A few minutes ago, in Milan, Italy on the eve of the EIMCA Show opening, Harley-Davidson revealed 2 new Dark Custom™ motorcycles designed for young urban riders around the world.
The Harley-Davidson Street™ 750 and Street™ 500 motorcycles – the first all-new platform from Harley-Davidson in 13 years – are built for urban environments with all-new liquid-cooled Revolution X™ powertrains, nimble agility and the sound and look that lets everyone know they are genuine Harley-Davidson.
The Street 750 and Street 500 from Harley-Davidson are built for an urban environment. Each motorcycle features the new Revolution X engine, designed to match the demands of stop-and-go traffic with nimble agility, while delivering instant throttle response to escape city gridlock. Both models will be available in select markets in 2014,
The Revolution X engine will be housed in a new, narrow and lean chassis built for agility, with a super-low seat height, new suspension and broad handlebar sweep that provides confidence and maneuverability when managing tight turns and fast moves. Both signature Dark Custom motorcycles feature a premium, minimalist style that serves as a blank canvas for riders to customize.
“These are the newest motorcycles to join our Dark Custom lineup, which helped make us the number-one selling brand to young adults in the U.S. for the past five years,” said Matt Levatich, President and Chief Operating Officer, Harley-Davidson Motor Company. “Both the Street 750 and Street 500 were designed with thousands of hours of input from young adults in cities around the world. This input guided both the attitude and capabilities of these motorcycles. They are proof that being customer-led continues to be a core driver of our product development process.”
In a couple of hours I will post more details, new pictures and videos. Stay tuned…
Interesting! I don’t know about stateside but internationally I bet they sell a TON.
Please tell me, these are not the new wopsters.
I’m waiting w/baited breath……………………………More info and what “markets” will get these????
Hee, as Gomer Pile says, “surprise surprise surprise!!”
Awwww, the beginning of the end. Quick, go out and buy a couple of NON-liquid cooled HDs, put them in the barn, cover them with a tarp and make your grandchildren very wealthy.
pricing?
Hmmm…. they look like Jap cruisers. Man bites dog…..
HOLY CHIT !!! Run for cover !!
The faithful has had their faith shaken, again !!!!
H-D with MORE liquid – cooled machines !!!!
It’s about time !!!! More steps in the right direction.
More power, less heat, less snickering from the H-D brethren about radiators on metrics !!!
Not making fun of the V-Rod owners now, are you ???
The clock is ticking for the the rest of the the line
It’s only a matter of time, tick-tock, tick-tock
(And I can’t beileve I got in before any comment from TTT)
What a scoop!
SOA bikes for the kids lol
I’m diggin the Victory turn signals lol!
Looks like a licensing deal to sell overseas. Take a UCM (Universal Chinese Motorcycle) and slap on an HD tank badge. HD gets royalties. Doesn’t look like any piece of it came from Milw. I guess it’s unfair to judge on appearance alone. May ride great, serve those with less cash, smaller stature, etc. But pretty sad when HD appears to copy styling of those who copy HD!
Take a look at the Yamaha/Star Bolt…specifically the engine. Similar look but Yamaha did a much better job aesthetically
Looks like it’s all metric, the indicators are the same ones that Regal Raptor use on all their bikes and the engine looks similar to a Hoysung GV 650 engine except the V is tighter. With Chinese indicators and a Korean engine it would be logical to assume this bike is built in China or perhaps now India.
it’s about time!
Harley closing in on the Japanese!
Over Head Cam?
Aww, ain’t that cute! It’s a baby Superglide!!
………………………………………………….MADE IN INDIA……………………………………………………………..
Looks good, I hope they bring it to the american market!
Hope and Change
Great looking smaller bike, if it has performance to match the jap 500s and 650, probably still leave a 900 lb garbage wagon with full stereo, GPS , Color TV and all the crap available on the latest baggers in the dust, oh I almost forgot the built computers with WIFI and plenty of USB ports. Sorry, as you can tell I’m not a bagger fan, if I wanted all that stuff, I’d just stay home, got it all there!
I think it would have looked nicer with a softail style rear section, allowing a lower seat height… then might be more appealing to riders of smaller stature, especially the ladies.
I’m curious to learn the HP output, and other technical numbers on it.
Engine appears to be visually similar to the V-Rod Revolution engine. If the pricing is not out of market then these might make a nice light-weight, easy handling starter bike. I bet a few thousand of those 500cc models are pre-ordered already by dealers to replace their aging fleet of Blasts for the Riders Edge program.
