New 2023 Harley-Davidson Lineup
What will the MoCo's 120th Anniversary year bring us, and what will it take away?
It's that time again, folks... Harley-Davidson has reached another year in business and, under the latest management team, it looks like we are in for some new models being added, and some classic favorites being taken away.
I'm not going to waste time by speculating on what may be introduced on January 18th, nor am I going to speculate on what we may gain or lose throughout this year. I will, however, look at what we currently know and I'll offer my thoughts on that. Let's get right to it...
The death of the Sportster
Now, I know that H-D has continued the Sportster lineage with the new water-cooled RevMax powered models, but we all know these new bikes are Sportys only in name- they share nothing with their predecessors. The Sportster as we know it, is dead for 2023. The EPA has finally won another round in their fight against the air-cooled machines that we love so dearly. While I don't hate the new water-cooled Nightster (will it make a comeback for 2023?), I personally think the new Sportster S is hideous. I'm sure it's fast and agile, but it looks like some hybrid compilation of German, Japanese and British designs, all mashed up in a single bike. The only thing "Harley-Davidson" about that bike is the name. The Nightster, on the other hand... while it shares the same DNA, at least looks like a Harley. The fake gas tank/air box is a turn off for me, though. Interestingly enough... in perusing the H-D website this morning, I didn't see it on the lineup. Did the MoCo nix the new Nightster already, or are they simply going to put some lipstick on the little pig and re-introduce it as a new model for '23 (with a higher price tag, no doubt)? I suppose we'll see in a week or so.
The Softail Lineup
It appears, from all I've read (which admittedly, isn't much) that the Softail lineup remains mostly the same. I wish they'd bring back the Deluxe, but at this point, it feels like H-D is going away from their tried and true classic designs in favor of the "power cruiser" designs that I thought we had finally started moving away from a few years ago. Bikes like the Honda VTX1800F, the Suzuki M109, the H-D V-Rod and the Kawasaki MeanStreak (just to name a few) were all terrible designs, in my opinion. With drag-style bars, forward controls, and high output engines cradled in cruiser-based frames...they were/are uncomfortable to ride and their engine performance was limited by their screwy frame geometry. While not a "power cruiser" by design, the venerable Wide Glide was put to pasture in 2017 when H-D foolishly killed off the Dyna line and, the closest thing they offered to the styling, was the... ugh... the Softail Breakout. What an awful bike it was. With a ridiculous riding position and a rear tire that made the bike look as if the designers were stuck in the early 2000's chopper trend, the bike was simply horrendous. Well, much to my dismay, it looks like H-D is going to be bringing that one back in '23. We're getting the new Softail that nobody wants... brilliant. Geesh!
The Touring Lineup
What can I say so far... it looks like the execs at H-D have finally lost their ever-lovin' minds. From what I've seen... they have removed their number one, absolute best, Touring bike from their 2023 lineup. The Road King is currently (as of this morning) no longer listed on the website and all the rumblings I've heard (again, admittedly... that's not much) is that the Road King has been discontinued. What the actual f**k!?!
Has Harley-Davidson's executives inadvertently hired a corporate assassin with CEO Jochen Zeitz?? Who in Milwaukee has lost their fool minds? The Road King is the quintessential big twin Harley-Davidson!
So let me re-cap so far... the Evo Sportster, the Sportster inspired RevMax Nightster and the Road King are all absent on the '23 lineup.
Now, from the limited research I've done, it looks like H-D is going to offer a "new" bike in the Icons collection... with the model designation of "FLHFB"... which is the old designation for the Electra Glide Highway King of the golden, olden, days (think, mid 1960's) before the Road King (FLHR) was actually introduced. Now, for those MotoReaders that are unfamiliar with the Road King's history... let me give you a quick recap:
The FLH line originated a long time ago in H-D history, and the "Glide" names were added with each new addition of a particular upgrade. For example, the first FLH had a hardtail frame, a springer front suspension and kick start. When H-D added hydraulic front suspension, the FLH earned the name, "Hydra Glide." The addition of a rear swingarm and rear suspension earned it the title, "Duo Glide." Once the engineers perfected the electric start, the FLH earned the name that we all know now, the "Electra Glide." The Electra Glide didn't actually get that iconic batwing fairing until 1969. Back then, the batwing fairing was, basically, just an outer fairing mounted to the forks. As these things tend to do, the batwing that we all know (and most people love) evolved over the next few decades until it became what it is today. Most of you may know all this already, but what you may not know, is that in 1989, H-D introduced the Electra Glide Sport... an FLH Electra Glide without a fairing (again). The bike was popular enough that it was offered for a few years before H-D's marketing team decided to rename it, you guessed it- The Road King, for the 1994 model year.
