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New HD Cafe Racer on the way?


TEWKS

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Out of all the last few attempts real or fiction from Harley-Davidson to reverse their slip in the market, this concept Cafe Bike speaks to me! :thumbsup:
Build it, price it right and they may just have something! :cool: 

More Here

033120-Harley-Davidson-cafe-prototype.jp

 

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Trying to imagine how aftermarket drag pipes, forward controls, and ape hangers will make it look. 
Seriously, put a six speed tranny with the liquid cooling and it looks like a fun machine. 

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Might be worth buying one.  If it goes over like the XLCR from the late 70s it will be quite rare and valuable in 20 years.  It does look like an honest effort though and if they kept the weight down it might be a surprise performer.

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fourteenfour

that new motor opens up a lot of opportunity for Harley, maybe we could get lucky and see a real sports tour bike from them

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40 minutes ago, Paul De said:

Might be worth buying one.  If it goes over like the XLCR from the late 70s it will be quite rare and valuable in 20 years.  It does look like an honest effort though and if they kept the weight down it might be a surprise performer.

Was thinking the same thing. The XLCR was and still is the only MoCo product I've ever really liked.

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That looks like a completely new motor, not a tweak of the Porsche-designed powerplant in the V-Rod. Dayem, that is the nicest looking HD I have ever seen.

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Saw that one, it looks like they gave up on the headlight / taillight areas. I'd paint it orange and slap a # 4 on the front! :cool:
Chris_carr4.jpg

 

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Warren Dean
5 hours ago, TEWKS said:

Build it, price it right and they may just have something! :cool: 

More Here

 

 

That's the kicker...HD stuff is way overpriced and I would bet this little jewel would be stupidly expensive....but then bikes in general have gotten pretty pricey of late. Even more reason to love my '97 R1100RT  :)

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They have to take a direction that may frazzle the faithful, their future lies less in pig roasts and more with novel tech like water cooling, lol.  Can they pull it off with a stiff economic headwind and an aging demographic?  Time will tell.

The concepts look cool but I don't think I'd be after a 1st year motor from the T-shirt company.  I still remember hearing the stories of the lines of dead bikes at the dealer in Daytona during Bike Week when bolts were falling out of the brand new twin cams.

I know all manufacturers have issues but......

(I can almost see Buell on the sides of those tanks.........remember them??)

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14 hours ago, beemerboy said:

Was thinking the same thing. The XLCR was and still is the only MoCo product I've ever really liked.

I always like the idea and looks of the XLCR, but it was pretty crude.  The problem with the XLCR is that it was up against more refined and/or better performing bikes. BMW R90S, Moto Guzzi Lemans,  as well as the standards like Norton 850 Comando, Triumph Bonnie, etc. bested the XLCR in most of the measurables.  The coffin tank was not enough to get new butts on a HD and the traditional HD guys looked past it as it didn't have enough chrome.

 

At the time I wished I could have bought one when I realized that the model tanked figuring it would become rare and pricey down the road.  It was pipe dream because at that time I was too focused on scraping rent, tuition, and book money together than to speculate on a future collector bike.  And in hind sight, it was never a good idea.  The XLCR retailed for about $3,600 in 1977 which in inflation adjusted dollars is about $16,000 today. On the web there is an XLCR offered for about $20,000.  Assuming it goes for the full ask price (not likely) it only nets $4000 ($935 '77 dollars).  I'm pretty sure I got a better return on investment getting a university degree:classic_sleep:

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17 minutes ago, Veefore said:

 

(I can almost see Buell on the sides of those tanks.........remember them??)

 

I almost bought an S2T but to be completely honest, there were so many almosts I lost count. :grin:

Buells2tleadinimage.jpg

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5 minutes ago, TEWKS said:

 

I almost bought an S2T but to be completely honest, there were so many almosts I lost count. :grin:

Buells2tleadinimage.jpg

We were lucky enough at Loudon one year to catch the demo ride right at lunch when the track was empty, I got 2 laps on a Thunderbolt Executive (with bags).  Torquey, great brakes.......but......that transmission 😳.  I know, I know........Sportster......

I admired Erik's enthusiasm - they gave him the short end.....

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26 minutes ago, Paul De said:

I always like the idea and looks of the XLCR, but it was pretty crude.  The problem with the XLCR is that it was up against more refined and/or better performing bikes. BMW R90S, Moto Guzzi Lemans,  as well as the standards like Norton 850 Comando, Triumph Bonnie, etc. bested the XLCR in most of the measurables.  The coffin tank was not enough to get new butts on a HD and the traditional HD guys looked past it as it didn't have enough chrome.

