by "Nonster" (noahnic)
Published 03/09/2017 at 10:20
by "Nonster" (noahnic)
Published 03/09/2017 at 10:20
Tags: Street Rod
; Harley Davidson
; Two Wheels Good
; Motorcycle
STARS: 4
People have been clamoring for an affordable, ‘Merican, sporty standard for a while now. Something with 17" wheels, more than 2 inches of suspension travel, and good cornering clearance. Harely-Davidson has tried this before with XR1200 and with Buell, but Buell never got further than being a novel, American alternative sportbike and the XR1200 was simply ahead of its time.
More recently, Polaris/Indian further stoked those flames with the surprisingly sporty-ish Scout, the Project 156 race bike, and Scout FTR750 Flat Track race bike. The time seemed ripe for Indian or Victory to whip out a Sporty Standard with that amazing V-twin.
Then we got the Octane, which in and of itself was a good cruiser, but it failed to live up to the hype. A few months later Polaris announced that Victory was dead.
Hope for basically an American SV650 seemed lost.
Then this morning I saw a picture of the new Street Rod. At first I thought it was a silly, appearance package for the Harley Street 750, but then I started noticing the details. It’s got taller suspension! An USD fork! Dual disk brakes!
Let’s dig in a bit and compare some specs to the regular Street 750, the Triumph Street Twin, and the good ‘ole Suzuki SV650...
The changes are much more than just some new wheels and suspenders. They steepened up the rake and gained 10 degrees more cornering clearance. It unfortunately gained some weight.
Also those tires sizes means you can put on all sorts of good sporty rubber. They’re also claiming about 68 horsepower.
Obviously, performance-wise, it’s not going to keep pace with an FZ-07 or an SV650. However, those bikes are selling great because they’re fun and affordable. I’m reserving judgement until I can ride one, but the pieces are there to be a distinctly ‘Merican Standard that can hold it’s own in the twisties.
It’s probably more fair to compare it to the similarly named Triumph Street Twin. Either way it’s looks to be a great addition to the Harley Davidson family.
Keep the shiny side up
"jimz" (jimz)
03/09/2017 at 10:36, STARS: 1
ABP
but you did a much better write-up. Lemmy over at Revzilla guesses this one might have 70-75 hp at the crank.
"Pickup_man" (zekeh)
03/09/2017 at 10:44, STARS: 3
This looks really good, and if I was in the market for this type of bike it would definitely be on my shopping list. Can’t wait to read some reviews.
It’s exciting to see Harley pushing forward with some more modern, sporty oriented designs, with this, the Sportster Roadster, Low Rider S (sport cruiser), V-Rod, etc. I hope they sell a ton of them. Despite what people think Harley has always tried to be a modern and forward thinking company, but for the longest time their customer base wanted nothing to do with it, so these types of bikes just wouldn’t sell. I think Harley is slowly changing it’s image (for the better) and I’m really excited to see where they go in the next 5-10 years.
"Nisman" (nisman)
03/09/2017 at 10:59, STARS: 1
This looks awesome. I rented a Street 750 last time I was in California and I really enjoyed it. I can’t wait to ride one of these.
"jimz" (jimz)
03/09/2017 at 11:16, STARS: 1
they have to , the crowd that buys Softails and baggers gets smaller every year.
"Nonster" (noahnic)
03/09/2017 at 11:18, STARS: 1
If I had the money for a 2nd or 3rd bike I’d seriously consider this thing if all I did was ride around town, but since I commute, tour, and am about to do track days, the SV650 is the bike for me.
I really hope this pushes Indian to make a Standard with the Scout’s engine. I’m sure they’ll be watching this things sales numbers closely.
"Pickup_man" (zekeh)
03/09/2017 at 11:38, STARS: 0
Funnily enough, as a young 26 year old person, I’m moving out of the Street Rod and smaller bike market and into the big cruiser/bagger market (likely a Dyna). Mostly based on where I live and the kind of riding I do though. Mainly, eastern South Dakota, long straight roads, needing good accommodations for a passenger. If I was anywhere near fun and twisty roads I’d definitely have this kind of bike.
"Monkey B" (monkeyb)
03/09/2017 at 11:42, STARS: 0
I test rode a brand new XR1200 in 09 really wanting to like the thing. But it shook my brain like it was broken. I’ll never understand why people like that. I couldn’t deal with it and it distracted me to the point I abandoned the test ride after a mile.
"jimz" (jimz)
03/09/2017 at 11:43, STARS: 0
Oh I know people like us exist, it’s just that the “glory days” of selling 200,000 Street Glides a year are probably gone for good.
I could recommend the Dyna Switchback (FLD,) but they dropped it for 2017.
"Nonster" (noahnic)
03/09/2017 at 11:48, STARS: 0
I’ve never ridden one, but I love the concept. Basically a good looking Buell.
Had you ever ridden a Harley before that? I figured that the vibes would be about the same as the other Harleys
"Pickup_man" (zekeh)
03/09/2017 at 11:50, STARS: 0
If I lived in an urban area, or near some roads with curves I would absolutely consider this. The nearest fun roads from me however are 5 hours away across 375 miles of 80 mph, flat South Dakota interstate. While I could suck it up and ride a bike this out there, I don’t make it out there nearly often enough, and if I start going more often, I’m going to want to go in comfort. Curvy roads are still fun on a slow bike. Plus, the wife is starting to ride with me more, and she’s getting tired of the 2x4 of a seat I have on the Sportster, so a bigger bike is definitely in my near future.
