Two Wheel Tuesday: Harley Davidson gives us Seventy Two reasons to be Slim
Harley Davidson Seventy-Two
Harley Davidson introduces you to its new models: the Sportster Seventy-Two and the Softail Slim. Harley Davidson designed these bikes during their two slowest sales years. By refocusing on their lower end bikes and working hard to help them stand out Harley Davidson with some impressive design. These should help The Motor Company recapture the sales it had in the past.
[Source and images: Harley Davidson]
Sportster Seventy-Two:
Harley Davidson dips into a newer vein of design. After spending decades reliving the post war years The Motor Company has decided to appeal to a more modern audience. Using stylistic elements that remind you of the classic peanut gas tank of the 70′s Sportster’s and the Springer style front end. Let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want to look like Evil Knievel? As Triumph has shown with the Bonneville reviving the seventies can work for sales. The Seventy-Two starts at $10,499.
Softtail Slim:
Moving a bit upmarket from the Seventy Two, starting at $15,499, this Slim also moves you up one entire model line. This Softail leans on the blackout Night Train look that Harley Davidson has been releasing across it’s lines for quite a while now. It appears to a broader base then the 72 does by offering a muscle bike look with matte black paint and a very low seat height.
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Don't forget to buy as much H-D branded gear & "lifestyle accessories" as your credit card will allow.
<img src="http://troll.me/images/the-chuck-norris/ron-paul-2012.jpg" />
eh?
Oh, for a moment I thought you were trolling, but then I decided I just liked the picture. Anyway, Chuck Norris!
No trollin' here (save that for [redacted])… Chuck hadn't shown up properly when I responded. Thus, the Canadian expression.
So under the equal opportunity rules. I will admit that I laughed at this. Then I remembered the GPS upgrade for my Victory was $1000. The reverse gear for my bike was $1800. The CB and communication system would have cost $700. The tool to adjust my air suspension $70. I bought none of these things.
It's not just limited to HD. Although they have made an art form out of it
I never could see why a super low seat height was a good thing. But, this is coming from a six-footer whose riding experience is mostly on a dual-sport. The only H-D that appeals to me is the XR1200X (the only thing wrong with it is the MSRP, I just can't see spending more than $10,000 on a bike.)
hmm I dunno the fact it's at least a hundred pounds overweight counts as "something wrong with it" as well, I think. It looks nice though.
Now the Sundance tuned version, thassa Proper Bike.
<img src="http://www.bikeexif.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/harley-xr1200.jpg">
My weight problem might be larger on a fractional basis than the bike's, so I can't hold that against it.
Damn, that's almost enough to embarrass Porsche.
Yeah that's what gets me. The regular 883 and one other uninteresting Sportster variant can be had for $8k, but everything else starts near $10k and the XR1200X is nearly $12k. Maybe the higher-line Sportsters are worth that much v. the 883, but I'd rather spend my $$ on a $9k Triumph Scrambler or even less $$ for one of the Japanese sport-standards.
Having borrowed both a Triumph and an 883, if I was going to ride something underpowered with a low top-speed, I'd get the Triumph every time.
And their "lifestyle accessories" are way more attractive than the Harley stuff.
I find the 72 quite handsome, the Softtail Slim not so much. But way too practical. For that price I could have a 2WD Ural with sidecar! Or for 2/3 as much, an Enfield Bullet! No-brainer.
Have to agree with you on the Ural. Harleys are just too common for my taste but an updated version of a Soviet copy of an old BMW bike is just too cool to pass up. Plus, the Ural has a functionalistic style that the Harley can only hope for. Make mine Warsaw Pact green!
I drove a Ural 20 years ago. That thing was a blast! The only thing that would make it hard to live with is the low top speed (about 55 MPH max on the example I rode)
I got more grins per mile out of that bike than anything I've ridden before or since. Apparently going slow gives you more time to grin.
A Ural will do about thirty times the top speed of a Harley in 18 inches of snow in a ditch.
Hooniverse, Land of the Masochists.