New 2023 Harley-Davidson Lineup

What will the MoCo's 120th Anniversary year bring us, and what will it take away?

It's that time again, folks... Harley-Davidson has reached another year in business and, under the latest management team, it looks like we are in for some new models being added, and some classic favorites being taken away.

I'm not going to waste time by speculating on what may be introduced on January 18th, nor am I going to speculate on what we may gain or lose throughout this year. I will, however, look at what we currently know and I'll offer my thoughts on that. Let's get right to it...

The death of the Sportster

Now, I know that H-D has continued the Sportster lineage with the new water-cooled RevMax powered models, but we all know these new bikes are Sportys only in name- they share nothing with their predecessors. The Sportster as we know it, is dead for 2023. The EPA has finally won another round in their fight against the air-cooled machines that we love so dearly. While I don't hate the new water-cooled Nightster (will it make a comeback for 2023?), I personally think the new Sportster S is hideous. I'm sure it's fast and agile, but it looks like some hybrid compilation of German, Japanese and British designs, all mashed up in a single bike. The only thing "Harley-Davidson" about that bike is the name. The Nightster, on the other hand... while it shares the same DNA, at least looks like a Harley. The fake gas tank/air box is a turn off for me, though. Interestingly enough... in perusing the H-D website this morning, I didn't see it on the lineup. Did the MoCo nix the new Nightster already, or are they simply going to put some lipstick on the little pig and re-introduce it as a new model for '23 (with a higher price tag, no doubt)? I suppose we'll see in a week or so.

The Softail Lineup

It appears, from all I've read (which admittedly, isn't much) that the Softail lineup remains mostly the same. I wish they'd bring back the Deluxe, but at this point, it feels like H-D is going away from their tried and true classic designs in favor of the "power cruiser" designs that I thought we had finally started moving away from a few years ago. Bikes like the Honda VTX1800F, the Suzuki M109, the H-D V-Rod and the Kawasaki MeanStreak (just to name a few) were all terrible designs, in my opinion. With drag-style bars, forward controls, and high output engines cradled in cruiser-based frames...they were/are uncomfortable to ride and their engine performance was limited by their screwy frame geometry. While not a "power cruiser" by design, the venerable Wide Glide was put to pasture in 2017 when H-D foolishly killed off the Dyna line and, the closest thing they offered to the styling, was the... ugh... the Softail Breakout. What an awful bike it was. With a ridiculous riding position and a rear tire that made the bike look as if the designers were stuck in the early 2000's chopper trend, the bike was simply horrendous. Well, much to my dismay, it looks like H-D is going to be bringing that one back in '23. We're getting the new Softail that nobody wants... brilliant. Geesh!

The Touring Lineup

What can I say so far... it looks like the execs at H-D have finally lost their ever-lovin' minds. From what I've seen... they have removed their number one, absolute best, Touring bike from their 2023 lineup. The Road King is currently (as of this morning) no longer listed on the website and all the rumblings I've heard (again, admittedly... that's not much) is that the Road King has been discontinued. What the actual f**k!?! 

Has Harley-Davidson's executives inadvertently hired a corporate assassin with CEO Jochen Zeitz?? Who in Milwaukee has lost their fool minds? The Road King is the quintessential big twin Harley-Davidson! 

So let me re-cap so far... the Evo Sportster, the Sportster inspired RevMax Nightster and the Road King are all absent on the '23 lineup.  

Now, from the limited research I've done, it looks like H-D is going to offer a "new" bike in the Icons collection... with the model designation of "FLHFB"... which is the old designation for the Electra Glide Highway King of the golden, olden, days (think, mid 1960's) before the Road King (FLHR) was actually introduced. Now, for those MotoReaders that are unfamiliar with the Road King's history... let me give you a quick recap: 

The FLH line originated a long time ago in H-D history, and the "Glide" names were added with each new addition of a particular upgrade. For example, the first FLH had a hardtail frame, a springer front suspension and kick start. When H-D added hydraulic front suspension, the FLH earned the name, "Hydra Glide." The addition of a rear swingarm and rear suspension earned it the title, "Duo Glide." Once the engineers perfected the electric start, the FLH earned the name that we all know now, the "Electra Glide." The Electra Glide didn't actually get that iconic batwing fairing until 1969. Back then, the batwing fairing was, basically, just an outer fairing mounted to the forks. As these things tend to do, the batwing that we all know (and most people love) evolved over the next few decades until it became what it is today. Most of you may know all this already, but what you may not know, is that in 1989, H-D introduced the Electra Glide Sport... an FLH Electra Glide without a fairing (again). The bike was popular enough that it was offered for a few years before H-D's marketing team decided to rename it, you guessed it- The Road King, for the 1994 model year. 

