Finally some good news from Harley!

Next year HD is bringing back the 883 Sportster with a ballpark price tag of $10k along with a smaller single cylinder motorcycle with a price tag “well under $10k”.

As the owner of a Buell X1 Lightning that uses a modified Sportster engine I am beyond thrilled that a bike and motor I adore is coming back.

I believe it was a mistake for HD to move away from more affordable entry level motorcycles as a way to bring new riders to their brand. I hope this works out for HD.

Link to Cycleworld article

In order to get new riders, they need a text and ride option for those that can't live without phones.
Seriously though, pretty neat that they are offering a single cylinder.

Let's wait and see whether it will be an actual return of the air-cooled Evo Sportster engine with updates or something similar but different. They have said it will be air-cooled, so not another iteration of the Rev Max engine, but they are being pretty cagey even internally about the actual architecture.

Thats an interesting twist, the new CEO is trying new things, they did cut some bikes from the line, the Road King is now gone from production.

HD's previous CEO was European and heavily into the Woke agenda, not quite sure what they saw in the man but to get revenue he leaned heavily on the big bagger line. That has been a popular line since many people want the better ride, and all the digital upgrades with apple car play, BT head sets, connectivity.

Used to be Bike Week was rowdy pipes and titties, now it's bling lights and loud radios, some so loud they are obnoxious, it's a thing and it's absurd. This too will pass.

I'm looking at trading in my 16 CVO Road Glide Ultra on a Heritage, 300+ pounds lighter, quicker, easier to roll around or back out of parking.

HD Dealers are suffering nationally, many stores closing, most are Satellite locations.

The Zeitz reign of terror was a disaster for the MoCo. Between the DEI garbage, restrictions on dealers selling to retail customers out of their assigned territories, prohibitions on selling to non H-D franchised shops, dropping entry level priced bikes and raising prices on the existing lines.

Discontinued the Street line, the mainstay of the Riding Academy for learner bikes than once that became a problem scrambled and imported a H-D branded bike made for the Asian market in partnership with a Chinese company. But in true “oops” mode these bikes were not EPA and FMVSS certified so they could never be sold here. But the MoCo could sure push electric bicycles…..

And let’s not forget the MoCo forcing out the small mom and pop shops in favor of dealer group aka corporate owned stores.

For decades people have complained about the AMF years but IMO Zeitz did more damage in five years than AMF did in thirteen years. Just because you have success running a shoe brand (Puma) doesn’t mean you can run a motorcycle company.

Twenty three years 1999-2022 part time Harley dealership employee here, figured that I would stay on in my retirement years part time but not the way the MoCo was and is going.

While this is good news I really think Harley needs to diversify there model line if they truly want to attract a next generation of Harley riders. Not everyone wants a cruiser style bike and while the Pan American was a step in the right direction it doesn't go far enough. All the Jap brands as well as BMW, Triumph and Ducati have everything from sport bikes, retro style bikes, adventure bikes, cruisers, sport touring bikes and small cc entry level bikes so their lineup has something that appeals to a wide range of riders or potential riders.

That is great news, hopefully the dealers will embrace it instead of trying to put everyone that walks in on a Roadglide or Streetglide.

Shovelhead your reply was so true and well said.

Let's hope they give it some suspension this time!
1 1/2" on the rear doesn't cut it.

If that 440 single turns out to be a lightweight street tracker ...


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And then, there's this RMCR concept bike: "The RMCR features the 1252cc Revolution Max V-twin as used in the Pan America and Sportster S. "


Oooooooh! RMCR concept bike.

https://www.cycleworld.com/mot...-concept-cafe-racer/

I hate to be skeptical but my hunch is the Sportster 883 will be a half hearted attempt and won't sell well after the first year. It'll likely have limited travel crap suspension, budget brakes, and cramped cruiser ergonomics. LOL but it'll be low.

If they really wished it to sell in numbers it'd be a 1200 rather than 883. Other than bore size the engines are the same and cost the same to make. The 883 only makes about 50hp and the bike weighs close to 600#. They'd also give it comfortable ergonomics and nice suspension for a good ride and handling, and good brakes. I doubt they'll do this it'll probably just be the old 883 Iron.

I'm not a Harley hater or a Sportster hater (in fact I have a Sportster) but they really need to improve the platform otherwise just buy a Royal Enfield.


Edit; yeah the CR is beautiful I hope it works as well as it looks.

Harley had that bike on display in their setup at Bike Week in Daytona, very interesting and lots of interest. I had a picture but apparently I deleted it when cleaning out some old images.

RWV, might be the 883 saves money in production and keeps the cost down, so far on the bigger bikes we haven't been seeing half ass attempts at making things work well. HD has moved forward technology wise over the years, Brembo Brakes, CanBus wire systems with ECM and BCM, ABS, plenty of better tech in communications and displays.

Most of the push by Zeitz was in the bagger line, since it was making money but his real push was in corporate internal DEI structuring.

