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Harley Davidson Liquid Cooled Street 750 and Street 500

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Harley Davidson Street 750 with liquid-cooled Revolution Xâ„¢ powertrain
Harley Davidson Street 750 with liquid-cooled Revolution Xâ„¢ powertrain

When’s the last time you heard the name Harley Davidson associated with anything other than heavyweight motorcycles? Well, get used to it, because they’re introducing two new models, the Street 750 and Street 500 based on a whole new platform powered by a liquid cooled Revolution Xâ„¢ powertrain. Looks like they’re fighting in the middleweight class now.

UPDATE: As expected, a number of you have been asking about where these are going to be manufactured. Rather than speculate, I put in a call to Harley to find out.

The bikes that will be sold in the US, Canada and Mexico will be built in Kansas City. The bikes that will be going to Portugal, Spain, Italy and India will be manufactured in India.

Harley Davidson Street 750 with liquid-cooled Revolution Xâ„¢ engine
Harley Davidson Street 750 with liquid-cooled Revolution Xâ„¢ engine

The Street 750 and Street 500 Feature New Liquid-Cooled Revolution X Engines and Dark Custom Styling

MILAN (Nov. 4, 2013) – Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) is continuing its monumental ride, which began with the introduction of Project RUSHMORE in August, by revealing two 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.

Harley Davidson Street 750 and Street 500
Harley Davidson Street 750 and Street 500

“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.”

Urban, Authentic 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.

Revolution X liquid cooled engine
Revolution X liquid cooled engine

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.

Revolution X liquid cooled engine
Revolution X liquid cooled engine

“These new bikes are leaner, yet still have a mean streak – they’re the real deal, made of real steel.” said Mark-Hans Richer, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Harley-Davidson Motor Company. “They’re designed to handle the abuses of urban environments and provide authentic opportunities to customize.”

The Harley-Davidson Street 750 and Street 500 will be rolling into dealerships in select markets starting in 2014.

Specs

6 Speed Transmission
Belt Drive
2 into 1 Exhaust
Single Caliper Disc Brakes
Specially Tuned Suspension
2 Up Seat with Passenger Pegs
Metal Tank and Fenders
LED Tail Lights and Bullet Signals
Locking Gas Cap, Forks, and Ignition
V Twin 60° 4-Valves per Head
Wheel Size: 17” Front, 15” Rear
Wheelbase: 59.5”
Weight: 480 LBS (WET)

Price

Street 750 & 500
Starting at $6,700 – $7,500 U.S. MSRP

Link: Harley Davidson

Posted on Filed Under: Motorcycle Business

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Comments

    • Indeed!! Their getting worse. Tighter and higher pants, more flannel and all around douchiness. I do dig the new bike and I like the turn their making with it. I hope it’s a success, but damn their commercials suck.

      • Awwww, are the old squares getting freaked out by those darn punk kids. What with their hair and pants. And is that what they call music these days? I’m sure back in your day, things were different.

        • Dang these young punks and their rebel ways! Everyone knows that motorcycles are for us normal folks!

          Hey you kids, git offa my lawn!

  2. Harley dominates the Heavy Weight market, How long until they own the Middle Weights as well?? Between the strong bikes from Europe and now Harley the Asians are getting their heads on a platter in the markets with the money to spend.

  3. If Harley can avoid the kneejerk reactions of their past this could be very VERY profitable for them. I think they will regret closing buell instead of putting realistic r&d money in Eric Buells hands along with an open table for designs (reference the EBR bikes). A true unhandled Buell company along with these new “urban street” bikes would give HD a three angled marketing platform that would rival Japans big four, only with a legacy to glorify that the big four can not compete with. Hears to progress and hopefully smart and thought out actions.

    • Except Buell would not have been doing THESE urban street bikes. Though standard, these are still much more cruiser-y than anything EB would seem to be interested in building. This is the kind of bike H-D believes they can sell and will continue to base their designs on “the Harley Feeling(tm)”.

      Like it or not, that was not a good mating and likely a very good split.

      • I think Buell could have done a very nice job of building this sort of bike. Do you remember the Lightning Long? That was a wonderful motorcycle in every way but the engine. A Street 750 engine in a Lightning Long chassis would be a perfect urban brawler. I will wager it would be lighter than the Street 750.

    • Except not. These things are ugly and overpriced. No innovation. Just the same ol’ junk with a Harley badge slapped on. Lame.

  4. Harley is finally getting it. Yet their engineering is not. I guarantee those engines are not designed by Harley just like the VRod engine. Victory is the way to go for a true American made motorcycle.

    • Hear Hear. The Harley purists will scoff at these just as they have the VRod and previously the aermacchi machines. But it is in a way progress. You see now Harley will have a new “Old Ladies” machine and the Sportster will be elevated to a man’s “beginner Hog”. LOL You want an American Made Machine? Buy a Victory or the new Indian. Better design, better engineering, and actually built in the States, not assembled from out sourced parts.