The Road King has been an extremely popular machine since it's "official" birth in 1994 and has become a favorite of guys like me, who want a bike big enough to handle any road trip that we can throw at it, while still maintaining that cruiser DNA for riding down the Main Street on a Friday night. It is, in my humble opinion, one of the best Harley-Davidson motorcycles ever made. So, you may be asking why, if it's so great, is H-D apparently pulling it from the lineup? Easy... this is nothing more than a marketing scheme. Smoke and mirrors. Increase demand by decreasing availability. For '23, if someone wants a brand new "Road King"... they'll have to either get a Road King Special (the FLHRXS with a price tag of +/- $24k) or get the "new" ElectraGlide Highway King (the FLHFB) which, as an "Icon Collection" bike, will probably be a "limited edition" and have an MSRP of close to, or over, $30k. I happen to love my 2017 Road King Special, but I will be the first to admit that, compared to my other Road Kings (both of which were Classics-FLHRC), the machine is way overpriced. It's gorgeous, but corners were cut in the quality (see my long term review video here) and, in order for me to be able to ride it comfortably, I had to replace the poorly designed stock "mini-ape" handlebars. I finally have my bike all dialed in for my needs, so I won't be shopping for a new Road King anytime soon, but for someone looking to upgrade their current ride to all the glory that is the Road King... 2023 may not be their year to do it.

A new bike for the Riding Academy?

One more new bike being offered by H-D will be the Chinese-built X350RA. A small displacement, parallel twin motorcycle, that is being targeted for the overseas markets (and of course, the H-D Riding Academy). While many H-D purists may find this to be one of the most offensive things I've written on my little corner of the interweb, I will politely stay neutral about it... at least for now.

We all saw the shit-show that was the "Street" bikes that were built in India under the H-D moniker. The XG500 and XG750 were pure garbage. If you own one... let  me say that, I'm sorry. I'm not sorry if I've offended you, I'm sorry that you bought one. It's a Harley by name only. In the beginning, I heard some great things about the engines and I actually wrote a few slideshows for H-D Forums about folks modifying the bikes into some really cool customs, but as of recently, I've heard nothing but bad stories about them. Problems like, the brake systems having catastrophic failures and the transmissions randomly slipping between gears. I'm sure that these problems, along with the painfully dismal sales of these bikes, were the driving forces that ultimately led H-D to dump them (a smart move on H-D's part, to be sure). The Streets were (sort of) intended to be a stepping stone bike for new riders. Here in the U.S. of A., they were initially introduced as Riding Academy bikes. H-D recognized that their smallest bikes at the time, the 883 Sportsters, were still a bit too powerful, loud, heavy and torquey for a brand new rider, so they needed an underpowered, small and inexpensive bike to train new riders on. Enter the Street 500. A perfect-ish bike for the job. Too bad it was a piece of crap in terms of quality. So, here we are in 2023... the XG's are gone, but H-D is still running their Riding Academy classes and, as such, they still need a small displacement bike that won't be too intimidating for the faint of heart. 