Finally; something for the rest of the world that is under fifty years old…I’m sure there are thousands of young potential buyers wanting to have their own part of the “HD” mystique without getting a 900lb motorcycle that costs them a years wages…
Looks like HD is making a Royal Enfield knock off.
Not for the U.S. market. Harley has long coveted the Indian and Indonesian markets, and this is the bike designed topenetrate those demographics and geographic areas.
Made in Kansas City Art
Clarifying, at least those designated for the US market.
Reminds me of my 1984 Honda VT500 Ascot.
IIRC, Yamaha had a XV750 Virago like this also.
it actually kinda reminds me of the old sturgis from the 80s. but the engine does look alot the yamaha bolt. funny since the bolt is a total blatant rip off of the sportster. but with a better stance from the factory. i aint gonna knock um for it, i just hope these guys goin on about them phasing out the air cooled big twins are wrong. i don’t see that happening tho. hd is bigger now than ever. and they have what theyve always wanted,which is a customer base made almost entirely of respectable white collar types. all the real bikers are riding old shovels,evos and pans, and sporsters
Wow! Look at that radiator! Ugh-uh-lee!
by the way what is it with that that second pic, the caricature japanese buck tooth coke bottle glasses, isn’t that racist Harley?
This has got to be a good move for the Moco IMHO. Baby boomers (self-included) aren’t going to be around buying baggers for ever. If anything as I get older and my back gets worse I’m going to want a lighter machine not a heavier one. New models are also good for the aftermarket. Just think of all the opportunities for bolt on goodies. Where the bikes are made is irrelevant, it’s where they are bought, and whose accessories find their way onto the bikes that will help to sustain jobs in the long run in the secondary and tertiary industries engaged in producing, retailing and supporting the goodies for the v-twin market and catering to the needs of the customer base therein.
wow i guess alot of u HD people don’t work on bikes much for one most of newer Hd the bolts are metric and alot of the parts on Hd are imported i work on alot of them and see this but since it say HD its made not the andonly HD i would be a vrod oopps thats not made in the usa either just the name on the bike says its usa but u HD owners don’t work on own bike take to the shopand my bike will at last any Hd
Greyhawk,
These are not “made” in Kansas City, they are merely assembled there. The motors ARE MADE IN India! So much for all of the concessions we made in Milwaukee to keep jobs there. Sure the air cooled and spot cooled motors are made in Milwaukee but if this bike sells well, how long until all of the HD motors are made offshore? Don’t be fooled, HD only makes motors and bikes in the USA because the customer demands it. If they no longer do, they will go to the lowest cost country.
It looks basically like a Honda VXR 400 with a Japanese model 400 Eliminator mini fairing.
The only thing that makes this bike look non-Japanese is the exhaust. The Japanese have very ugly exhaust pipes that look like sausages.
Other than that, this bike is the same thing all the HD faithful have been putting down for the last 20+ years.
I like em -;0)
New motorcycles to attract new customers, finally !! Good move by the motorcompany. With the aging demographics of their core customer they had to do something and this looks like a winner. I think in the long run this will support and bring more people into the “potato -Potatao” crowd !!
That’s it… they finally built something that looks like a Honda Shadow.
Next stop… a scooter. AMF all over again. Those guys disappoints a little bit more every day.
After reading this blog, I think Harley should just go out of business and everyone would be happy. People have been complaining that Harley needs a smaller bike to get the younger generation involved in riding. HD does that and here come the complaints!
If Harley would just dissolve, then everyone could ride an Indian and live happily ever after!
Thanks Cyril for the early scoop!
Hey, they reinvented the Honda VT500! Whoaaah! With the biggest plastic radiator the world has ever seen!
Wow! The negative naysayers have come out in droves. Predictably. And once again flooded the comments section with poor grammar, abysmal spelling and low IQ thinking. What isn’t dumb is dumber still – except for a few who get it. Thank goodness for those few.
They forgot the 30″ front wheels 🙂
Doc Robinson.Like I said :”It looks basically like a Honda VXR 400 with a Japanese model 400 Eliminator mini fairing.”
Just the facts mam.
Remember when you could open the hood of a car and see the ground? Remember when you could stand on one side if a bike and see light on the other side of the engine! .? Too much crap jammed in the frames today. But, at least now we can sa that HD can see forward as we’ll as back.
It the air cooled motor on its way out? Seems so.
competition…got to keep chasing them big bucks…just another bike..no fun if you can’t whrench it…but good luck to h-d……might as well get into triumph..maybe a nice commando..lots of great jap.bikes..already out there..but then that asian market seem to have some dollars to spend..thats where all the work is..have fun and good luck america..i’m sticking to old school of style and grace..m.l.l.&r.
