Kellie Buckley•11 Jul 2016
NEWS
5 reasons why H-D should put its flat tracker into production
Harley-Davidson recently unveiled a new liquid-cooled flat tracker that isn't slated for showrooms. We think they're mad. Here's why…1. Street 500
In a bid to attract a younger buyer and get them hooked for life on the unique sound and smell of a Harley-Davidson, the firm broke new ground at the end of 2014 and unveiled its first-ever LAMS-approved offering in the Street 500. Sure, the bike recorded remarkable sales results in its debut year, surpassing the expectations of the Australian subsidiary of the American brand. But there’s a reason why Harley-Davidson Australia muffled the bike’s public debut at the Melbourne Motorcycle Expo with the simultaneous unveiling of a dozen heavily customised variants. And that was to show young and hip would-be Harley owners that it is possible to transform the rather bland-looking Street into something wild and cool. A production version of an AMA flat track racer, Harley-Davidson, is so wildly cool that it would have the hipsters flocking to the brand in droves.
2. Scrambler success
Don't take our word for it. Ducati's soft-edged entry-level flat-track-esque Scrambler model sold 16,000 units worldwide in its first year, a result that saw it make the list of the world's top-10 best-selling motorcycles for 2015. Last year, the Italian brand sold more motorcycles in a 12-month period than it ever has in its 90-year history and it was a result the firm's CEO Claudio Domenicali attributing the success to the Scrambler: "There's no denying the firm's newly launch Scrambler model buoyed the year's results, with the 803cc retro recoding over 16,000 sales worldwide in its first year," he said.
3. Indian might do it
If the enormous success of Ducati's Scrambler isn't enough to convince the American brand to deviate from its forward-mounted-controls cruiser ways, then surely beating Indian to the punch holds some attraction. Indian Motorcycles also recently unveiled a 750cc water-cooled bike that would mark its factory-backed return to the AMA Flat Track series. And with the Polaris-owned American brand breaking new ground all over the place lately with an electric-powered Isle of Man TT racebike and an RSD-developed nakedbike built specifically to conquer Pikes Peak — which it did — then surely a road-going version of the on-trend flat tracker, in a bid to get a slice of Ducati’s big yellow pie, isn't out of the question.
4. Race on Sunday, sell on Monday?
What's the point of investing extensive time, resources and money into a successful race package if the plan isn't to use the publicity of success to help market a production model? The race-only XG750R made its racing debut just a few days after Harley-Davidson whipped the covers off it and, in the hands of 18-year-old rookie David Fisher, finished eighth in the Pro Flat Track Springfield Mile's 25-lap final. It's clearly not a lemon.
5. It's just time
Surely the fact that the water-cooled 750cc flat tracker was the first all-new platform from the Milwaukee manufacturer in many, many moons says it – and its enormously dedicated and loyal customer base – just might be ready for something fresh and new (and fast). Okay, so the way that same customer base received the water-cooled V-Rod may not inject the motorcycle maker with confidence, but the V-Rod tried to modernise its tradition — where the flat tracker remains powerfully true to the brand’s long and successful association with flat track racing.
Tags
Harley-Davidson
XG750R
News
Dirt
Off Road
Road
Written byKellie Buckley
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Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
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