Enter the new X350RA. A lot of folks are probably cringing at the mere thought of it being made in... gasp... China, but I'd venture to bet that most of you fine folks are reading this on your Chinese made computer or smart phone. I may be a little biased (or would it be... unbiased?) these days, since I've recently added a small-bore motorcycle to my garage with the purchase of an American made Janus Halcyon (read more about that here) which is powered by a Chinese built CG250 engine. Say what you will about the Chinese, but many of their products are top-quality. Sure, not everything is worth the materials they're made with, but many of their products are and the Janus' little single cylinder, 229cc powerplant starts up every time and it runs smoother than a sewing machine. The bike is an absolute delight to ride, too... but that's a story for a different day. Today, I'm talking about the partnership between Harley-Davidson and the Qianjiang Motorcycle Company. With H-D bringing these little bikes to their Riding Academy, you can bet that they will be on showroom floors before the end of the year. After all, new riders are, naturally, going to want to buy what they learned how to ride on. Before you get too offended by the MoCo's latest partnership with a foreign company, let me point out that H-D has been doing this for decades. Does the Italian company Aermacchi ring a bell? If you know any of your H-D history, you know that H-D bought approximately half of Aermacchi's stock in the 1960's and that Aermacchi produced several of their single cylinder (and a few two-cylinder), small-bore, motorcycles with Harley-Davidson badges, all the way through the 1970's before H-D was purchased by AMF (again, that's a story for another day).

I actually have high hopes for the Chinese built H-D X350s. Apparently, Qianjiang is a formidable company in the Asian motorcycle market, building a variety of high-quality, small bore motorcycles for their customer base. I suppose that only time will tell, though. Hopefully, the partnership with QJ won't find the Chinese company building the entire lineup of H-D bikes, though because that would be a sad day for American workers. I also suspect that H-D's marketing team will probably suggest a retail price of the X350 on par with Jochen's "premium brand" business model for H-D, and it will most likely be way overpriced. Just to give you an idea, QJ's website shows most of their bikes coming in around the $2,500- $3,000 range and I seriously doubt that the execs at H-D aer going to allow any bike with the famous Bar and Shield logo to be sold with such a humble price tag. After all, Jochen's plan for the MoCo is to, apparently, make H-D motorcycles unattainable for the working class people that have been riding them since 1903. 

My final thoughts

To wrap this up today, I'll just leave you with these thoughts to ponder. If H-D does offer something new and fresh for 2023, I really hope that they make some attempt to make it reliable and affordable. If the latter (affordability) doesn't fit into the current CEO's business model, I at least hope that the damn things are built with higher quality materials and workmanship than they have been for the past several years. I also hope that the MoCo starts thinking about their future existence in the current global motorcycle market, because some of the decisions coming out of Milwaukee these past few years have been questionable, at best. I get that Federal emissions standards are constricting much of what we have always known in the motorcycling world, but damn, there's no Federal guidelines that are making them build ugly, watered down versions, or worse- overpriced versions, of their previous machines. The decision to kill off the Dyna line may have been driven by emissions, or even by financial, restrictions... but the decision to re-use the Dyna names on Softails was just lazy marketing. Seriously... no one could have come up with a new name for the Softail Street Bob or the Low Rider? You also can't tell me that designing a new twin-shock frame for the Milwaukee 8 engine was such a crazy idea... not after they designed these new RevMax powered bikes (the Nightster, Sportster S and Pan America). 

Whatever we see come out of Milwaukee in the coming weeks and months, I really hope that it is good, because my most recent desire to buy a new bike has been satisfied by my most recent purchase out of Goshen, Indiana. Between my new Janus, my Road King Special and, of course, my Dyna Street Bob, I don't see myself going to the local H-D dealer for any reason other than to visit my son.

With that- Happy New Year everyone! May 2023 bring you new opportunities for happiness, prosperity and good health!

Ride safe and make good choices, MotoReaders!

Video Blog

Hello MotoReaders!

I'm contemplating bringing back the video blog... at least every once in a while. Even though it's a lot of work (and no recompense), I actually sort of miss editing and creating videos and, it turns out that, I have a few different reviews that I think I'd like to do. Of course, with autumn in the South usually bringing a bit more rain and cooler temperatures, it's also a good time to sit in a warm, dry garage (or house), editing video content, too.

If I do break out the GoPros... I have a few cool things to show you guys. First, I've done a bit of work to the MotoWriter Street Bob that has changed the look a bit and, I've added some new lighting to the MotoWriter Road King that I'm pretty excited to talk about. I've also picked up a couple of new motorcycles that I'm eager to share my thoughts on. I'm sure I could add in a few product reviews and I've even thought about doing another long(er) term review of my Road King Special... as a follow-up to my previous video, since I've done a bit of work to it since making that video. 