 

At the time I wished I could have bought one when I realized that the model tanked figuring it would become rare and pricey down the road.  It was pipe dream because at that time I was too focused on scraping rent, tuition, and book money together than to speculate on a future collector bike.  And in hind sight, it was never a good idea.  The XLCR retailed for about $3,600 in 1977 which in inflation adjusted dollars is about $16,000 today. On the web there is an XLCR offered for about $20,000.  Assuming it goes for the full ask price (not likely) it only nets $4000 ($935 '77 dollars).  I'm pretty sure I got a better return on investment getting a university degree:classic_sleep:

My original comment and your lengthy reply made me relaize that there's a common theme here. You see, the XLCR is like a pretty girl....the thought of owning either is exciting at first but in the short term proves the be a bad investment. Long term? Who knows but either way it's still costly.

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Buell, especially when HD finally allowed the use of the water cooled Rotax engines, was their best hope to crack into the naked/sport bike market.  While I appreciate the effort again to grow a performance oriented platform these latest offerings seem a bit of dumbed down version of the last Buells.  Its like a wired blind spot for them.  How hard would it have been for them to create a street legal XR.  If HD had done that in the late 70's and 80's, they could have established a firm presence in the sport bike segment.  I had thought they were trying to do that with Buell until they cut the division.  I now will always be skeptical of HD's commitment to the nake/sport bike segment.

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24 minutes ago, TEWKS said:

I almost bought an S2T but to be completely honest, there were so many almosts I lost count.

I was looking at the Buell Thunderbolt back in 2000, but one ride on the R1100RT killed off my interest in Buell at that time.  The Ulysses was the next temptation, but it too passed.  Particularly when I was eyeing one up at the HD dealer and the salesman had no clue what the bike was, its intended purpose, or any of its features.  He even said "well I know there aren't any accessories (as in chrome stuff) for this bike".

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Bill_Walker
6 hours ago, Paul De said:

Particularly when I was eyeing one up at the HD dealer and the salesman had no clue what the bike was, its intended purpose, or any of its features.  He even said "well I know there aren't any accessories (as in chrome stuff) for this bike".

And that right there is the key.  H-D dealers were mostly clueless and uninterested when it came to selling Buells.  Will they do any better with these new "non-traditional" Harleys?  At least they'll say H-D on the tank, which probably helps.  But the whole style of bike will still be a foreign concept to most of the sales and service staff.  Much like the R18 will be at BMW dealers.

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My late brother had a ‘99 X1 Lightening. It was a fun bike but very very crude. It kept breaking header pipe to head and muffler bolts, shook like a 400 lb. Israeli carp. Rear shock was toast by 4K miles but covered by warranty. New one lasted 5k and he went aftermarket, Penske I think. Brother passed from the big C. His son ended up with bike and totaled it within 2-3 months. A shame

Local HD dealer didn’t really want to work on it. 

 

 

3DB8D226-3F27-4285-997D-51D56ADCA78D.jpeg

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Sorry bout your bro but glad to assume your nephew walked. :thumbsup:

 

Speaking of price (well I was anyway :grin:) where do guys think this bike needs to be priced in the market, to be successful? :dontknow:

 

Me...$12,950.00

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1 hour ago, TEWKS said:

Sorry bout your bro but glad to assume your nephew walked. :thumbsup:

 

Speaking of price (well I was anyway :grin:) where do guys think this bike needs to be priced in the market, to be successful? :dontknow:

 

Me...$12,950.00

Thanks TEWKS, he was a great guy and my riding partner. Cigarettes suck. Luckily my nephew wasn’t injured. He had no business riding a bike on the street but as executor of my brother’s estate I had to let him take the bike. 
 

That amount sounds about right but with high dollar Brembo front stoppers and HD’s past price points I bet it’ll be closer to $16k+.
 

My brother and I back in the day. 

AA85A48A-0C3D-4494-9B6E-4CE795CE7E76.jpeg

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If there's wiggle room to work down from $16K they may still have a shot but, if the LiveWire pricing geniuses get anywhere near it....:ohboy:

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1 hour ago, AZgman said:

I would buy an HD cafe before I would buy a BMW R18. Just sayin'


Ha, imagine waking an older biker from say, a twenty five year coma :dontknow: then bringing him in a room to see the latest from both companies. He’d probably comment. “so this is what Mars looks like”  :grin:

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Hope it’s more reliable than the XLCR. My brother bought one new and the brakes were good for about a thousand miles before they had to be replaced. 

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