    • I Looked very hard at the Victory line back in 2011, and I must say that I really like the touring models. So I did a little more research to the Polaris Victory’s, and what I found was VERY disappointing. I read that several people were complaining that they were on road trips and went to a local dealership for warranty work to be done and found that the dealerships did NOT honor the warranty, that to me was unacceptable (I hope they have fixed this issue). Secondly, I found that there resale was in the tank as compared to the Japanese bikes, this too was unacceptable. So I bought my first Harley a 2012 Electra Glide Ultra Classic. Since then my wife now owns a Road King that she loves and I have traded up to a Tri Glide (for medical reasons).

    • Vrod is Harley design they had a little help from Porsche to tweak it and make it run right. If Harley could put aside all of the skulls, bones, chains and flames and make a full dress version of the vrod they might be getting the fog out of their crystal ball. Vrod probably the best bike Harley has ever built

    • as for victory being the way to go american, victory is Canadian. Canadian is more American than jap, but still canadian

      • I believe you may have mistaken Polaris with CanAm/Bombardier, or perhaps you are entirely uninformed about most things in general. Polaris is and always has been an American company. Victory’s are built in Sprit Lake Iowa. Just because it’s cold, and they have snow, and build snowmobiles, doesn’t mean that they are automatically part of Canada. Go figure.

  5. That massive slab of radiator is a bit off-putting, it looks like a Maccas tray on the front of the bike! I’m pleasantly surprised that they put fork gaiters on it though, are these coming back into fashion now?

  6. Nice bikes and I think it’s cool they are coming back to the smaller displacements. Can’t say I dig the radiators though. Other than that I like them.

  9. I applaud the move ! Even wIthout being able to judge the bikes themselves, it’s still a move in the right direction !

    The Time mentions ” (HD) will build these new models in India from next year, exporting them to European and Southeast Asian markets.

  11. S3bird – my understanding is that they are going to be made in the US for the North American market and in India for other regions; India, Europe, Asia, etc.

  13. What is the big honkin’ deal about being designed in America. My VTX1800 was designed in California and built in Ohio, but I still hear the same “rice rocket” comments. If I see a nice HD, I complement the owner; I do the same if I see a nice Guzzi, Yamaha, Triumph, or BMW.

    Again, it’s not WHAT you ride, but THAT you ride.

    BTW, these two new HD’s look pretty good to me!

    • I read an article a few years ago that said the most “made in America” (ie counting all of the sub-components) vehicle was a Toyota truck (I forget which model)

    • Thanks Whitebear, people seem to forget it’s not what you ride it’s that you ride something. And don’t forget all you American purist wannabes you are entering a “world market” now, most anything you buy anymore is either made off shore or parts of it are so watch how you look at things!

  14. Great effort — something totally different from the Motor Company…surprise!

    The Faithful won’t touch it with a junk fork tube (it’s not air-cooled or based on 1950s technology), but for other riders looking for a sharp middle-weight cruiser, this might be the ticket. Manufacturers seem to finally be realizing that a motorcycle doesn’t need 1.2 liters displacement and 180-mph top speed to be a great, fun ride. These bikes should attract younger first-time riders wanting something bigger than a 250 tiddler but not a threatening monster. The American market is getting downright interesting!

    H-D also sees the writing on the wall. With liquid-cooled heads on big bikes it’s dipping its toe into the water, hoping traditional fans will accept a Harley that carries coolant, albeit a small amount. The Revolution X is a full dive into liquid cooling, which will be necessary as environmental and noise regulations tighten. I foresee a huge market for used air-cooled Harleys, but liquid-cooled Harleys are the future. These models probably will sell very well in overseas markets before catching on here.

    As for radiator placement, where else are you going to put it? Under the seat? No room on a cruiser. I don’t see a problem with it, especially for potential riders who’ve grown up seeing bikes with radiators on the down tubes. The gaiters are a nice touch — I’ve always liked ’em, and they really protect the fork seals.

    Harley seems to have finally Gotten It. Hey… bore the jugs to 1,000 ccs, and presto! the next-generation Sportster!

    • I agree, however how much do they weigh? It may be more of a monster than you think. Its probably going to weigh in close to a 883 low. Maybe not though.

      • The specs released so far say 480 lbs., wet.

        I checked a few Japanese competitors, the Honda Shadow RS and Yamaha Star Bolt, which have wet weights of 503 and 540 pounds, respectively.

        The base price is also less than both the Honda and Yamaha. Of course, Harley dealers being what they are, it might be hard to find a base model in a showroom…they’ll probably all be festooned with useless accessories and marked up accordingly.

        But at this point, on paper at least, HD seems to have the Japanese whooped in at least a few important areas.

        • Which Honda and Yam models are you comparing these prices to?

          Bear in mind that the $6,700 starting price you see above is for 500cc.

          • HD Street 750: $7500 per above and the HD website
            Honda Shadow RS, Phantom, Aero, and Spirit: $8240 per Honda website
            Yamaha Star Bolt: $7990 per Yamaha website

            Any other questions?

            • What are you comparing? The Bolt is staying truer to American motorcycling than any of those other bikes listed. It also looks, and I bet sounds nicer. The bolt is also in the 950cc class and allegedly has power more of a 1200 Sportster. So therefor whats the problem with an extra 60 pounds? On a seperate note, the Nightster and 48 and possibly 72 were Harleys chance at the young “hipster” market.