When, and if, I do start shooting and posting new videos... look for the links to them here on theMotoWriter.com, since I'm adamantly opposed to getting back on social media (I might even talk about my reasoning for that in a video, too). 

Finally, if you are one of my loyal readers, and have wondered whatever happened to my plans for offering up some MotoWriter merchandise... the person I was working with to make my decals and t-shirts has shut down her operation indefinitely and I've just been too busy with my "real job" stuff to seek out another vendor for it. Maybe, if all works out, I'll be able to get that done in the next couple of months and will be able to add a link to the site, where y'all can order from. 

Whatever happens, stay tuned for more content here on the MotoWriter.com, because as the temps drop and the rain starts to come more often, I'll be doing less riding and doing more writing.

THANKS for being a part of this! Ride safe and make good choices!

Our Janus Experience, Chapter 2

As a wanna-be writer, with skills that I'm sure aren't as good as I think they are, I write for the sheer pleasure of writing. Mainly because nobody is paying me to do it. Maybe, I suppose, that is a good thing, as it keeps my writing pure. With that said... I'm writing this blog post for the second time, as the first piece (which was done and about to be published) was eaten by the internet and has now disappeared into the dark abyss, never to be read again. I won't dwell on this, extremely frustrating, setback... instead, I'll tell my little story... again.

Our Janus Experience, Chapter 2

I originally planned on telling my story in a multi-piece blog post series with cool little "chapters", but as it turned out... between working an unhealthy amount of time at my paying job and some minor setbacks throughout the whole process, it just wasn't meant to be. So, I'll tell the story in the best way that I can, so that I can share this experience with you and still salvage the little bit of Saturday morning that I have left.

At the end of Chapter 1, I left you with our build sheets being sent to the production team. Well, the next part of that journey should have been getting our production numbers (I'll explain later) and our VINs so that we could get our financing in order and then getting the link to our photo albums. Yes, I said photo albums... as in, the team at Janus photographs the bikes as they're being built, so that you can watch your new Janus motorcycle become more than the sum of its parts... so to speak. 

If I've never mentioned this before- I have, what would best be described as, "dumb" luck. My best explanation is this- I wouldn't consider myself to be "unlucky" per se, however... when it comes to me, if something can go wrong, it typically will. I guess you could say that Murphy's Law lives strong here in the ole MotoWriter. Without getting too far off topic, let me give you a hypothetical example: Let's say I was in a line of 500 people, getting an ice cream cone (it's hypothetical, after all). The 499 people before me would experience a delicious frozen treat, smooshed happily inside a delightfully crispy container... but that 500th cone, my cone, would undoubtedly have a hairline crack in the bottom of it and I would end up wearing more of the sugary frozen treat than I actually ate. Now, some people might say that sounds like "bad" luck, but in my case, the rest of the story would go like this: after wearing said ice cream stained shirt for the next hour, someone at a cool store would end up seeing me, and in a random act of kindness, end up giving me 50% off a new shirt. So, basically... it's not bad luck... it's just, well, "dumb luck." 

With that explanation out of the way, our experience with buying a Janus wasn't exactly the same as what most folks were reporting. Shortly after signing off on our build sheets, unbeknownst to my wife and I, one of the team members at Janus HQ got sick and was out for several days. Now, you might think that this shouldn't be much of an issue, but at a small operation like Janus, one critical member of the team going out unexpectedly can greatly affect the overall process of the build. With that being said, though... in our case, it didn't actually affect our builds, only our communication about the builds. 

When the good folks at Janus realized that my wife and I had, sort of, fallen through the cracks... they immediately made up for it. While at work one day, I got a call from an unknown number. I almost ignored it until I saw the call location was Goshen, IN. I immediately answered and, to my surprise, the guy on the other end of the line was none other than Janus Co-Founder and Owner, Richard Worsham! That's right, the Head Cheese, the Big Kahuna, the Big Boss Man himself! Now, I don't care how big or small a company is- for the guy at the very top to take time out of his day to call a customer and offer his condolences for things going a little sideways, then offer to answer any questions or address any concerns, is a major boss thing to do. THAT my friends, is the core of customer service from a guy that truly cares about giving his customers a positive experience along with a quality product. By the end of the call, Richard told me that we'd have our photo albums by the end of the day and, sure enough... we had them before I left for work that day. 