"Nonster" (noahnic)
03/09/2017 at 11:56, STARS: 1
Yeah I live in downtown Cincinnati and there’s plenty of fun roads right across the river in Kentucky so I don’t have that problem thankfully. Smaller nimble bikes are great for my area.
I’m facing a similar issue with my girlfriend though. The passenger pad on an SV650 is a little less than accommodating
"BobintheMtns" (bobinthemtns)
03/09/2017 at 12:05, STARS: 1
“the XR1200 was simply ahead of its time”
A Harley, that’s ahead of its time..... umm.. I’m gonna need a citation for that.....
"Censored" (chrisbrown2992)
03/09/2017 at 12:06, STARS: 0
Wheelbase is 5ish” too long. That will hurt handling as well.
"Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns" (themarvelous1310)
03/09/2017 at 12:15, STARS: 2
Daaaaaaaamn, Harley! I don’t know what you been smoking, but I want an ounce! Finally, Harley-Davidson can compete with Triumph and Moto Guzzi on equal footing. Hasn’t happened since the 70s, and it’s about damn time it did!
I think it’s hilarious how the shocks are red and chrome on a grey and black bike, as if to say ‘LOOK! It’s a REAL SUSPENSION! Do you SEE it?! LOOK HOW MUCH SUSPENSION WE HAVE! THIS IS FOR YOUUUU!!!’ Oh, I’m looking, Harley-Davidson, and I like every inch of what I see.
"Nonster" (noahnic)
03/09/2017 at 12:17, STARS: 0
hahaha fair enough. I don’t mean that it was ahead of its time from a technology standpoint, more in terms of whats selling in the motorcycle market. IMO back when it came out, the prime movers were cruisers and supersports. Now the middle range, sport-naked, super nakeds, retro-standard, scramblers, etc. has blown up.
Admittedly, I’ve never ridden one, but I like the style and concept of that bike. For all I know it could have been crap.
"Nonster" (noahnic)
03/09/2017 at 12:23, STARS: 1
that and its on the heavy side too, but hey its a step in the right direction
"Pickup_man" (zekeh)
03/09/2017 at 12:34, STARS: 0
I like the Switchback, but I’m not ready for a windshield and hard bags yet, I’m still being “young and cool” and I really like bobber style bikes lately so I’m eyeing the Street Bob really hard. If I had the money though the new Lowrider S would be the bike I’d buy.
"BobintheMtns" (bobinthemtns)
03/09/2017 at 12:38, STARS: 0
Haha... was just trolling... but along those lines, can a bike be an american sport bike if it’s built in India?
"bob and john" (bobandjohn)
03/09/2017 at 12:38, STARS: 3
wheel base 5inch too long, weight too much, and there is another, slightly more concerning issue.
its got no brakes.
when these bikes first came out, a mag did a stopping test. the brakes faded almost completely after the THIRD hard top from 60. on this AND the 500.
not exactly confidence inspiring....
"Nonster" (noahnic)
03/09/2017 at 12:45, STARS: 1
I remember hearing about the brake issues, but I thought they addressed that after they realized they were dangerous shitty brakes. And this new one has a dual disk setup over the regular Street’s single disk. So hopefully they’re not shit.
Yeah in a vacuum it’s not impressive, but HD put out a bike with a reasonable amount of suspension travel, lean angle, and 17" wheels! That’s crazy talk for Harley!
"bob and john" (bobandjohn)
03/09/2017 at 12:53, STARS: 0
well, they made a bike thats actually fast in a straight once too. it was not well recived among H-Der, even if every trailer park king bought one because its faster then dat dam forgien job. (night rod/street rod) time will tell
"Hammerdown" (hammerdown32)
03/09/2017 at 14:34, STARS: 0
Fender eliminator kit, take off the front fender, aftermarket high exhaust, mesh over the headlight, and knobbies and this can be another player in the scrambler (after)market. If HD is smart they’ll show a custom job with all of this in print soon. Scramblers are hot right now, so hopefully they can capitalize on the trend. I’d like to see Harley get something going that has similar success to the Scout.
"jimz" (jimz)
03/09/2017 at 14:46, STARS: 0
I remember hearing about the brake issues, but I thought they addressed that after they realized they were dangerous shitty brakes.
they did. he’s working off of info at least 2 years out of date.
"Decay buys too many beaters" (decay)
03/09/2017 at 16:59, STARS: 2
Came here to lay down my standard holier than thou “that bike is too damn heavy” SV650 master race mantra. Left satisfied.
"bob and john" (bobandjohn)
03/09/2017 at 17:03, STARS: 0
I love how any time someone even whispers SV650 you and I pop up like we were summoned or something LOL.
"Decay buys too many beaters" (decay)
03/09/2017 at 17:09, STARS: 1
I was just thinking the same thing! Whenever I see anything about the SV I always think “Hmm, wonder if Peter commented here YET”
"Monkey B" (monkeyb)
03/09/2017 at 17:34, STARS: 0
my only experience on a HD. I’ve had a V-Twin before in a Suzuki VX800 and it was smooth in comparison. I just couldn’t take all that vibration on the HD. I’ve heard the Street models are smoother, but I’m just not into cruisers...I prefer sport tourers, nakeds and standards. I went to ride the Street 750 when they came out due to curiosity, but the dealer didn’t have one to test ride.
"Censored" (chrisbrown2992)
03/09/2017 at 20:25, STARS: 1
I guess in a marathon you jave totake your first stride. They have a whole bunch more to make.