Hitting Neutral – Harley on a new course – Harley Davidson Motorcycles changes course, again. Out with the old boss in with the new boss. Out with the old plan in with the new plan.
When the last Harley Davidson CEO was in charge, he put in place an ambitious plan of 100 new motorcycles in 10 years.
The new guy thinks that is an overreach and ended the effort and has stating that 30% of new models will be cut. This is paired with a cut to production to “make them more exclusive”.
While the new streetfighter motorcycle looks like it may be on the cut list. Its engine sharing brother, the Pan America adventure bike, is coming out with the 2021 models.
The new guy also wants to drive up the parts and accessories business along with merchandise.
My Take: Who is right? According to the board of directors, not the guy that got fired. I thought trying to expand appeal by having different Harley Davidson motorcycles was an interesting idea. Not sure where cutting production will help exclusivity when there are 1000’s of bikes on the used market.
*****
Upshift: The King of Baggers Race – MotoAmerica is adding a touch of the surreal to American motorcycle racing. Well maybe, in the age of COVID who knows.
If you always wanted to see American V-Twins race at Laguna Seca raceway, maybe this is the year. Watching a mildly modified Harley Davidson Road or Street Glide swinging through the corkscrew is going to be bonkers at best.
The race is getting attention. Drag Specialties is the King of Baggers sponsor. A bunch of accessory companies are getting in on the action, for example Saddlemen, the motorcycle seat and luggage maker, is sponsoring bike #87 in the race.
And Indian and S&S are teaming up to run a Indian Challenger as well. It should dominate on the straights as it has more than a few cubic inches on the Harley’s.
Currently the race is schedule for October 23-25, but who knows if it will happen until it happens.
My take: OH HELL YEAH!
Historically, if we have had problems with our motorcycles our first stop would be to reach for the yellow pages and call the nearest affordable garage or bike repair shop. Fortunately for the modern day motorcycle enthusiast things have have changed for the better since the arrival of the internet, the motorcycle owner of today can simply search the internet for a solution to their problem, and within a minutes there is a good chance the owner will find someone who has had the same issue, and possibility a solution, this information may come in the form of a blog, a forum thread, Facebook groups, Reddit posts or even a YouTube videos.
source of information than a official workshop manual, these manuals are developed and written by the manufactures of the motorcycles, so its fair to say the information within the pages of these documents is gold.
I must state that I had thought about why there was no “handle” to raise the lid and that it was kind of weird that you had to grab the lip of the lid to push it open. But when I read Kuryakyn’s part description they hooked me “Kuryakyn Tour-Pak lid grips blend in perfectly, while providing ideal leverage to easily unlatch and open the lid in one fluent motion.” 
LOL, dummy the screw heads are on the inside of the lid behind the rubber weather seal. Out they came with a Torx T20 screwdriver and off comes the old part. I cleaned the area, surprising how much road grime gets into small spots, and then slipped the new Kuryakyn Lid Grip on and replaced the screws.
The two most intriguing items for me were the new KLIM airbag vest and the fact that Harley Davidson had their new Pan American and Bronx motorcycles “under glass”. The KLIM airbag vest, selling for $499 is, I think, the cheapest vest, by a major maker, on the market. It has piqued my interest and if I find an extra $500 I might be in the market to purchase one.
only negative was that they had so much content that some will think it is a bit too long at 2 hours. Now don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of fun to watch and it will be on my winter 2020 motorcycle movie list! I like the interviews and discussion around why people are doing the things they are doing. I really loved seeing myself or someone I know in nearly every person they talked with.
We recently discovered a motorcycle meetup called “
I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!! 