The builds

Now, I'll just say this, while we didn't get the albums of the builds while the builds were happening, that didn't change a thing for me. I'm still enamored by the fact that we have albums of our bikes being built. Imagine, if you will, someone at Harley-Davidson taking pictures of your bike as it was being built. At Janus, they not only take photos, but before the frame ever gets set on the build stand, the technician knows where that motorcycle is going and who it is going to. That is simply unheard of in this fast-paced production focused world we are in. The guys on the production lines at the major manufacturers are simply building bikes for a nameless, faceless customer to be bought from a dealer, somewhere out in the world, but at Janus, they knew that Halcyons #908 and #909 were coming to the Gulf Coast to Mr. and Mrs. MotoWriter and that, my friends, is friggin' awesome. 

When we got our albums and we could see the bikes coming together, part by part, it was exciting to see. You also may be wondering, if you caught it, what I meant by our "production numbers." Well, one thing that is really cool with Janus, is that they (much like every other manufacturer) keep up with their production numbers of their different models. The biggest difference being, they proudly display it on their bikes. On the Halcyon 250's, for example, they have an "old school" registration plate on the front fender that has the

 production number painted on it. Why, you might ask? Simple- they are proud of their motorcycles and, in the Janus Owners Community, the production numbers are a point of pride. For example, the guy that has Halcyon JM-001 may not necessarily have a more valuable bike than the guy with JM-500, but it's certainly cool to say he has it. Plus, it's just cool to have a "pedestrian slicer" as it's commonly known, on the front fender of your bike... it's a really neat throwback detail.

Janus really delivers... literally

Once your bike has been built and your financing is in place (or you've paid the balance on it), you have two options- pick it up from the factory in Goshen, IN, or have it delivered. Being that we are a full day drive away from the quaint little town where our motorcycles came into existence, and the fact that we were both working long hours over several days, my wife and I opted for delivery. Just over a week ago, I got a phone call from Mitch McLane, telling me that he and Kyle Norwood were southbound, heading to our house. The next morning, right on schedule, the Janus van pulled into our driveway.  My wife and I watched in eager anticipation as Mitch and Kyle unloaded our bikes. The guys were actually on their way to Barber Motorsports in Birmingham, AL so they had a few bikes in the back of the van. Due to the limited space, Kyle had to leave the mirrors and the engine guards off our bikes, so I let him use my garage to get them all buttoned up as we went inside with Mitch to get all the legal stuff taken care of. Did I mention that Kyle was one of the guys who actually built our bikes? How cool is that? Before finding Janus, I couldn't have imagined that any company could offer that kind of personal connection with their customers. These are production bikes with the one-on-one personal touch of having a one-off custom built bike. You won't find that anywhere else. Period. 

Not to mention, my wife's bike was ordered with a picnic basket and, when Mitch noticed that it wasn't sitting on the bike perfectly, he took it off, placed it back in the van and said that he would have a new one sent to her as soon as he got back home. He sincerely apologized that her bike wasn't perfect when it left Goshen. After Mitch and Kyle left, on their way to the Barber Motorsports Vintage Motorcycle Festival, my wife and I just sat back and enjoyed the simple elegance of our new steeds before we had to leave to go to our respective jobs.

The next chapter

While my storytelling of our Janus buying experience may be coming to an end with this post, I assure you that our Janus ownership experience is only just beginning. My wife still has yet to learn the basics of operating and riding her new motorcycle and I'm looking forward to teaching her to ride safely, cautiously and defensively. While Mrs. MotoWriter and her bike patiently wait for their first ride, my little Halcyon and I already have a few miles on the clock together. 

Riding a small bore motorcycle isn't for everyone. The vintage styling and rudimentary technology of the Janus Halcyon 250 isn't for everyone either. But for genuine motorcycle enthusiasts like me, these motorcycles are unbelievably cool. My Road King Special is my refined, sophisticated and very comfortable cruiser/tourer; my Dyna Street Bob is my ripper; and my Halcyon is the bike I'll ride when I'm longing for those days gone by, when life was simple, calm and easy.

Whatever you do in life, make it meaningful, make it fun and make it memorable with the ones you love. Ride safe and make happy choices, MotoReaders.