is pictured more on the 1966 models and made a movie with a 1967. So, there’s my hot tip.
REVMAX OPTIONS
The second should be the Pan America RA975 or RA975S, that were found and leaked by motorcycle.com.
Thirdly, there is the 2019 RevMax 975 Bronx that Jochen ‘delayed’. It is certainly ready for production with a 115hp tuned RevMax engine versus the 90hp in the Nightster S. It is only waiting for a clear market and Jochen’s okay. Like the electric bikes, there are just too many great streetfighters already in the market.
ORDERING CHINESE
Now hold on to your horses. What do you think is going on in the world right now that could change everything? Well for just one thing, what about China. Not just that stuff about tariffs and the South China Sea. It is China’s huge industrial might! While Harley is making its own small bikes for Asia in China with Qianjiang, other Chinese manufacturers are making copies of V-Twins themselves. That is probably more of a threat to Japanese manufacturers.
The Qianjiang-Harley X350RA with orange crash bars is meant for the Harley Riders Academy in the USA and is based on the Benelli 302S. Previously the Riding Academy used Indian-built Street 500s with those crash bars.
In four years in the States, I never saw a Street 500 on the road, only at the dealer riding schools. For that matter, I only saw one V-Rod on the road back then.
WHERE TO NEXT?
What does that mean to Harley? The bottom end of the market is taken by cheap labour and materials. What does that leave for Harley? The top-end Icons, which is where Jochen appears to be taking Harley. And that is the problem for us buyers and riders not to mention dealers. Harley prices are skyrocketing as are the prices on so many other things.
I hear people saying to hang on to your bike and just replace the engine and running gear. That worked for me from 1993 to 2007 with my FXDL Ole Girl. She served me well for 13 years with only one original engine and two rebuilds in 223,000km.
Finally getting down to earth, look at what Harley did with its work-from-home plan in Milwaukee. It turned its main parking lot into a community park. We are out riding again with our mates and meeting new people and riding new and old roads. How good is that? Just like Toby Price coming in on the podium of 2023 Dakar Rally.
WEATHER, OR NOT
Now here is my 2023 Easter egg for you: how to predict the riding weather 100 percent of the time. I am not saying change the weather to suit you but to ride when and where you know the conditions will be okay.
First thanks to BOM (Bureau of Meteorology), the government website at bom.gov.au is the source for almost all the weather apps on your smartphone. Along with the super computers crunching the numbers in Asia, Europe and the Americas. Then the commercial app makers come in and help you make up your mind about which day and where to ride.
I first go to BOM and its MetEye website on my home computer (not an app). There I get very accurate rain forecasts down to the hour even six days out, and 48 hours out it is almost spot on. Then there are Weatherzone for the big picture and Windy for some really amazing forecasts and realtime graphics of winds, rain and even lightning strikes.
Finally on ride day and each stop along the way, I use solely the Rain Parrot app. When you open it up it shows you the BOM radar map at 128km and adds a rain threat cone overlay to your exact location. Anything in that cone is heading your way. You can then switch to the Storm Details where it will plot on a graph the time remaining until it rains and how much rain is expected.
If you can’t figure that out for yourself, it will tell you in plain English like, “Heavy rain in 10 minutes.”
Best of all you can see when the rain will stop for you to head out. If you have notifications turned on, it will send your smartphone alerts even as you are riding.
Stay dry, ride safe and when in doubt, accelerate!
