Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson Billy Bones Is No Pirate, Still Looks Menacing

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com Even today, more than a century after the first Harley-Davidson motorcycle rolled, there’s no denying the appeal the Milwaukee-made machines have for the people in the custom industry. First, we have the countless shops and individuals out there who keep working their magic on decades-old HDs, as highlighted by the recent The No Show ran by the bike maker last month. Designed to help all those builders who had no place to show their creations because of the ongoing health crisis, the online event brought to light a number of very unique creations, some of them amazing. At the same time, the bigger and more visible shops have shifted their focus to the more recent models in the bike maker’s lineup. That’s not a bad thing in itself, but these newer machines have some too industrial about them. Take the Thunderbike line of custom Breakouts for instance: the Germans have around 40 of them, and despite each one being made to be unique, they do kind of look the same. The Billy Bones we have here is a tad different, though. Based on the Cross Bones model that was produced briefly not long ago, it has a very distinct look about it, one that somehow links today’s mass-produced Harley’s with the ones of the olden days that are still so appreciated in the modern times. This particular bike came to be in 2009, at a time when the Cross Bones was still around. It packs a great deal of custom parts (over 20 of them, and we’re told not all have been listed on the bike’s official page) that took about a month to assemble in the shape you see here, a shape the guys at Thunderbike call “vintage.” The motorcycle has been christened Billy […]

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First Border-to-Border Trip Across the U.S. Done on Harley-Davidson LiveWire

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by Elena Gorgan from https://www.autoevolution.com Electrification is coming to motorcycles slowly, slower than it seems to be happening on the automotive market. the Harley-Davidson LiveWire, the first all-electric bike from the iconic American manufacturer, is a good example in this sense. While certain riders will vouch for the LiveWire and its awesomeness in terms of rideability and performance, many still can’t get past the $30,000 price point – which, they believe, is simply too high for the kind of range it offers. Assuming money is not the issue, range anxiety can also not be a problem, as the first border-to-border trip across the U.S. on a LiveWire can attest. Diego is a long-time Harley rider and an early adopter of EVs. He owns a LiveWire and, to mark his 50th birthday, he decided to use it to show the world that long-distance trips can (and should) be made on an all-electric motorcycle. With careful planning, backup plans crafted ahead of time, and patience, the experience can be an extremely beautiful and satisfying one. Bring your family along and you’ve got yourself an awesome road trip, one that will create memories to last a lifetime. That’s what Diego did. He documented it all on social media (Harley-Davidson LiveWire Rider on Facebook): nearly one week and a half on the road, covering more than 1,300 miles (2,092 km) from the U.S.-Mexico border to the U.S.-Canada one and passing through California, Oregon and Washington. The trip was not rushed, so he wasn’t aiming for a certain number of miles to be covered daily. The key to making it work on the LiveWire’s mixed city / highway range of 95 miles (153 km) was, of course, careful planning. He used the Plugshare app and only Charge Point and Electrify America stations. He would make

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Harley-Davidson pulls Facebook ads, severs ties with Tennessee dealership over racist posting

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by Rick Barrett from https://www.tennessean.com Harley-Davidson Inc. has pulled its Facebook ads and severed ties with one of its dealerships in response to hateful comments made on social media. Hundreds of companies, including Harley, are pausing Facebook advertising this month as part of a larger boycott. “Racism, hate or intolerance have no place in the Harley-Davidson community or anywhere — in person or online. We are pausing our Facebook ads in July to stand in support of efforts to stop the spread of hateful comment,” Harley says on its website. The world’s largest manufacturer of heavyweight motorcycles also severed ties with Abernathy’s Cycle in Union City, Tennessee, following an alleged racist posting on the dealership’s Facebook page. Screen shots, shared on social media, showed it said, “I’m sick of this black lives matter,” and those involved in the protests should go “back to Africa and stay.” Dealership owner Russell Abernathy II denied making the Facebook post and said he rejected its content. “And by extension, Abernathy’s Harley-Davidson have and always will be welcoming to all riders regardless of race. The derogatory nature of the comment in no way aligns with my personal beliefs or that of Harley-Davidson Motor Co. It personally saddens me that this post has caused such wide-reaching pain to those that have already been subject to so many social injustices. I vow to make certain that Abernathy’s Harley-Davidson provides a positive environment of diversity, equality and inclusion for all,” the dealership says on its website. But for now, anyway, Harley says Abernathy’s “will no longer be part of our dealer network.”

