Show us your FROTY (First Ride Of The Year)

jkv357 said:

............. The oldest (#8) just graduated as a ME and is starting at Harley Davidson next week..........

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So will you be passing on any insights into what Harley Davidson will be offering in years to come? Although I don't think much will change in the foreseeable future, their customers don't like change very much.


I see the V-Rod series has been deleted, ostensibly due to non-compliance with Euro emissions regulations but I'm sure if those bikes had been bigger sellers Harley could have found a way to meet the regs.

I'm not really up to speed with the UK market for used Harleys but it's rare here to see one being ridden by anyone under 60 years of age, so they need to broaden their appeal before their customer base literally dies off.

When I went to the UK Motorcycle Show in November I had a demo ride on an Indian Scout Bobber. That was a pleasant experience but I'd have to be very rich before buying something that impractical. The rear mudguard is so short that organisers were making everyone who rode that bike wear a fluorescent vest to keep the spray from the wet roads off the jackets they were loaning.

jkv357 said:

If these concepts are any indication, HD is definitely exploring completely new territory -

https://www.visordown.com/news/new-bikes/harley-davidson-pull-covers-two-whacky-e-bikes-ces

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They'll have to try harder than that. Those concepts are streets behind the E-bikes currently on offer from established bicycle manufacturers.
It's hard to know what HD can do to escape being as type-cast as they are. BMW have been trying to wean their customers away from the flat twins for years with only limited success.
I think the logical next step for Harley will be to incorporate water cooling into their big twins but to disguise it as much as possible as Indian and Triumph have done.

AAJCBR250R said:

https://1089-1.blogspot.com/2018/12/adding-10891-kilometers-to-my-life.html

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Great write up and pictures.

Gromit2 said:

Great weather today and nothing else getting in the way so out for a nice ride through the mountains.

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Snowdonia's another place I'd like to see a bit more of, especially on one of the rare days when the weather's that good. But I'd be torn between taking a motorbike or a mountain bike.

Gromit2. Just a couple of hours after posting above I received an invitation to join some of my mountain biking friends for a birthday weekend of riding and partying based in Trawsfynydd next weekend. So mountain bike it is. This time.