Re: Harley Davidson 500 and 750cc Launched: xBhp News

looks certainly like a project RUSHMORE output esp the headlights (looks like picked up from older gen models). although waiting and hoping that real world look of it will prove I am wrong.

Re: Harley Davidson 500 and 750cc Launched: xBhp News

Any updates on the torque and power figures of the two??

Looks are subjective and in a general sense, these bikes are decent looking. They may not be as classic as a fat boy, or as dramatic as a night rod, but they are not really ugly like the mahendra mojo.
And harleys are a lot about customization, so one can greatly change the looks of the bike, by customization, based on his/her aesthetics.

As for coming down from their lowest 883 cc engine, i feel its all about survival. If it wasn't for the first generation of thunderbird in the 1990's with the AVL engine, RE would have probably died by now. For HD as well, stricter norms in future may have issues with big air cooled engines. So the move to have a lower cc engine platform is in the right direction, for survival, i guess. out sourcing manufacturing to cut cost, will add to sales, esp in emerging markets. A live example would be how making the KTM 125, 200 and 390 in india is put KTM as the largest selling (or 2nd ?) motorcycling company in Europe. a relatively unknown brand like KTM is going good in india based on the pricing, so a known brand like HD is bound to do well, provided its priced well.
Its also about getting folks on your brand. Someone already riding a street 500 may find it easier to upgrade to a bigger machine from HD. (well, it would be odd to use the HD leather jacket on a bonnie ). Of course a lot of hardcore HD fans will crib about this new move, similar to how the hardcore CI bullet riders dont even consider the thunderbird to be a bullet, but HD would have done its research and groundwork.

All this would be a nightmare for our beloved RE. first the 390 ate some of their shares, and now we have these from HD, triumph, and others like honda 400/500 XYZ coming soon. And REs are overpriced for their quality of parts and build and highly underpowered. CGT is rumored to be priced at 2.3L ex. am sure the street 500 at 3.3 would be much more appealing. And for some one who is financially capable of spending 2+L on a RE can surely arrange for a lakh more, if the returns are exciting. goodies such as the brand, badge, new revolution X engine, liquid cooled, SOHC instead of push rods, better suspension, better brakes, better comfort, better power, etc.

I am surely excited..

Re: Harley Davidson 500 and 750cc Launched: xBhp News

[MENTION=46353]nasirkaka[/MENTION] - Finally someone posting sensibly!

No horsepower or torque figures have been released yet. Harley are known for not sharing the HP output but over the internet you can find out the HP figures once the bike is officially launched. Superlow's 883 cc air cooled engine produces close to 50 bhp so Street 750 would be more or less the same.

Another news released today on Economic times regarding a 250 - 300 cc HD being planned sub 3 L mark so Harley is firing all guns to get the Indian Young gen on cruiser bikes. This is good news for us as this would urge other manufacturer's to do the same. (Harley Davidson may become affordable soon as it plans to enter 250-300 cc segment - The Economic Times)

Re: Harley Davidson 500 and 750cc Launched: xBhp News

Since Street 750 is a high revving engine (redlines at 8000rpm) I think it is safe to say that the bike characteristic would be more like a V-Rod than Iron883 or Superlow & will also produce more slightly more power than these two with lesser torque. Another good thing about the bike is it comes loaded with tech & not just an air cooled Vtwin...

And that 250-300cc Harley can safely eat into markets of most indian manufactures, highest of all RE!

Re: Harley Davidson 500 and 750cc Launched: xBhp News

I seriously believe some competition is necessary for growth. To think of it, both companies were almost on the brink of bankruptcy a few years back. Some deft marketing on legacy and new launches later, they are both iconic in their own rights. RE vs HD = indian biker wins.

Re: Harley Davidson 500 and 750cc Launched: xBhp News

A chilly dreary rainy evening in Milan, Italy could do nothing to quell the excitement in the air at the Harley Davidson event venue at Garage Milano near Via Achilles Maiocchi in Central Milan. Everything about the Harley's is about 'experiencing' and befitting such an ethos even our media passes carried the words 'Media Experience' in place of the usual. Loud strains of 'Born to be wild' filled the village-like atmosphere at the venue of one of the most important launches/announcements to be made by Harley. Beer, frankfurter hot-dogs, Italian fried pastries and an assortment of cakes and puddings made for the evening fare as some of the local owners put their impeccably modded Harleys on display inside the covered courtyard. A huge panoramic canvas was the scene of impromptu painting with the artists creating global emotional vistas as bikers partied, talked and waited for the unveiling.



Milan streets on a rainy night



The informal gathering at Garage Milano in mid-town Milan



Guitars, cruisers, the open road and a country song.



Visions of places to go to.



Locals came riding in at the launch.



The Street 750 rises out of the crate!



Up close with the 750



A 500 Harley! Times are changing.