Kansas City will probably make 10,000 of them for the U.S. market. India will probably make 100,000 of them for the foreign markets.
About time and probably a decent bike but I have zero doubt it will be over priced by a bunch.
Looks OK to me, would look just right in the garage next to my Wide Glide, just hope the Indians (or whoever are building it) give it a better quality finsh IE paint (no chrome on it,so no worries there) than is on the TCs.
(GASP) It has liquid cooling! Grab the torches and pitchforks! 😉
Two words: “New Money”. Harley has no alliance to anyone that wants to see them stay air cooled and why would they? Every decent idea they have had in the last 70 years has been relentlessly copied and reproduced by aftermarket companies. They spend millions of dollars engineering a half-assed powertrain and then the aftermarket copies them, makes them here and abroad (usually much better and sometimes cheaper too). Do I like them (Harley)? Nope! Do I care about Harley and their future? Not in the least. They do everything they can do to fight against the aftermarket (lying to customers, taking photos of VIN’s and of aftermarket parts on bikes in Daytona to cancel warranties…) It doesn’t end there. Harley is looking global and they are getting their asses handed to them by Polaris. It is going to be good for my business because Harley will get what they want…market share but they will loose what they have grown accustomed to: brand loyalty. Good riddance I say.
I THINK IT WILL CALL IN NEW BUSINESS FOH HARLEY DAVIDSON -GREAT JOB-IDEA!
I think this is a long time coming… the market has needed this from HD and they are delivering it. I wish them well!
Cyril, apologies ! Didn’t see my remark had been posted in a different part of the three part article regarding these new bikes…Still the best blog out there! BC
I really don’t see a downside on this like some others do. The big, lumbering cruiser market is almost unique to the North American market and a motorcycle company as large as Harley has been foolish for ignoring the world market as long as it has. Honda moved their US manufacturing back to Japan and has cut back big time on it’s number of US street bike models, yet they sell more bikes than ever. Why? They’ve kept increasing their world share, making millions of “silly little bikes” that most of Cyril’s regular readers would no doubt make fun. Sadly, they seem to be in denial that the rest of the world has a lot of money to spend on bikes that meet their specific needs and regulations and for some reason they seem to want everyone BUT Harley to get more of that money.
Generic 80’s b movie motorcycle/ I waiting for the new Triumph street tracker!!!
I wonder if the Japanese motorcycle industry will ask their Government for Protection…lol
The “Factory” probably does not have a choice if it wants to be making good profits and surviving 5-10 years out.
Doc from one Anzac to another you need to take a different color pill when you wake up tomorrow.
Dullards, the insane and even motorcyclists are allowed opinions in a democracey.(The exception being Queensland Aus which is now a mini nazi Germany)
If they are not well in formed so be it.
I go into HD dealerships and have been insulted by their lack of knowledge about their own product and this is the open blog cosmos….what do you expect
it’s not a bad looking bike for what it is, i’d never buy one as I just can’t get past car radiators on motorcycles…so shoot me.
99.9 percent sure it’s made-in-India. Tax and import laws there require it (but we’re suckers for imports in this country). Go figure.
Looks like they’re made for the second and third world. Which is to say, by the time Obama leaves office they’ll be on sale stateside.
Being a traditionalist when it comes to HD, I’ve seen the good and the bad. I would like to know how to give my input to the company because I’ve never been consulted with. I have a few ideas.
I was told a couple months ago these were coming out…. I have been riding HD’s for the past 30 years… what the hell are you thinking???? Please don’t give in and become another liquid cooled piece of crap!!!!!!
Conspiracy theory alert!!!
This is entirely fictitious on my part, but this is how it could have happened:
H-D catches an Indian mass manufacturer red handed preparing to market this miniature V-Rod knock off. Initially threatening to sue the Indians, H-D finds out that there’s nothing to win, and strikes a deal with the Indians to market the bike as H-D’s own offering for new markets. Bingo, a new generation of H-Ds is born.
Heard about this a couple weeks back.
Bikes sold in the states will be built in the states. I doubt they would dual source there supply chain though when it comes to content.
Now if they would just get rid of the stupid V twin engine configuration and idiotic sound, they might have a good start on design.
xvspeed71,the Yamaha Star Bolt may well fit into the Sportster market segment but it is in no way a “total blatant rip off of the sportster”.The new Bolt is based on a Virago motor that has over thirty years of continuous heritage and development since about 1981.The motor design can be traced directly back to Yamahas XT500 500cc single in the early seventies,they copied no one.The motor has way more in common with an early Ducati L-twin or a Vincent HRD than any Harley motor.
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