No company in the powersports industry is under more scrutiny than The Motor Company. Harley-Davidson’s dealers are up in arms about their franchise agreements apparently being changed arbitrarily and it is no secret Juneau has been trying to eliminate “under-performing” retailers. But who defines which stores keep their franchise? Meanwhile their “loyal” fan base hasn’t seemed to agree with the model mix in years (remember when the Dyna was discontinued?). Last week’s launch of the LiveWire as a stand-alone brand modeled after Tesla seemed to be the one thing the dealers and their customers agreed upon…
Today Harley introduced the replacement to the venerated Sportster… or would have if the global reveal didn’t glitch out and give viewers a spinning wheel of death instead of the intended launch video. Instead of seeing Jochen Zeitz riding in Scotland much of the global audience saw a rerun of Jason Momoa and the Pan-Am video. However about 45 minutes later, the faithful were finally rewarded with the video and the website went live with the specs.
“The Sportster S is the next all-new motorcycle built on the Revolution Max platform and sets a new performance standard for the Sportster line,” said Jochen Zeitz, chairman, president and CEO, Harley-Davidson. “This is a next generation Sportster defined by power, performance, technology and style. And it’s part of our commitment to introduce motorcycles that align with our strategy to increase desirability and to drive the legacy of Harley-Davidson.”
Believe the hype? “The Harley-Davidson® Sportster® S model is an all-new sport custom motorcycle designed to deliver a thrilling riding experience and ushers in a new era of Sportster performance. A 121-horsepower Revolution® Max 1250T V-Twin engine puts the Sportster S rider in command of unrelenting, on-demand torque. A taut, lightweight chassis and premium suspension deliver responsive, intuitive handling. From stop light to stop light, and corner to corner, the Sportster S model offers riders extraordinary power and performance and creates a new standard for the most enduring Harley-Davidson model.”
A 2021 model, the Sportster S will reach Harley-Davidson dealers this fall with a base MSRP of $14,999. Does this price point and hot rod motor really hearken back to the original Sportster concept? More importantly is this something the dealers and their customers will embrace… or is it going to another XG750/LiveWire that fails to reach critical mass on the sales side?
Stay tuned, it will be more interesting to watch than the spinning wheel on everyone’s computer screen.
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