photo courtesy of Thunderbike
Sportster Fans Rejoice!
Harley-Davidson's new CEO, Artie Starrs, has confirmed it- the Evolution Sportster WILL return to the model lineup. Along with the Sportster's confirmation, he mentioned that the Sprint will debut with the Sporty, and he also hinted at the return of another touring motorcycle... the Road King, perhaps?
Zeitz Versus Starrs
Jochen Zeitz's plan to 'right the MoCo ship' was, basically, to save build costs by eliminating models that were lower priced, in order to focus production and sales on the big price tag bikes. The problem with his idea, is that, as Scott Bumpus told Artie Starr's when he met him- "most Harley-Davidson riders wear their names on their shirts." A, not so subtle, way of reminding the incoming CEO that the Motor Company needed to get back to their roots, and focus on the blue-collar, working class riders that have kept the brand alive for over 120 years. Jochen's plan eliminated the entry level bikes, and made it more difficult for bar-and-shield loyalists to be able to afford anything more than used bikes, or worse- competitor's bikes.
Artie Starrs is coming in strong, in my humble opinion. He has visited numerous dealers and learned what they have been struggling with. Artie seems to understand that the dealers are critical to the success of the Motor Company, as they always have been. By focusing on improving dealer relations, he is effectively opening the pipeline to actually move bikes. By bringing back entry level bikes, he is giving the dealers more options in order to move inventory, and giving the customers a variety of options to fit their individual riding styles and, more importantly, their budgets. The fact of the matter is, when a new rider buys a small bike like a Sportster, or the new Sprint, they'll ride that bike for a while until they get more comfortable, then they'll be right back in the dealership upgrading to a bigger bike. By giving dealers more options in the lineup, Artie is providing them the opportunity to increase revenue in bike sales, services and parts and accessories sales.
Will The King Live Again?
Don't get me wrong, I like the new Street Glide and Road Glide, but I'm a Road King man at my core. I prefer a more visceral ride over the watered down, refinement that comes with fairings and infotainment systems. I like tank-mounted analog gauges and I like a simple, quick-release windshield. I've had a Road Glide and I rode an Electra Glide for several years... and they are both exceptional motorcycles, but I don't think it was a smart move for Harley-Davidson to remove the option of a Road King to customers like me. Truth be told, now that I've retired from my payin' gig, I don't see myself buying any new motorcycles, not for a while anyway. I have my Road King Special dialed-in perfectly to my tastes, so I'm not interested in trading her in on a new Road King, even if they offered one. But... let's play the "what if..." game for a minute, shall we?
- What if my 107ci M8 gives up the ghost early? It is sitting at over 41k miles, after all and I've heard a lot of horror stories about the first generation engines.
- What if, God forbid, my bike is destroyed in a crash?
- What if it is stolen and not recovered?
Sportster
So, apparently, I was wrong in my prior assumptions (what happens when you make an assumption?) and the MoCo did not sell the designs to SWM for their Stormbreaker motorcycles, although, I don't know how they are able to make a ripoff Sportster without any legal ramifications, but that's a story for another day. Today, I'm focusing on the fact that H-D is going to bring the Evolution Sportster back. Let me say that again, the Harley-Davidson Motor Company is bringing back an air-cooled Evolution powered Sportster. I don't know what model they are going to release, if it will be an 883, a 1200 or both, and I don't know how they are going to market it alongside the RevMax powered Sportster S and Nightster models, but damn... I am excited to see what they do.
The reason I'm so excited about the return of the dual shock, Evo Sportster, is because it gives me hope. Hope that if they are bold enough to bring back this bike, maybe, just maybe... they will see the value in the Dyna lineup and reintroduce that family of bikes. I've mentioned it before, but I still get giddy over the idea of a 114 Milwaukee 8 engine stuffed into the small frame of a Dyna. I would love to see the return of the Wide Glide... now that is a bike that I would go to the dealer for.
Final Thoughts
I'm going to address Artie directly, here... not that he reads my humble little blog, but on the off-chance he does... here goes:
Artie, can I call you Artie? Artie, I appreciate your candor and how you openly admit that you weren't a "motorcycle guy" before getting the call from Harley-Davidson. I also appreciate how you acknowledge the importance of the H-D dealer network and how you seem to really understand who your core customer base is. I'm a Harley guy, I guess I have been since I was a kid, but it really bloomed in 2009 when I was finally able to buy my first Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Ever since that fateful winter day, I've had a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. I've spent a small fortune on new motorcycles since then and I've peer-pressured more of my friends into joining the bar-and-shield club than I can count. Keep doing what you're doing. Bring some stability back to the brand. Harley-Davidson is unique in that the company has been in business, without interruption, for 123 years now. Unlike Indian, who has been bought and sold, over and over, and again this year. Those guys like to claim "since 1901" but their slogan really needs to be "established the first time in 1901..." I'm not a brand-basher, but every once in a while, I feel the need to give it back to the Indian Motorcycles crowd (just for fun). Bringing back the Evo Sporty is a bold move and, although I'm not a fan of the Chinese partnership for the Sprint, I understand the reasons for that choice. I do really hope that you'll also bring back the Road King and, while I admit this is probably a pipe dream, the Dyna line. Regardless of what hits the showrooms, I'll still be riding my Harley-Davidson motorcycles, wearing my Harley-Davidson attire and writing about the MoCo, all while hoping that you can undo the disastrous plan of your predecessor.
Until next time, MotoReaders, it looks like we'll just have to wait and see what comes out of the 414... so in the meantime, you know what to do...
Ride safe, and make good choices!