  15. Ok, heres the thing. Most die-hard American Motorcycle clubs ONLY allow Harley Davidson Motorcycles that are over 800cc’s in their clubs. No Indians, No Buells, No Victories, and definately not a Harley dirtbike or scooter from yesteryear. They are extremely strict and set in their ways. This would seem to be a roadblock of sorts for anyone looking to join a club.

    • Ummmmm… so? It’s not as if HD is going to stop selling those. Honestly, how much of HD’s customers (let alone motorcycle riders in general) belong (or have serious plans to join) those sorts of clubs?

    • the target audience for these bike are most likely not the die-hard 1%ers.

      Interesting that HD is finally making another step away from the sons-of-wannabees / 1%er bikes.

      • The point, is that the faithful (as stated above) will give no respect to these riders. Most people don’t buy a Harley because its the best choice on the market. They buy them to own a Harley Davidson. A name that carries weight amongst other bikers. As soon as the buyer of this UFO rear fender looking “Harley” finds that lack of respect or just plain ignorance from other Harley riders that will be the end of this chapter/bike. Only time will tell. Anyway where do you ride? Around here everyone on a Harley is in some sort of club, mostly family clubs but they still fly some sort of three rocker vest or a single patch emulating the same.There are even cop and firefighter clubs around here with the same rules and same style vests. No 1%, just guys that get together and ride.

        • Sonny rides a Victory, and concedes it was a mistake for his club to show HD the loyalty that they did when a lot of Euro bikes were faster and more reliable.

        • Well, if you buy a bike based on the recognition you’ll get from the “faithful” or whoever, then you just picked the wrong bike.

    • True of many MC’s but my association Combat Veterans Motorcycle Assn, or CVMA, allows any bike 500cc’s and up. We only want three things, Combat Vet status, Ride a bike 500cc’s or better, and care about vet causes. These bikes will allow many of our younger returning vets(and they grow younger and more numerous every day) to get on a Harley and ride. And a hog is not for everyone, and I wave to BMW’s, Kawa’s, Yama’s, Honda’s, and anything on two wheels with a license plate. You ride, I wave. Hell my hog has stars and stripes on it and a lot of riders won’t wave back at me either….give folks your respect, manners should dictate you get it back….if not, then it is their problem not yours.

  16. Not to bad, I’d want to see some with color to see if it helps ride the cable mess over the engine and in front of the tank, but the big question is ‘Will the HD faithful approve?’

  17. I just got off the phone with Harley Davidson to find out the answer to what several of you have been asking, where are these being built?

    The bikes that will be sold in the US, Canada and Mexico will be built in Kansas City. The bikes that will be going to Portugal, Spain, Italy and India will be manufactured in India. Those locations are the first “select markets” where the bikes will be available.

    So there is your official answer.

  18. maybe these will be Harley’s “fastest 60 to 80 mph 5th gear roll on in the history of Harley-Davidson” bikes considering the low weight. So, what do we think, 40 and 50 hp? That would be on par with the current Sportsters but with less weight they would be the top performing bikes at Harley, outside of the V-Rods of course.

    Truly, I am amazed to see something new from The Motor Company.

    -todd

    • The 883 makes 53hp. (Anyone here good at math or English ? … anyone ? .. Bueller ? (pun intended for those in the know))

  22. At leeeeeeeeeeeeast some reasonable Harleys, weight ,engine displacement and price , hope it will outperform the 883 maybe something like 50 hp for the 500 and 70 for the 750 why not ?

    • That won’t be too difficult; the 883 weighs almost 600lb with 46hp. I think the 500 will make around that much power (very similar to a Honda CX500 @ 48hp) but it weighs at least a hundred pounds less. I imagine it would be an interesting shoot-out, running the neoHarleys against the old guard.

      -todd

      • Wait. Are you saying I may finally give a NEW bike a run for its money with my 77 cb550? Its on then…

    • The 500cc is guaranteed to be built for the EU’s A2 licence category, which means it has to be less than 47hp. This would make sense as a way to introduce people in Europe to the Harley brand. Australia’s LAMS learner-legal bikes are roughly the same rules, so it would go really well here too.

      Currently, when people in Australia have a mid-life crisis and decide to buy their first ever motorbike, most of them want a Harley. However, you’re only allowed a maximum of 660cc for the first year to 18 months of your licence, so people buy a 650cc Japanese cruiser. The Harley 500cc would really sell well in that market.

      • Not so. Some states have the cc limit, others are based on weight to powere ration, so big twins and early twinkies are in for them.

    • Wow. That number seem really light for a 3/4 litre engine with 4-valve heads spinning at 8000 rpm. Lotsa room for tuning.

  24. I’m a long term Sportster owner (2003 883R/1200CC stage 3 build with suspension). I’m not a Harley guy or even a Sportster guy – likely I’ll sell mine in the next few months.

    I have zero interest in these new models, however, my wife is in the market for a next bike. At 5’3″ 115 pounds I would think she wouldn’t be intimidated by the 480 pounds with the 25 inch seat height. but she would gag on the styling (and forward controls). Why can’t HD get away from that pseudo menace thick black theme?