The Road King has been an extremely popular machine since it's "official" birth in 1994 and has become a favorite of guys like me, who want a bike big enough to handle any road trip that we can throw at it, while still maintaining that cruiser DNA for riding down the Main Street on a Friday night. It is, in my humble opinion, one of the best Harley-Davidson motorcycles ever made. So, you may be asking why, if it's so great, is H-D apparently pulling it from the lineup? Easy... this is nothing more than a marketing scheme. Smoke and mirrors. Increase demand by decreasing availability. For '23, if someone wants a brand new "Road King"... they'll have to either get a Road King Special (the FLHRXS with a price tag of +/- $24k) or get the "new" ElectraGlide Highway King (the FLHFB) which, as an "Icon Collection" bike, will probably be a "limited edition" and have an MSRP of close to, or over, $30k. I happen to love my 2017 Road King Special, but I will be the first to admit that, compared to my other Road Kings (both of which were Classics-FLHRC), the machine is way overpriced. It's gorgeous, but corners were cut in the quality (see my long term review video here) and, in order for me to be able to ride it comfortably, I had to replace the poorly designed stock "mini-ape" handlebars. I finally have my bike all dialed in for my needs, so I won't be shopping for a new Road King anytime soon, but for someone looking to upgrade their current ride to all the glory that is the Road King... 2023 may not be their year to do it.
A new bike for the Riding Academy?
One more new bike being offered by H-D will be the Chinese-built X350RA. A small displacement, parallel twin motorcycle, that is being targeted for the overseas markets (and of course, the H-D Riding Academy). While many H-D purists may find this to be one of the most offensive things I've written on my little corner of the interweb, I will politely stay neutral about it... at least for now.
We all saw the shit-show that was the "Street" bikes that were built in India under the H-D moniker. The XG500 and XG750 were pure garbage. If you own one... let me say that, I'm sorry. I'm not sorry if I've offended you, I'm sorry that you bought one. It's a Harley by name only. In the beginning, I heard some great things about the engines and I actually wrote a few slideshows for H-D Forums about folks modifying the bikes into some really cool customs, but as of recently, I've heard nothing but bad stories about them. Problems like, the brake systems having catastrophic failures and the transmissions randomly slipping between gears. I'm sure that these problems, along with the painfully dismal sales of these bikes, were the driving forces that ultimately led H-D to dump them (a smart move on H-D's part, to be sure). The Streets were (sort of) intended to be a stepping stone bike for new riders. Here in the U.S. of A., they were initially introduced as Riding Academy bikes. H-D recognized that their smallest bikes at the time, the 883 Sportsters, were still a bit too powerful, loud, heavy and torquey for a brand new rider, so they needed an underpowered, small and inexpensive bike to train new riders on. Enter the Street 500. A perfect-ish bike for the job. Too bad it was a piece of crap in terms of quality. So, here we are in 2023... the XG's are gone, but H-D is still running their Riding Academy classes and, as such, they still need a small displacement bike that won't be too intimidating for the faint of heart.
Enter the new X350RA. A lot of folks are probably cringing at the mere thought of it being made in... gasp... China, but I'd venture to bet that most of you fine folks are reading this on your Chinese made computer or smart phone. I may be a little biased (or would it be... unbiased?) these days, since I've recently added a small-bore motorcycle to my garage with the purchase of an American made Janus Halcyon (read more about that here) which is powered by a Chinese built CG250 engine. Say what you will about the Chinese, but many of their products are top-quality. Sure, not everything is worth the materials they're made with, but many of their products are and the Janus' little single cylinder, 229cc powerplant starts up every time and it runs smoother than a sewing machine. The bike is an absolute delight to ride, too... but that's a story for a different day. Today, I'm talking about the partnership between Harley-Davidson and the Qianjiang Motorcycle Company. With H-D bringing these little bikes to their Riding Academy, you can bet that they will be on showroom floors before the end of the year. After all, new riders are, naturally, going to want to buy what they learned how to ride on. Before you get too offended by the MoCo's latest partnership with a foreign company, let me point out that H-D has been doing this for decades. Does the Italian company Aermacchi ring a bell? If you know any of your H-D history, you know that H-D bought approximately half of Aermacchi's stock in the 1960's and that Aermacchi produced several of their single cylinder (and a few two-cylinder), small-bore, motorcycles with Harley-Davidson badges, all the way through the 1970's before H-D was purchased by AMF (again, that's a story for another day).
I actually have high hopes for the Chinese built H-D X350s. Apparently, Qianjiang is a formidable company in the Asian motorcycle market, building a variety of high-quality, small bore motorcycles for their customer base. I suppose that only time will tell, though. Hopefully, the partnership with QJ won't find the Chinese company building the entire lineup of H-D bikes, though because that would be a sad day for American workers. I also suspect that H-D's marketing team will probably suggest a retail price of the X350 on par with Jochen's "premium brand" business model for H-D, and it will most likely be way overpriced. Just to give you an idea, QJ's website shows most of their bikes coming in around the $2,500- $3,000 range and I seriously doubt that the execs at H-D aer going to allow any bike with the famous Bar and Shield logo to be sold with such a humble price tag. After all, Jochen's plan for the MoCo is to, apparently, make H-D motorcycles unattainable for the working class people that have been riding them since 1903.