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Harley-Davidson Launches Training Program with Personal Coaches for Beginners

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com In September of 2019, Harley-Davidson announced an ambitious plan to have 1 million more riders on the road by the year 2027. That would be 4 million people riding Harley motorcycles, up from the 3 million recorded three years ago, in 2017. To do that, the company announced a range of new bikes being prepared for the future, including the now obviously not that successful electric LiveWire. But having new bikes that can be ridden means of course nothing if people do not know how to ride them. The company already has a training program it calls Riding Academy New Rider Course, but that doesn’t allow for personalized sessions. That’s why a new program was announced on June 30, dedicated to beginners who need a personal trainer. Called Learn to Ride, the program is now open and availble to access at Harley dealers and allows for personal coaching sessions with trainers, either individually or as a group of up to four people. Each session lasts 90 minutes, and free rides are being given on a Harley-Davidson Street 500 motorcycle, specially equipped for beginners, on a practice course. “For riders that always wanted to learn but couldn’t fit a multi-day course into their schedule or prefer to learn in private session, this program is what they have been waiting for,” the Milwaukee bike maker said in a statement when announcing the program. “Sessions can be scheduled 1-on-1 or as a private party with up to 4 participants. This program is a great option for spouses, friends, and individuals to finally learn and fulfill their dreams of riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.” If you plan to become a Harley rider, or just plan on using these guys as tools into learning the tricks of the trade and then

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Is The Baby Harley HD350 Project Still In The Cards?

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by Sabrina Giacomini from https://www.rideapart.com Only a few weeks ago, The Motor Company announced it would scale back production and scrap the ambitious “More Roads to Harley” expansion plan to replace it with a new, far more conservative strategy. One of the new strategy’s main focus is to reorganize the new models’ launch schedule and potentially ax some ongoing projects that don’t fit the company’s usual scope. What that means is that models like the Pan America and the Bronx have been pushed back to 2021 while some, less-advanced projects have been indefinitely put on the backburner. The line was seemingly drawn at the upcoming, unnamed “high-performance custom model” that pretty much looks like a beefy XR1200 flat-tracker. All the other anticipated and/or patented models such as the café racer will likely have to wait—if they come at all. There’s one model we weren’t sure about, however, and that’s Harley’s new tool of seduction for the Asian market—the HD350 Project. Considering H-D teamed up with Chinese giant Qianjiang to develop the small-displacement bike, it was easy to assume that production would move forward as planned but we had yet to see any proof of it. Now, there apparently is, and here’s what we know. Our colleagues at Cycle World were first to report on the story, quoting “leaked Chinese documents” as their source of information. According to them, said leaked documents detail an all-new 353cc motorcycle, the QJ350-13. Who is QJ? It’s Qianjiang’s recently-launched brand of high-end-ish motorcycles based on Benelli’s designs. You see where this is going. The QJ350-13 is expected to be the elevated version of the soon-to-be-updated Benelli 302S—the very bike the HD350 should be based on. According to Cycle World, the documents suggest that both the QJ350 and the 302S—supposedly renamed 352S—will use a new 353cc

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Harley-Davidson Top Chop Is a Panhead Ode to Copper, Brass and Nickel

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com Nowhere in the transportation industry is metal held in such high regard as in motorcycle manufacturing. When it comes to cars we tend to cover metal in all kinds of colors and paints, as if to hide it, but motorcycles, at least from time to time, proudly display their metal parts with no shame. Sure, there are custom bikes that get painted extensively to cover most of their bodies, but the engine, for instance, almost always remains exposed in its metallic form. And their a sight to behold, because what are motorcycles if not an ode to carefully shaped metal? The build in the gallery above takes pride in the materials it is made from. Sure, paint was used on it, but we’re not talking about colors that remind us of trees or the clear blue sky, but ones that scream metal: copper, brass, nickel, and of course chrome here and there. Initially a 1957 Harley-Davidson EL, the bike was modified at the hands of German custom garage Thunderbike and turned into something they call Top Chop. The idea was to have a motorcycle tribute to the “glittering choppers of the 70s,” and for the most part the Germans succeeded. Just like when it comes to the rest of the shop’s builds, this motorcycle here is packed with custom made parts (that are also available for purchase), ranging from the handlebar to the fuel tank – it is the tank that gives the name of the motorcycle. At the core of the Top Chop’s frame sits a Panhead engine with Shovelhead looks, and gifted with a Magneto ignition and a Mikuni carburetor. We are not being told anything about the bike’s performances. The Top Chop is of course a one-off build (an older one made

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Harley-Davidson Announces New Round of Job Cuts

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by Eric Volkman from https://www.fool.com/ This is not the first time in 2020 the struggling motorcycle maker has reduced its workforce. The economic pain wrought by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus continues to affect Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG). The storied motorcycle maker said Thursday it’s cutting roughly 140 jobs in two factories, one located in Pennsylvania and the other in Wisconsin. The move comes just after the company’s announcement that it’s reducing production volumes. As with many businesses across the economy, Harley-Davidson has suffered from softened demand for its products. “Stay in place” measures, which had been in force in the early part of the pandemic, will likely remain (or in certain cases, be reintroduced given the sharp increases in cases lately). A representative from the company, however, told Reuters in a statement that, “As course of normal business, Harley-Davidson regularly adjusts its production plan and appropriately sizes its workforce.” This is not the first time in recent months that the company has announced reductions in its employee rolls. In late April, it furloughed most of its production workers around the world as part of a broader set of measures aimed at coping with the economic slowdown. It also enacted a raft of salary cuts. Even before the onset of the global crisis engendered by the coronavirus, Harley-Davidson had been struggling due to the aging of baby boomers, a crucial customer demographic for the company. Its sales were falling, with a 6% year-over-year drop in revenue in fiscal 2019. Harley-Davidson didn’t end the week on a positive note. It fell harder than even the beleaguered main stock indexes and stumbling consumer goods names on the day, slipping by nearly 6.9%.

