Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson El Dorado Is Heritage Softail Gone Low and Green

General Posts / By

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com When it first used the Softail frame for one of its bikes decades ago, Harley-Davidson had no way of knowing what it would begin to stand for, and what an influence this type of bike would have on the motorcycle world. In its own backyard, Harley’s Softails, described in Milwaukee as a crossbreed between heritage and custom builds with a pinch of technology, have become the backbone of the business, with no less than 12 models lined up and ready to roam the roads. Among them is the Heritage, a model that has been around since the 1980s, and now only sells as the Classic 114. However, this official bike is accompanied by a great number of custom builds based on it and previous Heritage models, builds that are at times much more appealing than the original. The motorcycle in the gallery above is a Heritage as well, but one that has long lost its original looks. Handled by a German custom garage that goes by the name Thunderbike, it turned into a low rider that goes that has been baptised El Dorado. The build (shown at the end of 2019) is part of the Chicano series sold by the Germans in Europe, and it features a series of brand new and specially developed hardware that makes the bike look apart from the rest. Fitted with new and modified triple trees and rear swing arm, the bike rides close to the ground, an image that is enhanced by the large fenders that wrap extensively around the wheels. The El Dorado is just one of the many Harley-Davidson custom motorcycles the Germans have cooked up since it started business in this field back in the early 2000s. We’ve already talked about some of them, and we’ve […]

Harley-Davidson El Dorado Is Heritage Softail Gone Low and Green Read More »

Hubless Verge TS Electric Motorcycle Is Here to Finnish Off Harley’s LiveWire

General Posts / By

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com Despite the increasing interest of the customers in electric motorcycles, established bike makers are still reluctant to jump on this new mobility train. Only one of them, arguably the world’s most famous, announced a mass-production electric motorcycle. That’s the LiveWire, shown by Harley-Davidson in 2019, should have been a game changer for this segment, but various issues and then a global health crisis have kind of put a dent into Harley’s plans. While the behemoth is still wrapping its head around how to move forward, start-ups are wasting no time in coming up with increasingly appealing designs. As one of the leaders when it comes to electric mobility in general, Finland is the perfect place to be for up and coming talents in the industry these days. And from Finland comes this bike here, called TS, and manufactured by a start-up called Verge. Shown for the first time last year, the TS comes to the world as a hubless rear-wheel electric bike with capabilities that should dwarf those of the LiveWire. Whereas the American machine is good for 98 miles city (158 km), the TS brings a range close to double that: 186 miles (300 km). The Finnish-build offers a 0-60 mph (97 kph) acceleration time of under four seconds (LiveWire does it in 3.5), 107 hp of power and 1,000 Nm of torque. The top speed is limited to 180 kph (112 mph). The Verge TS has a starting price of €24,990, which is the equivalent today of close to $27,000. That’s a tad cheaper than the LiveWire, which Harley sells for $29,799. For a number of reasons, the comparison between the TS and the LiveWire may not be fair game, but it goes to show that established bike makers are not really making

Hubless Verge TS Electric Motorcycle Is Here to Finnish Off Harley’s LiveWire Read More »

Harley-Davidson Outerlimit Is a Mini Lamborghini Aventador

General Posts / By

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com So, you own a Lamborghini Aventador, and that in itself is reason enough to be proud. But often times supercar owners find themselves in need of some other motorized sidekick contraption for their cars. So did a German Aventador owner, who must have thought there’s something missing from his garage, something that should not only keep the car company, but also match it in design. So he turned to custom German bike builder Thunderbike for help. The German shop started out in the 1980s as a repair place for Japanese motorcycles, but a few decades later found themselves to be quite good at either customizing Harleys, or building their own custom frames with Harley engineering inside. The Black Star 110 and the RS Lambo are perfect examples of their prowess in both fields. For the Aventador owner we mentioned above, they came up with a design called Outerlimit. Finished in 2016, it was specced as “super sporty appearance, neat pressure in the engine, big wheels and powerful brakes.” The custom frame of the bike was gifted with a Harley-Davidson twin cam 120R engine linked to a 6-speed manual transmission, which gives the bike a power output of 140 ps and 190 Nm of torque. Not quite Aventador levels, but for a motorcycle it’s not half bad. The performance of the bike was not necessarily the main goal of the build, but the appearance of it was. As per customer specification, the Outerlimit had to exactly match the colors of the supercar, and that task seems to have been met nicely: both the design and the paint job that cover the various portions of the motorcycles body replicate the black and white panels seen on the Aventador body and roof. We’re not being told how much