The menacing Urban Custom - a part of the Dark Custom theme



The Pro Street 800 - another of the Dark Customs

The twin Harley Davidson Street motorcycles - the 750 and the 500 were finally unveiled to the world there on the 4th of November 2013. And done in typical Harley style, informal, purposeful and fun. Mark-Hans Richer, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing OfficerHarley-Davidson Street Forum



Mark-Hans Richer, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Harley-Davidson Motor Company



Jack Savage, the Industrial Design Lead for Harley Davidson



Rob Lindley - Managing Director and Vice President, Harley Davidson Europe

Mark made way for Jack Savage, the Industrial Design Lead for Harley DavidsonMr. Anoop Prakash, MD Harley-Davidson India, the plant here shall assemble the complete bike including the engines with both the 750 and 500 coming off the production lines by mid-2014. Of the two, only the 750 will be sold here with the 500 probably joining in the sales line-up in a year or two. In all probability, fears of brand dilution and parasitic selling (an overlap between the two as the pricing does not differ much) prompting this decision. Plans are about making 7000-10,000 bikes a year initially with an undeclared split in numbers between the two models. Mr. Prakash did reiterate that HD India plans to put some 4000 Harleys on Indian roads in the coming year, an upward projection by almost 2000 bikes compared to the previous years! The pricing would be sub-5 lac though the exact figures (both for the India launch date and the price here) would be declared during the Auto Expo 2014 (February).

Re: Harley Davidson 500 and 750cc Launched: xBhp News

[MENTION=10597]Old Fox[/MENTION]: Sir how is the look and feel of these new motorcycles?

Re: Harley Davidson 500 and 750cc Launched: xBhp News

Looking forward to the pricing now!
Still wondering, why the 750 first?; same concepts will apply even if the 500 comes first. Let's see!

Re: Harley Davidson 500 and 750cc Launched: xBhp News

Both look better finished than the 883 (am keeping that as reference as that is close to the price bracket for these bikes). The paint finish is nice, the welded joints smooth and the entire bike is well put together. Though none of the bikes went 'live', i.e. neither were the electricals switched on or the engine started, they apparently are well engineered and technologically modern machines. I cannot make a general comment on the looks as that is purely subjective but personally speaking even though both the bikes look quite small compared to the usual Harley spectrum, as stand-alones they would be eye catchers.

The fear of brand dilution is probably one strong reason for not going sub-750cc initially. There is a big reigning chasm between the owners of big bikes and small bikes in our country. Why, even the Enfield has breached the 500cc boundary with their 535cc engines. And Harley probably want themselves to be perceived only as a big bike brand. Yet. Of course the economics of volumes and a growing maturity in the Indian market will make the entry of the 500 inevitable in the coming year or two.

Re: Harley Davidson 500 and 750cc Launched: xBhp News

Never mind, I have changed my mind on these bikes after reading the first review on the 500. Decided
it's not for me.

Re: Harley Davidson 500 and 750cc Launched: xBhp News

It is a great news.. but I would surely like to compare the power and torque figures of RE500 with HD500 .. if HD is better in terms of torque and power from RE.. im surely going to go for it

Re: Harley Davidson 500 and 750cc Launched: xBhp News


Assuredly HD is going to sport better specs, in everything Consider this, RE 500 is still not made to generate too much power like a duke's single. Moreover, the engine architecture is quite basic, it's a 2 valve, air cooled and isn't even single overhead cam (SOHC). HD's 500 twin is an all new modern engine with 4 valve per cylinder, SOHC along with liquid cooling so that the high rpm performance isn't compromised much either. Even the upcoming Continental GT's 535cc engine isn't going to be any match to HD 500 twin. There's no comparison remotely.

Re: Harley Davidson 500 and 750cc Launched: xBhp News

Am sure we can expect 40+ bhp from the 500 mill of HD. Have always felt C5 to be underpowered for what it could have been, especially considering that its a brand new engine design conceived in 2009, with all the latest cad/cam available. God only knows what was the need of retaining push rods, and combining them with EFI. Its like marriage of a 90 yrs old with a 19 yrs young. The thump was compromised anyways, So all the bulls*** about retaining the long stroke, heavier crank, etc does not make personal sense to me. They might aswell have developed the UCE 500 to be medium revving, modern construction from decent performance point of view, extracting 34-35 bhp. the present 27.2 bhp at crank (about 23 at wheel, if we are lucky), from a 500cc engine is a crime, given the bike weights 185 kgs. One of the reasons i got a 390. i know, i know some of us are of the opinion that its a product for leisure ride, etc, so better to keep this the way it is, but a majority of new RE customers would be delighted to have slightly more power.
Continental GT is another joke with the same UCE engine, bored to 535cc, and minor changes like reduced crank weight, a different EFI map, aluminum rims, etc to reduce weight by about 15kg all in all. What they extract out of all this is 2 extra bhps. Rumored to be priced in the range of 2.2+L, not sure if there would be many takers.

Hoping the street 500 and 750 to be decent on power and torque figures, and priced well. Still dont get it why they intend to launch only 750 here to begin with? wont the 500 be more suited for an emerging market like India?

Re: Harley Davidson 500 and 750cc Launched: xBhp News

[MENTION=46353]nasirkaka[/MENTION]: As you have rightly said, even though its an all new engine for RE, it's still a pretty outdated design with ohv architecture and relying heavily on pushrods. With the current UCE engine, even if RE makes a 500 twin, it will still be no match to Harley's latest Revolution X 500 twin.

Agree with the rest as well

Re: Harley Davidson 500 and 750cc Launched: xBhp News

If anybody is interested in Harley Street 500, don't worry it will be here a bit later. Harley is bringing the Street 750 first because they
think it is a better value for money proposition, this from Smart Buy magazine published by Business Line.

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To read more about it go to _{http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-smartbuy/new-wilds-on-the-streets/article5345230.ece}