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Harley-Davidson Ego Shooter Is Not Your Usual Rocker

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com For the past 20 years or so, the European custom motorcycle segment has been flooded with Harley-Davidson based or inspired builds coming from Germany. The group responsible for this onslaught is called Thunderbike and as part of our Two-Wheeler Month coverage in June we’ve talked about them at length over the past few weeks. Generally, we focused more on their most recent builds, but there are others, much older, that deserve their time under the spotlight. For the end of this week we chose a build the Germans call Ego Shooter. It was first presented in 2011, at a time when the shop was half the age it is today. Unfortunately, we have no info on what happened to it since, but records, including photographs and a bizarre YouTube video (attached below) are still here to tell the bike’s story. Built on a Softail Rocker base, the bike is described as “not exactly the first choice for custom friends.” The line was produced by the Milwaukee-based bike builder from 2008 to 2011, and it couldn’t have been more different than the variant portrayed in the gallery above. As usual with all the Thunderbike builds we’ve covered, this one too is a mobile display of German imagination when it comes to custom parts. From the rear end that can move up and down thanks to an air suspension to the small fender at the front, all speak volumes about what stock Harleys can become in the right hands. The exhaust system, air filter, pegs and handle fittings, fork, and the handlebar are just a few of the custom parts fitted on the motorcycle, all topped off by a custom paint job (containing more colors than we’re used to seeing when it comes to Thunderbike machines) that

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Harley-Davidson Earl Grey Is Cross Bones as Diluted as Milk Tea

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com Harley-Davidson’s Softail frame has become over the years the backbone of a great number of motorcycles. The Milwaukee-based bike builder currently has 12 bike models using it, ranging from the Standard to the Heritage Classic. Down the ages – the first time the frame was used as a registered trademark was way back in 1984 – other names were stealing the headlines. There were names like the Night Train, Cross Bones, and of course the Springer. As do the Softails of today, older ones are favorites of the custom industry, even if perhaps not as much as say the more recent Breakout. And one fine example of custom work on an older Softail is the one we have in the gallery above. Wearing the name Earl Grey, the build is based on a 2010 Cross Bones and is an older project of German custom shop Thunderbike. Like most of their other builds, old or new, this one too is a mammoth display of custom parts – some 20 of them were used all around the two-wheeler. The exhaust, handlebar, footpegs and fuel tank are aftermarket parts, as are the tailights and headlamps. The front end sits on a Springer fork, shortened to meet the purpose of the build, while the power of the Screamin’ Eagle 113ci fitted with a race kit is sent to the ground by means of disc wheels. It is these wheels that are the standout element on this build. Painted all white, they fit the matte paint used elsewhere on the body just right to give you the impression the Earl Grey name is the perfect description for the machine: it looks just as diluted as a cup of milk tea, pale when compared to the other colorful builds out there.

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Harley-Davidson Solid Dude Is the Latest Thunderbike Stunt

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by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com For the past month or so, as part of our Two-Wheeler Month coverage, we talked at length about some of the craziest builds on two wheels out there. A good portion of our attention was focused on a German group called Thunderbike. In the business of customizing Harleys but also create their own frames for about 20 years, Thunderbike is one of the most active shops not only in Europe, but in the world. The number of bikes they modified over the years is simply huge, and there seems to be no stopping them. Their latest stunt is called Solid Dude, and is a Fat Boy turned into the “absolute power cruiser.” Previewed this week by Thunderbike, the motorcycle is the usual display of custom parts extravaganza. As they usually do when modifying existing motorcycles. Thunderbike seems to have spared no expense with this one either. Around 30 new parts have been made to work together and look like a solid piece of engineering on the body of the Fat Boy. A quick look at the modifications made shows that, aside for the engine itself, there was little that wasn’t touched by the Thunderbike magic. Larger elements like the front and rear fenders are custom, but so are smaller ones like the handlebar or the turn signals. A highlight of the build are of course the wheels. Sized equally in diameter at 21 inches, they’re of Thunderbike spoked design and painted in such a way as to match the bike’s apparent Nardo Grey paint wrapping. Complementing the whole thing are the pipes of the Dr. Jekill & Mr. Hyde exhaust system. We are not being told who commissioned the motorcycle and not even how much it cost to make, but if you have the time,

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