Harley-Davidson Outerlimit Is a Mini Lamborghini Aventador Read More »

Harley-Davidson appoints Jochen Zeitz as President & CEO: New plan to redefine brand

General Posts / By

by Rahul Kapoor from https://www.financialexpress.com With Matt Levatich stepping down, Harley Davidson had appointed Jochen Zeitz to lead the brand in the interim. But Zeitz has now been appointed as the president and CEO for the Milwaukee based motorcycle manufacturer. Harley-Davidson, the iconic American motorcycle brand has elevated interim President and CEO Jochen Zeitz as the new President and CEO of the company. Zeitz was appointed into the interim position after the former head of the brand Matt Levatich stepped down after a dismal sales performance of the brand that it witnessed in recent years. Zeitz who is currently the chairman of the board of Harley-Davidson brings his experience as the CEO of the sports apparel and goods brand Puma to the role. He also has plans to restructure the company and also redefine Harley Davidson. In a press statement, Zeitz said “Over the next few months, we will re-wire the business and redefine a new 5-year strategic plan later this year. I will then oversee the implementation of these changes and re-ignite Harley-Davidson as one of the most revered and iconic brands in the world,” Zeitz is working towards an all-new brand strategy called “The Rewire” that would allow Harley-Davidson to enter new markets and segments as well. The plan is said to develop further in the coming months which will incorporate key products, and initiatives from the current ongoing strategy for the brand, but with a key focus on markets and products that can help drive profits and growth. Harley-Davidson has found the last few years to be difficult in terms of unit sales. This has been more prominent in its home market – the USA as the modern consumers have moved away from heavyweight cruisers to adventure touring models or ADVs. Zeitz has been on the board

Harley-Davidson appoints Jochen Zeitz as President & CEO: New plan to redefine brand Read More »

St. Louis Maniac Gets Straight Razor Shave and Haircut While Riding a Harley

General Posts / By

by Daniel Hill from https://www.riverfronttimes.com For many, the inability to get a proper haircut has been one of the more frustrating parts of the coronavirus crisis so far. But one local man(iac) has a creative solution for the anxiety that comes with a simple trim nowadays: Get a shave and a haircut while riding a motorcycle. It makes some sense: Why would one bother worrying about a virus when you’re one pothole away from getting your head cut off? Steve Jones, a rider with the local Streetfighterz motorcycle outfit, is the subject of a video the group posted to YouTube this week wherein he gets a shave and a haircut from stylist Kurtiss Allen while riding a Harley through the streets of St. Louis. The twelve-minute long video sees the pair rolling through the streets downtown while Allen uses scissors and a trimmer to cut and shape Jones’ hair and beard. Onlookers at stoplights frequently stop to gawk as the men playfully banter with them, with Jones telling a pedestrian at one point that Allen could shape his hair for him too if he wants. Then, at about the 8:48 mark, things get truly wild as Allen pulls out the straight razor and starts working on Jones’ beard while the pair ride down Gravois. At about the 9:04 point, with a razor sharp blade to his face, Jones even appears to hit a small bump in the road. It’s enough to make a viewer — this viewer — cringe in terror, but Jones just keeps riding. In all, the plan seems to go off without a hitch, turning what Jones describes at the top of the video as “this nasty mess that you guys have been seeing for the last few weeks” into a well-styled situation with surprisingly no bleeding

St. Louis Maniac Gets Straight Razor Shave and Haircut While Riding a Harley Read More »