  25. This is potentially a great market move for Harley.
    At first, I was bit put off by the similarity of these bikes to the ubiquitous Harley-clones that are all over the road. Then, I realized that this is an attempt to capture the Harley-clone market back from the Japanese, by making Harley-clones of their own. Now, the people who can’t afford real Harleys, or want water cooling and smoother riding and more hp in a higher rev range, can now get “the real thing”. A genuine Harley clone made by The Motor Company.
    For decades the Japanese have been trying to horn-in to the Harley market with their clones, and turnabout is fair play.

    Harley just might end up owning the market for faux cruisers AND the market for real cruisers after this all shakes out. Why buy a fake clone when you can buy a “real” clone of a fake clone with the H-D logo on it for about the same money or less?

    I don’t think that this is a desperate move. I think this is an aggressive move to take over the rest of the cruiser market that is currently owned by the clones.

    • “clones” and “fake”, such attitude and wording keeps promoting all the negativity related to HD.
      An entirely new model that’s accessible for a larger crowd of motorcyclists (I didn’t say “bikers”) can only be a positive thing.

    • @TomLyons-I find your comments very perceptive and on target, and feel that’s HD’s strategy.
      One thing- was anyone else completely blindsided to see these bikes appear? Read no rumors, saw no spy shots, heard no rumblings (“rumble” licensed TM HD Motor Company!).

    • That is a fairly naive mindset, firstly these “clones and fakes” you speak of generally are right in the same price range as the bikes they are most closely comparable to, so the whole “for people who can’t afford harleys” mind set is just incredibly ignorant and completely opposite to what the price charts prove for comparable models.

      Lots of people want certain styles or types of motorcycles and want something that doesn’t come with a built in label, or something that perhaps has better performance in certain areas, cheaper and easier to maintain, more comfortable “has anyone ever once heard someone call a sporty comfortable for all day rides? I sure haven’t!”

      And lastly even if Harley can claim to own the heavy cruiser market for the moment that is a very very very tiny market, and fairly inconsequential to any other manufacturer, Honda sells around 100x’s more bikes globally per year than harley and so do most other japanese manufacturers “who all own more factories, assembly plants, employ more american workers, and export more product FROM the US than harley” , not to mention BMW who pretty much dominates the touring and adventure segment along with KTM.

      While these new bikes are a step into this century, Harley is not poised anymore now than before to seriously threaten anyone’s market stakes by staying in such a tiny target range of motorcycles.

      All in all the formula seems innovative with the water cooled engine that is derived from old Buell tech,finalized by porche but at the end of the day, it’s a cruiser, assembled from parts made abroad “showa, brembo, many other foreign producers” and labeled all american.

  26. At 480Lbs with 54 HP and water cooling this may finally give Harley a platform to sell a ADV/Scrambler. It costs almost nothing to put on Knobbie tires, higher exhaust and a few engine guards, this would sell to a few Bagger guys who still want to ride some Fire Trails now and then. Time to break out of the box Harley.

    • The Triumph Scrambler is another bike I have a serious Jones for, but I actually like these new Harley’s quite a bit (first time since the XR1200 I’ve said that) and a scrambler treatment might be pretty cool. At the very least, giving Triumph a bit of competition in that niche wouldn’t be a bad thing.

    • Yeah I see this as a missed opportunity for them to come out with a nice liquid-cooled V-Twin standard instead of a cruiser. But who knows? Maybe they’ll surprise us with other models with this motor. I doubt it, but you never know.

  27. Sheesh.
    These things only have their name to help them sell. A 480lb 500cc? Great idea, if you really wnat a small Harley – but if you aren’t wedded to having the Harley nameplate, there are many, many more choices – and most of them are likely better bikes.
    They list “single=piston caliper” like it’s something to celebrate. And “specially tuned suspension” is ok, I guess, but given that the shocks and fork tubes look kind of spindly, that probably won’t mean much.

  28. I dont quite understand why they made them water cooled. I love small displacement bikes and i think these would be awesome if they were oil cooled, but that radiator fairing is horrid and they could have spared alot of weight and ugly without it.

    Im gonna laugh at every harley guy who says these ruin the brand, too.

    • When I was on the phone to Harley, I specifically asked that question and according to them your belief is incorrect. The frames and engines of the bikes sold here are manufactured here, NOT assembled from parts from India.

  30. who cares if traditional Harley owners/1%ers like these bikes? I think Harley is finally making a product that will get more people in their dealerships that otherwise wouldn’t consider buying a Harley. Good for them; I hope they sell a lot of them.

  31. When you can’t beet them, join them! The Street 750 somewhat reminds me of what japan has been building for years and if it worked for BMW with their S1000, more power to them. I do like how nice and anti chrome this new bike is and hope it sells very well. By the way, after reading old magazines on the then new suzuki gt750 of 1972, many people did not like its radiator design either. If it has a radiator in the airstream, oh well, at least it looks better than the radiator cowl on the V-ROD.

  32. I like the change of direction…who needs a 225 Mph and 32 mpg bike…reminds me of the old Kawasaki 440 6 speed belt drive…a fine ride in its day?
    Cars have figured it out…maybe bike will?

