#harley-davidson

Well folks, the latest Harley machine to grace the motorcycle market jumps, slides, and rips with the best of them – “them” of course, being the heavyweight adventure motorcycle class. The entire world had its reservations, some optimistic, and plenty pessimistic. But after cruising for two days on the 2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special, it’s clear that it’s adept at much more than just that. 

Harley-Davidson reported a 9% increase in motorcycle sales volume and 12% increase in  sales revenue over the first quarter of 2021, encouraging signs that the new Hardwire business plan is paying off.

Harley-Davidson‘s Q1 2021 financial report revealed more details about the mysterious “Revival” model and showed a photo of a near production version of the Custom 1250 liquid-cooled cruiser. We’ll have more on the quarterly report elsewhere, but let’s examine what we’ve learned about these two upcoming models.

In between feedings for his newborn child, Motorcycle.com’s sleuth, Dennis Chung, has informed us that Harley-Davidson has filed a new trademark application in Europe for the name Nightster. 

In between feedings for his newborn child, Motorcycle.com’s sleuth, Dennis Chung, has informed us that certification filings in Australia have given us a little bit more information about the 2021 Harley-Davidson Livewire. The first of the major manufacturers to produce a full-fledged electric motorcycle, the Livewire brings with it some cutting-edge technology and performance. Eventually, though, every motorcycle needs to get updated and the Livewire is no exception.

Motorcycle journalists have it good. Getting to ride the latest and greatest motorcycles is clearly a dream, and every once in a while, the result of us spending so much time with a particular model is it eventually becoming a permanent part of our collection. Obviously, a handover of cash has to happen, but there really isn’t a better way to get to know a motorcycle before buying it.

Harley-Davidson laid out the details for The Hardwire, the company’s new strategic plan for the next five years. Highlights of The Hardwire include investing in the touring and heavyweight cruiser segment, expanding into new segments and creating a new division dedicated to electric motorcycles.

Update: CARB documents obtained March 10, 2021 have confirmed the use of the larger M8 114 cu. in. motor. 

Harley-Davidson announced the bulk of its 2021 lineup in a virtual launch event last week, highlighting the updates to its Softail, touring and CVO models. The launch was different for Harley-Davidson in two ways. For one, it was held completely virtually in a 40-minute video, a necessity during a global pandemic. It was also unusual in that it was held in the middle of January instead of the traditional September. As outlined in Harley-Davidson’s Rewire plan, this looks to be a permanent change moving forward, positioning the new model launch closer to the start of the riding season.

Sure you know Harley-Davidson is the goliath among motorcycle manufacturers. And in the back of your mind you knew The Motor Company has a huge apparel line. But have you ever stopped to think about how big the apparel line actually is? Probably not. It’s so big, H-D has its own Amazon store dedicated to just footwear. Yep, that’s more that just Harley-Davidson boots.

The Harley-Davidson Custom Vehicle Operations lineup returns four models for 2021, offering the most exclusive components and styling the company has to offer. The four CVO models are the same as last year, consisting of the CVO Limited, CVO Street Glide, CVO Road Glide, and the CVO Tri Glide threewheeler.

Harley-Davidson announced its returning touring lineup for 2021, with updated paint options and small updates to the three Special models. As we expected, all of the 2020 model are returning in the face of Harley-Davidson’s plans to streamline its product portfolio. That means the 2021 lineup consists of the Electra Glide Standard, Road Glide Limited, Road Glide Special, Road King, Road King Special, Street Glide, Street Glide Special, and Ultra Limited.

Harley-Davidson announced its 2021 Softail lineup, highlighted by a new Street Bob 114 and a slightly refreshed Fat Boy 114. Joining them for 2021 are the Softail Slim, Softail Standard, Fat Bob 114, Heritage Classic, Heritage Classic 114, Low Rider S and Sport Glide. Confirming our earlier reporting, the Softail models being dropped for 2021 include the Low Rider (non-S version), Deluxe and FXDR 114, while the Breakout 114 will only be offered in some markets (but not the U.S.). We also expected the Street Bob to be discontinued, but that turned out to be half-true, with the Street Bob 114 replacing it.

Harley-Davidson has removed its electric concept models from the Future Vehicles page on its official website, creating doubt about whether electric bikes – including the LiveWire – remain in the company’s future. (UPDATED with response from Harley-Davidson).

There are just a few days left in 2020, which means there’s enough time for yet another year-end list. We’ve already gone through our most read reviews and shootout comparisons of 2020, and now we continue with the most read motorcycle news from the past 12 months.