Harley-Davidson RS Lambo Is How a Supercar Looks Like on Two Wheels

General Posts / By

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com/ For years, our lives have been flooded with incredible custom motorcycle builds made in the U.S.A, thanks to the avalanche of TV shows that over the past two decades have focused on the different garages there. But incredible custom bikes are being made elsewhere as well. Germany, for instance, is the place where for the past two decades incredible Harley-based machines came to be. Whether we’re talking about remakes of existing Harleys as a whole, or adaptations of some Harley parts into a custom frame, the things the German garage called Thunderbike can do are incredible. The group has begun toying with motorcycles since the 1980s, when they came into being as a repair shop for Japanese bikes. They kept doing that well until the early 2000s, when a switch to Harleys made the birth of these insane machines possible. We’ve already talked about 2019’s Imola Softail conversion, or the CVO 110-powered Flawless 3, but it’s time for something a bit more extreme, because it seems there are so many ideas popping into the heads of these guys that they even dreamt up a motorcycle dedicated to a supercar manufacturer. Enter the RS Lambo, a Thunderbike design created as a “tribute custom bike to the Italian sports car manufacturer [from] Sant’Agata Bolognese.” The build uses an older Thunderbike frame kit called Dragster RS, inside which the engine and transmission from the Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle 110 series were fitted. The frame rides on Lowrider wheels and an air suspension that allows ride height to be adjusted in order to increase or decrease ground clearance. The Lamborghini tribute can of course be seen as the paint chosen for the fuel tank, frame, and even wheel rims. As many other Thunderbike builds, this is not just a custom

Harley-Davidson RS Lambo Is How a Supercar Looks Like on Two Wheels Read More »

Thunderbike Harley-Davidson Invader Is the FXDR Done Right

General Posts / By

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com There is no doubt Harley-Davidson is one of the biggest names in the motorcycle industry, but that doesn’t stop a lot of fans from thinking the Milwaukee-based company could do much more that it currently does. Over the past two years, troubled Harley announced plans to massively overhaul its portfolio by launching a number of new, exciting motorcycles, all with the goal of increasing its customer pool to unprecedented levels. That sounds great, but when our eyes fall upon custom Harley builds, we can’t help but wonder why the bike maker’s creations aren’t as visually exciting as some of these the third-party modified machines. Case in point the FXDR we have in the gallery above. Named Invader, it is the brainchild of a Germany-based Harley custom shop by the name of Thunderbike. As with all the other Thunderbike builds we’ve talked about over the past few days, this one too sports a lot of modifications, mostly limited to the bike’s body and ranging from grips to upholstery and fenders. But it is the paint job perhaps that catches the eye the most. Done by a group called Kruse Design, the paint job blends the frosted neon yellow on some parts of the bike with black appointments here and there and the racing decor on the wheels. The Invader is actually based on another custom build made by the Germans, one called Roar. Aside for the obvious change in colors, changes compared to the Roar are the new rear wheel and a modified swingwarm that can now accommodate a pulley brake. There are no modifications made to the FXDR’s engine – the Invader is thus powered by the stock Milwaukee-Eight 114 V-Twin engine. Thunderbike is a German custom shop that started life in the 1980s as

Thunderbike Harley-Davidson Invader Is the FXDR Done Right Read More »