    • I had a kz440ltd. Lowered it with sportster shocks and put a shaved down 81 sportster seat on it. Bullet proof. Handled better than new street bikes. I own a sportster now. Miss the nimble Kawasaki. But I like the sound of the Harley, the parts vibrating off it. And the overall looks of it.. I don’t like the Yamaha bolt. But couldn’t get over the look and sounds of the exhaust on the street or bolt

  33. it seems the 750 will output 54 hp and maybe the 500 could make somewhere between 36 and 45 hp , hope there will be a dirt track version like the old xr 750 , mmmmmmmmmmmmm lightweigth and harley always made me dream jjj

  34. I often read comments wondering what will happen to H-D after all “the faithful” get too old to ride. What will be their market?

    It seems that their market might be the young urban riders who may embrace this new H-D image. They probably aren’t wedded to the “old hawg” and could be looking for a Harley that “ain’t your grandfather’s Harley”. They grew up seeing water cooling on bikes, so that may not even concern them at all. They might really like the fresh image with the rebel heritage and legacy. That’s something that you just can’t get from any other brand. And 200hp/200mph is not a selling factor to young urbanites riding city streets and sitting in traffic jams.

    Maybe it’s Japan that needs to start wondering about who their future market will be?

  35. You’re correct on the Bolt… for some reason, I thought it was 750cc. My mistake.

    I was comparing against Japanese cruisers of similar displacement. Seems there aren’t very many of those around anymore. What’s the smallest Vulcan you can get these days? 900cc?

    Oh well, maybe that was part of HD’s plan. The Japanese keep making their bikes larger and blingier to compete with HD, so HD swoops in to occupy the niche that the Japanese just abandoned.

    I’ll admit, I’ve never been a Harley Davidson fan… the only models of theirs that I’ve liked lately have been the XR1200 and the Nightster.

    But these have piqued my interest.

  36. Questions of styling, to me, are most insignificant. Since my teens I have been capable of shaping the look of a motorcycle to suite my own individual taste. The greatest beauty in motorcycles derives from their function which will dictate their form.Honestly a Ming Dynasty vase can demonstrate astounding 0 to 60 times but exhibits little or no durability!
    My question is, what can we do with this new motor?
    In the opinion of “redneck” the 1300cc Stryker sets a benchmark of 80hp. My 1130cc VRSCR produces over 100hp.What gives?
    You see, horsepower equals torque times RPM / 5252. The ultimate dynamic limiting RPM is FPS (feet per second) which is a direct product of stroke length.
    Lets look at some familiar bikes and their stroke.
    The previously mentioned Stryker is 83mm whereas the 1200cc Sportster has a stroke of 96.8mm. The V Rod has a stroke of 72mm. The Sportster produces 67 hp the Yamaha 70 hp and the V makes over 100hp.
    That said this new motor has a stroke of 66mm. That’s shorter than the EBR1190 at 67.5mm.
    I know there’s a lot more than style separating the Revo X from the EBR but this sure looks a lot more like the VR1000 derivative Erik was seeking than the big power cruiser that hit the street.
    When you consider that HD still owns the Buell trademark you can certainly picture a surreal showdown on the streets of Mumbai .
    And finally on issue of style I’ll just leave this here.

    http://cyrilhuzeblog.com/wp-content/uploads/StreetCafe.jpg

  37. Since when do fork gaiters constitute specially tuned suspension? Specially tuned for what, exactly?

    A 480 lb bike with a single piston up front is terrifying. Gonna have to LAY ER DOWN in a panic situation.

    • I have to agree on the suspension. The brakes will be ok. All the old cb’s are single piston. It is strange though that they wouldnt use something a little more modern.

  38. The limiting factor in brakes is the Tire contact patch, Nothing”terrifying”about a single caliper brake, It can still lock up the front tire. A skilled rider uses BOTH brakes front and rear, If your doing stoppies you don’t belong on the road.

    • H-D could serve their market well by upgrading the brakes on these bikes, or at the very least, offering upgrades as a kit. The true measure of a “good” braking system is not whether or not the front tire can lock up… as you aptly noted, a single piston brake caliper can perform this feat relatively easily. For that matter, so can most drum brakes that were offered on 1970’s motorcycles. With a modern braking system comprised of “opposed, multi-piston” brake calipers, the loads from the pads are transmitted directly to the forks; the pistons do not carry the braking loads, so they do not bind up, hence allowing very controllable stops, with the rider modulating the braking force right at the edge of the traction limit. In a brake system with sliding pin calipers, the braking loads are transmitted from the pads to the caliper, from the caliper body to the sliding pins & finally from the sliding pins to the forks, hence creating significant friction that serves to bind the caliper up, limiting or masking the feel that the rider needs in order to correctly modulate the brake torque. The caliper’s “bind, slip, bind, slip” movement significantly increases the likelihood of the front wheel locking up under hard braking… potentially increasing stopping distances in an emergency situation.

      The single piston sliding calipers used on these bikes may reduce costs marginally compared to that of a quality four-piston caliper… but is the trade off worth it? Not in my opinion.

  39. This would be a great opportunity for HD to bring this to market , retro styled to look more like a late 60’s XLCH with 18 incher on the rear, steel fenders and a flat seat. Early sportsters were highly regarded and looked great. It would also get away from the made in Asia look.