So it will be good to see what comes of it, a decent entry level bike without 100HP isn't a bad thing, not everyone wants that level of power and performance.

Offering only an 883 makes it easier to position and price as an entry level bike. It also reduces internal cost by simplifying the production line with only one set of tooling and parts inventory. Despite benefitting from decades of sunk costs, the most recent Sportster models were actually low-margin money losers. That combined with the cost of updating the previous engine to meet the latest Euro emissions standards were the main reasons it was dropped in the first place, so HD will be looking to avoid a repeat. They have also committed to building it at York, at least for the US market, so that will add labor cost and significant pressure on price and profit.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:


RWV, might be the 883 saves money in production and keeps the cost down.....

So it will be good to see what comes of it, a decent entry level bike without 100HP isn't a bad thing, not everyone wants that level of power and performance.

But the smaller bore 883 is otherwise the exact same engine as the 1200 so it can't save a thing. So make it 1200 and even at $10,000 it's not cheap so what's another $700 to give it nicer suspension to complete the package?

I know Harley used to market the Sportster as an "entry level motorcycle" because that was the cheapest and lightest motorcycle they offered but IMO at 575 pounds it was anything but that. An entry level Harley Davidson yes.

I agree though, it'll be interesting what becomes of it.

quote:

Originally posted by bigwagon:
They have also committed to building it at York, at least for the US market, so that will add labor cost and significant pressure on price and profit.

All the more reason to bore it to 1200 to offer more value to the customer for no added cost.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ridewv,

Sure, with P&A that will undoubtedly happen, but as part of a portfolio strategy, I wouldn't immediately expect to see both in the lineup. It defeats the purpose of why they are bringing it back.

Offering only an 883 at first makes sense. A lot of manufacturers plan on rolling out advancements or improvements over time. The micro watch world has perfected this approach with ever improved second and third generations of popular watches. If successful there would undoubtedly be larger bore variants.

As mentioned by Bigwagon, there is also the parts and accessories aspect to consider. This can be great for both HD and dealers. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.


Now on the subject of that HD Cafe Racer concept…. Oh my. I LOVE IT.

If HD makes something close to that concept bike I will be buying one. That concept is GORGEOUS!!! I really hope Harley decides to make it. Retro/cafe style bikes are lots of fun.

I’ve been tempted to scoop up another Buell tube frame to do a cafe racer build. They use a modified HD883/1200 motor. The Buell steel tube frame sportbikes are RAW.

Buell tubers are fairly basic bikes that are able to pull off a genuinely cool cafe look with minimal custom work. A custom gas tank and oil reservoir/tank along with a cafe style seat and reworked tail worked out really well on this Buell.

Good luck with this HD. I'd love to see them do well but my guess is that it will flop. Sorry Stickman but I give it the same chance as the Buell line. I'm not quite sure why they can't make an inline high reving 4 like all the Japanese bikes. You can make an HD look fast but they better be fast if you want the younger sport riders.

quote:

Originally posted by calugo:
While this is good news I really think Harley needs to diversify there model line if they truly want to attract a next generation of Harley riders. Not everyone wants a cruiser style bike and while the Pan American was a step in the right direction it doesn't go far enough. All the Jap brands as well as BMW, Triumph and Ducati have everything from sport bikes, retro style bikes, adventure bikes, cruisers, sport touring bikes and small cc entry level bikes so their lineup has something that appeals to a wide range of riders or potential riders.

Totally agree. It’s not like a car manufacturer where it costs billions to create a new model. Most of the running gear can be used for a wide range of very different bikes.

The single cylinder could be several different intro bikes itself. Although it is 2026 and 27hp out of a 440 is totally embarrassing.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:

I’m not much of an H-D fan, but… that’s pretty danged sharp!

quote:

Originally posted by Bytes:
Good luck with this HD. I'd love to see them do well but my guess is that it will flop. Sorry Stickman but I give it the same chance as the Buell line. I'm not quite sure why they can't make an inline high reving 4 like all the Japanese bikes. You can make an HD look fast but they better be fast if you want the younger sport riders.

Yeah I don't seeing the revived 883 being very successful either. I like the styling on some air cooled Sportsters and I can live with the modest power of the 1200 motor but there are a number of shortcomings in the motor, chassis and suspension.
What Harley should have done IMO is redesign an all new air cooled Sportster with a counterbalanced engine that could be rigidly mounted as a stressed member of the frame saving a lot of weight and being stronger. Add good suspension with at least 4-5" of travel. 70 hp with lots of low down torque would be enough. Unfortunately Harley management squandered the money that could have made such a bike developing instead the failed battery Livewire motorcycle.

As far as the completely different RMCR Cafe Racer concept, that engine is used in the Pan America and is pretty powerful putting out 150hp and almost 100 lb of torque.

Harley made an XLCR 77-79 cafe racer:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harley-Davidson_XLCR