Harley appoints turnaround specialist Jochen Zeitz to revive sales

General Posts / By

by Rachit Vats, Sanjana Shivdas from https://www.reuters.com/ (Reuters) – Harley-Davidson Inc (HOG.N) on Thursday appointed board member and turnaround specialist Jochen Zeitz to the role of chief executive officer, as the struggling motorcycle maker looks to tap into his expertise to woo customers and revive sales. Shares of Harley, which were down 47% this year as of last close, rose 5% to $20.6 in morning trade. Zeitz, a former CEO hailed for turning around German footwear brand Puma’s near-bankrupt business, is known to have led a push for sustainability at Harley and was a force behind Harley’s LiveWire, the company’s first electric bike. The company said Zeitz, who joined the Harley board in 2007, will continue to serve as the board chairman. Harley has failed for years to increase sales in the United States, its top market, which accounts for more than half of its motorcycles sold. As its tattooed, baby-boomer consumer base ages, the Milwaukee-based company is finding it challenging to attract new customers. To make matters worse, the pandemic has further dented demand as Americans stay at home to curb the spread of COVID-19. In April, Harley slashed here its dividend and halted share buybacks to boost its cash reserves to weather the impact from the health crisis. Zeitz was asked to take over after CEO Matthew Levatich stepped down in February following Harley’s worst sales performance in at least 16 years. In his first call with investors as acting CEO, Zeitz lined up plans to cut costs and “de-emphasize” some of its unprofitable international regions. The shift in strategy for the company that symbolized the counterculture movement of the 1960s comes as it struggles to woo the next generation of younger riders with its electric and more nimbler bikes in the United States.

Harley appoints turnaround specialist Jochen Zeitz to revive sales Read More »

Dayton Dude Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Is a Different Shade of Grey

General Posts / By

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com A body in Audi Daytona grey instead of the omnipresent Nardo grey, and a number of technical enhancements were all it took to transform this Harley-Davidson Fat Boy into a stunning, light-absorbing motorcycle. The customized motorcycle we have in the gallery above is the work of a Germany-based Harley custom bike builder by the name of Thunderbike. Established in the 1980s, the group was at first in the business of repairing mostly Japanese bikes, but made a switch to customizing Harley a couple of decades ago. Their projects, which often come as Harley-based conversions, but at times include custom frame builds, have been around since the early 2000s, and the experience gained during these years shows. This Fat Boy, called in Thunderbike speak Dayton Dude, is the newest model in the customization range. As most others, it features tons of custom parts, ranging from the most visible ones like the front and rear fenders to the smallest, like the turn signal and handlebar. The motorcycle rides on bicolor-finish wheels, sized 21 inches at the front and 18 inches at the rear. To make sure all can admire the construction of the rear one, a pulley brake system has been used. Another functional enhancement made to the Fat Boy is the air ride suspension kit that helps manage the distance between the steel fender and the rear tire. All these new parts (the entire list of modification made can be found at this link) would probably have looked good anyway, but the light-absorbing matte hue on them and the Audi Daytona grey chosen to dress other parts of the bike make the entire build appear stunning. The builders of the Dayton Dude describe the motorcycle as “one of the most harmonious Fat Boy conversion concepts from

Dayton Dude Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Is a Different Shade of Grey Read More »

Harley-Powered Custom Bike Is All About Naked Metal Bones

General Posts / By

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com/ Simple, low, naked metallic skeleton. That’s all you need to describe the custom bike build that goes by the name of Flawless 3, assembled in Germany by a group called Thunderbike. The Germans have been a solid group of bike builders since the 1980s, when they came into being as a repair shop for Japanese bikes, mostly. They kept doing that well until the early 2000s, when sales dropped in the motorcycle industry in general. Among the few last standing in those troubled times was Harley-Davidson, so Thunderbike made a turn in its business mode and decided to focus on customizing the American-made machines. And we’re glad they did. After the Softail-based Black Star 110 we showed you yesterday, it’s time to have a look at another build Thunderbike was responsible for. We’re not talking about another Harley conversion, but an original frame. The garage calls this build Flawless 3, because it has been constructed on an existing platform that goes by the same name. And it’s a stunner. The flowing frame of the bike seems to have been cast upright, made of melted metal that was instantly frozen in place when the desired, complete shape was achieved. The paint job chosen for the frame and fuel tank helps maintain the cold look of the motorcycle. The frame rides very low to the ground, supported by a full air-suspension. Thanks to it, the ride height can be increased by up to 10 cm (4 inches) in times of need so no harm is done to the underside. It holds a 110ci Harley-Davidson engine from CVO models, and rides on differently-sized wheels made out of solid aluminum blocks: 26 inches front and 21 inches rear. Thunderbike’s frame line includes more insane builds, that sell either as

Harley-Powered Custom Bike Is All About Naked Metal Bones Read More »

Scroll to Top