  40. I’d like to see the 883R brought back to the US market “scramblerized”. I don’t need no stinkin’ radiators. If I think it should be water-cooled, I’ll splash a mud puddle with it.

  41. I can see HD spinning other models off this. Why not?. They do it all the time with the current models. They have to start with some model so they begin with what they feel will sell the best. What’s not to like? YOU don’t have have to like it, and I don’t either, if it’s not your kind of bike. I hate the suitcase bikes that BMW, Triumph and others make but they found their audience. This company needed to do something so give them the credit for doing this. If you have a big bike , they probably could care less what you think because you weren’t going to buy one anyway. Now if they are smart they’ll see how they sell and consider even smaller displacements and less money. Oh and power. I’ve never left any engine stock and even though I don’t plan on owning one I can already bet on big bore kits and hotter cams. 4 valve heads will be begging. If you wonder why anyone would bother the answer is because they can.

  42. Certainly good looking bikes. Just not sure if they will keep up with their Japanese rivals in terms of reliability. Not to mention that at 500 cc it sounds like the smaller version of this bike might be a little under powered. Lets hope Harley will prove me wrong when I test ride this bike!

    • Didnt the Buell blast (500cc thumper) make about 35hp? Wasn’t it uncomfortably under powered?

    • remember, even the 500 accelerate harder than the existing 883 – similar power but with a dramatic weight reduction.

      In terms of 500cc, 40-ish HP is pretty good, historically.

      -todd

  43. 500 is plenty for urban riding. My 41-year-old B50 makes a bit more than 30 hp from its antique single cylinder and has no trouble scooting about in Chicago traffic. To bring up a hotly-contested subject, it’s about torque and how the bike makes use of it. The bike weighs just 340 pounds, and that is a factor, and on the highway it can easily keep pace (I added electronic ignition, 3-piece oil rings and a 19-tooth primary sprocket) but vibration is the limiting factor. Top end is close to 90 mph but it has a “sweet spot” at 60-65. I’m sure the Street 500 would be a great urban bike and work well enough on the occasional highway foray. A motorcycle does not need 100 hp to be a good road bike. H-D has long known that but has turned an important corner with these machines. I’m not a big fan of the company but respect it for its marketing savvy, and I like what it’s doing with Revolution X.

  44. B50 Jim knows and is being honest. I’ve had over 80 motorcycles and worked in the industry. I can remember when the wife and I would get on our 441 BSA (Sifton cammed and modified) and ride everywhere to races. Flog it hard. We weren’t supposed to keep up. This new engine engine will probably run like a watch and have everything one needs for the daily grind. It’s not meant for winning races, it’s meant for getting one from here to there. Makes perfect sense to me. Probably much better than trying to decipher CAPTCHA

    • since they are re-tooling the Road Glide assembly line and probably completely redesigning it you probably only have to wait until next fall. Big ol Road Glide cruiser with a water cooled engine, boatloads of horses, and upped GAS MILEAGE to help HD make EPA standards for overall product lines…and that is probably another reason they brought out these urban bikes….to improve the overall production MPG.

  46. All of this hating aside, I look at this bike and I see very clear echos of the old XLCR Cafe Racer — one of the coolest bikes HD ever made.

    If they’ve done it right, these bikes should be easier to ride and cheaper to maintain than the stone-ax big twins.

    My wife has a license and is currently bikeless — the old Buell Blast was something I would have looked at for her and although I’d never consider a sportster — been there done that no thank you — we’d sure as heck look at one of these.

  47. Have you seen the custom versions from EICMA?This thing(750) will be the perfect (H-D)starting point for a caferacer/scrambler/standard!The Young rider who likes to customize his ride will buy this!I hope he s not alone……….

  48. Interesting bikes but no word on where the new motor came from. It looks like a 1981 Honda Shadow, but that was a 6-speed, three-valve motor. I’m guessing it is from Aprilla. As for the target market: They live in their parent’s basement, have $50,000 college loans, 25% unemployment, and a new $6,000 a year Obamacare payment. Buying a Harley-Davidson is not on their list.

  49. These bikes caught me by surprise. I actually think they look pretty cool, and they give newbie HD riders a much more realistic first bike to learn on than an 883 Sportster. Kawasaki does a much better job of hiding the radiator between the front down tubes, but I doubt the buyers will care much about that. These should be cool enough for most HD loyalists to just see the HD badge and ignore it otherwise. Plus, you won’t spend hardly any time at all polishing chrome on these bikes. I would like to ride one, but when the radiator fan comes on at a stoplight on a 90 degree day, I just want to jump off of ANY water cooled bike.

    • The fan certainly is a better noise than knocking and pinging with a flashing light to accompany it like I experienced with a borrowed buell “pre-FI”, If fueling is right you’ll never hear the fan kick on at all, I’ve had my SV650 stuck in many traffic jams down here in Louisiana when it was 100+ and never ever once had the fan kick on.

      I actually let it sit and idle one day for about an hour just to make sure it did function lol.

  50. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

    _IMHO_ the new Street looks better than the Bolt. As for “sounds better”, wow – is that ever subjective!

  52. A wise man once said (its a lot more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slowly.}…. I agree.\

  53. Back when Harley were trying to figure out how to meet the next week’s payroll with no money, Trevor Deeley (New to the board) told them that their market was, “The middle-aged guy getting back on.” Some on the board didn’t believe him …. but the majority did.

    There were several more of Trev’s ideas that helped turn the company’s fortunes around but that’s too long for here.

    But these “Middle-Agers” are now either passed on or into trikes. The old “Biker Image” embraced by doctors, lawyers, cops and anyone else with money to spare, is wearing thin. Perhaps some fresh ideas are surfacing in the Board room? Perhaps the “target group” is now the sons and daughters of those “middle-agers”.

    If the Motor Company can start building motorcycles that don’t depend on after-market sales to make them run, perhaps the large BMW and GoldWing crowd will start returning home. The shift to “wet heads” in the 2014 cruisers was to meet the increasingly tight pollution standards. It remains to be seen how many of the “Old Guard” will warm up to this.

    Perhaps a fair question should be, “What did Willie G’s retirement have to do with the new direction?”

    HMMmmm

  54. Unlike most of you I cannot see myself buying one of these but I sure do like them. I’m simply too old and have become too crippled. If I am back on the road in the open air it’s going to be a trike. I don’t think I would care if the bikes were made in India. That’s where one of my favorites (Enfield) has been made for years.

    If someone is thinking at Harley the water cooling is genius. If they just bought a package of some sort then I guess not. The water cooling allows for higher tolerances and higher compression. I can see all sorts of potential here for changes down the line. I heard some good suggestions in these comments and suspect HD was listening.

    My first Harley was also my last. It was one of the Aeromacchis and helped form my thoughts on what a bike should be. I have ridden Yamahas, Hondas, Ducatis, and others. Somehow I always thought of Harleys as something apart. The 750 racers were the only ones that I really admired.

    I think most folks really don’t need more than a 500 or a 750 if you are large. This doesn’t really seem to be aimed at the faithful. It appears to be aimed at the motorcycling world in general. They just might, with a combination of nationalism, engineering, and salesmanship have a winner on their hands.

  55. I remember when I saw an XR1200 in a showroom and jokingly asked a sales guy, “Is this the new water-cooled 750?” He snapped back, “Harley doesn’t make anything smaller than an 883.” It was as if I just called his kid short for his age. He was that indignant.

    The episode is rather telling now that the 500 and 750 have been announced.

    Harley Davidson always prided itself on big displacement, heavy (very heavy) bikes that didn’t wander much past the 1970s in appearance. Any technological advances were always well concealed lest something look out of place. Simply the bikes were built for people who were quite content in the past or those who believed that then is better than now.

    When the V-Rod was introduced to lure a younger, technology-friendly market, the get-off-my-lawn crowd screamed “blasphemy” at the top of their lungs for a multitude of reasons among which was water-cooling. The response of the old-school faithful was no different to the XR which only broke with tradition by having (gasp) a radiator. The 500 and 750 are receiving the same response not only for water-cooled engines but for their displacements. I imagine that sales guy grasping his chest and dropping dead upon learning of these mid-displacement bikes.

    V-Stars, Vulcans, Victories and Indians have been snapping at Harley’s large-displacement market for over a decade and have eaten a fairly good sized portion of Harley’s lunch. The other v-twins on the market have grabbed a huge piece of the Sportster market beginning in the 80s. Add in guys like me (read “old”) who are dropping down a few hundred cubic centimeters because we can’t throw around 800-pound bikes as we once did and the market landscape for Harley looks more barren every year.
    I’m getting ready to say goodbye to my BMW and get something lighter and lower to accommodate a back that I should have treated with much greater respect in my youth. Given the industry shifts since I last bought a new motorcycle I stumbled upon the new mid-weight Harleys while doing my research and was drawn to the 750. Let the naysayers demean it as they will but I prefer the 21st century offering to the dinosaurs that preceded it and live still rather than dying with dignity.

    Rather than speculate on its flaws or attributes I plan on finagling a long test ride or, failing that, I’ll just rent one for a couple of days to make certain it’s a good fit. If it is I’ll buy it. It’s that simple.

  56. I failed to mention something else about these new bikes.

    The 500 has a more than one purpose. 500cc is the maximum displacement for state-approved motorcycle training courses. Hence the 500 version was designed not only to grab an entry level rider market that HD has previously ignored but it also was designed to replace the Buell Blasts that are used for Riders’ Edge training.

    Replacement parts for the Blast, which takes a horrid beating as a training bike, are rapidly being exhausted since Buell was dropped. HD had to come up with a bike bearing its badge lest it be compelled to use foreign-made bikes for Riders’ Edge courses.

  57. I got my first Harley in 1964, a Sportster XLH. I currently ride a 2000 Suzuki TL1000R and a 1990 Harley FXRS. The new street 750 reminds me of the 1977-78 XLCR. This spring after a test ride I’m thinking of down sizing to the Harley 750.

  58. guys, been riding since I was 13 and have owned everything. Currently own a night rod. Have made it a much better and more rideable bike than the original model. You guys have really messed up the on the VRod by making it too quirky. If I didn’t have the experience and like of H.D.’s I would have never bought the bike. Here we go with constructive critizism for your Indian, I mean USA models: use HD USA paint schemes/colors. Clutch cable passes to close to rear muffler. horn location stinks. you guys can mount the horn centered above the radiator, please remove the dumb rubber fork boots! Rear tail light should be wider and taller. For the made in USA models, please use H.D. brakes and standard H.D. controls. Also try to use a blended version of the Sportster-VRod speedometer. Gas tank must be 4 gallons plus! Air cleaner should be physically different between 500 and 750. Must be more than the cheaper logo-decal stuck on the cleaner cover. OK, here is a culture shock, reality check for you guys…..ready and take a deep breath now……make provisions for an optional center stand.Let me repeat, optional center stand that will be listed in the 2015 P.A. book for around $350. If I could see more of the bikes, I could give you more comments. And please improve the VRod, it kills me to see what you guys have done to the bike. Bill B. in Miami Florida, Jan 3, 2014

  59. Harley formed a joint venture company with Porsche to build the V-Rod engine on a dedicated line in the Kansas City plant. Porsche was given a number of VR-1000 race engines and Porsche took that architecture and developed it into a reliable street engine. Much of the engine internals, such as rods, crankshaft, pistons, cams, and transmission gears and shafts were sourced from Porsches normal suppliers in Germany. My V-Rod has considerable German content in it.

  60. I think it’s copy of Japanese stuff
    which doesn’t make it exactly bad but not very original.
    at theleast they could’ve increased the displacement to make it kick ass powerful
    but instead they put a 750 engine in it.
    it’s probably adequate for cruising around but there’s nothing like the displacement of a big engine.
    bigger is always better when it comes to motorcycle engines unless you’re talking about a moped.

    that they could’ve done was it made it a 1250cc preferably 2000cc in the asme small package.
    I wonder if it has the ability to put larger jugs on bring it up to that 1250cc Mark.

    I would expect something like that to be under $5000, about half the price of the sportster.
    if harley wanted to charge big money for the motorcycle like they’re doing they should put a bigger engine in it.

    I guess they didn’t learn their lesson with AMA cheap junk they were putting out back then.
    History repeats itself

    I would make a good design motorcycle and have the option to put different displacement engine cylinders in it like they did with the sportster.

    that radiator looks absolutely ridiculous, way too big, I wonder if they could have put some of the cooling system through the frame to avoid such a large radiator.

    The v-rod was a nice bike design but they underpowered it.
    the Buelll was another excellent bike they had again it was underpowered to compete with the super bikes

    the Buel Blast however was a piece of junk , now, the the new bikes are marginal.

    who knows it might be a success most people are like sheep or lemmings.
    I am totally not impressed.

    • Let me be the single guy that speaks up for the beginners here. I don’t know about you but I started on an 80cc riding in the dirt, the dirt being all but gone for todays riders. Jumping on an above 750cc to begin is ludicrous to say the least. I for one congratulate Harley for bringing out these mid range bikes for the newer riders. I can work around a radiator if the end result is a bike that is reliable and gets me out on the road.

  61. what surprises me is that no one talks about reliability.. us Belgian riders will never buy this model ’cause all HD models have a very bad reputation in western europe.. many HD owners sell their bike due to to many breakdowns compared to european models, so… instead of imitating the asians they shoul first work on their reliability, some euromodels have 50.000 mile testruns, if HD would advertise with such test results MAYBE then they could convince some more euro riders to buy their product..

  62. After reading a few of the comments it’s obvious the Harley community is still their own worst enemy – and so are some of the dealerships. Harley can probably sell a lot of these bikes overseas where the idiot bias isn’t so strong and owning a Harley doesn’t mean you have to look like a retired Santa Claus stunt double. But domestically anyone even thinking about this class of bike has to contend with the trailer park fleabag image. Sorry guys, but you know it’s true.

    The retro bikes coming from Honda, Moto Guzzi and Triumph are cool to the hipster crowd. A bunch of sissies, you say? Hate to say it but those sissies are also known as ***the market*** They have jobs and money – if they need to finance, it’s a lot less likely they’ll be getting their bikes repossessed compared with the current stats of Harley finance customers (that’s why they’re paying close to 20% interest). Face it guys, the company is in trouble because they refused to part with a dying market. This is their last gamble.

  63. Looks to me like they made a new bike off the old 2003 dyna super glide sport. You can see this bike in the TV show sons of anarchy. But I like it and I’m still going to buy one.

  66. How can harley build these fair large complicated bikes with an MSRP of 6750-7500 or so and I look at single cylinder dirt bikes at over $10K. Strangley Honda has a number of mid-displacement multi cylinder bikes priced less than their CR450’s. I can see why they more on a dirt bike than on a car now.

  67. I am President of the American Legion Riders in Mt.Airy Md and I ride a 2013 Yamaha V-Star Deluxe 1300.
    I would quit that club in a heart beat if anyone ever complained about my bike. I love it. Change the engine oil and it services the entire drivetrain. Gets 50 miles to the gallon and has plenty of power. Not to mention that it sounds good.

  68. Harley is going down hill first with doing away with the trap door to access the trans on the sporty’s and now with these Jap looking POS. If we wanted a Jap bike we would buy one.Over head cams!!!! Not on my Harley.So so sad