#harley-davidson

Harley-Davidson will announce its next Revolution Max-powered Sportster model on April 12. The Motor Company dropped a short music-themed teaser video titled “Instrument of Expression,” to promote the announcement, and offer a few tantalizing glimpses of the new model.

A small displacement Harley-Davidson model developed with Chinese manufacturer Qianjiang may finally be nearing production. The prospective 350cc model has been in the works since 2019, and despite design filings of the bike and a look at the Harley-branded engine, we haven’t heard any official statement on when it will go into production.

Kyle Wyman knows a thing or two about superbikes. Having ridden quite a few over the years as a MotoAmerica rider, and having built some himself as a MotoAmerica team owner – including the Ducati Panigale V4R he campaigned most recently – the 2021 MotoAmerica King of the Baggers champion didn’t mince his words when describing the synergy between himself, Harley-Davidson, and the Road Glide he took all the way to the title.

Earlier this year, Harley-Davidson revealed a new Low Rider ST featuring a FXRT-inspired fairing. Initial reaction to the Low Rider ST was very positive, with Jochen Zeitz, Harley-Davidson chief executive officer, claiming in Harley-Davidson’s Q4 earnings call “demand was so high for this bike that we sold out our first consumer allocation in 10 minutes.”

Harley-Davidson has the fortunate position to stand atop the perch that is its popularity and loyal following to see where its customers take their motorcycles. Yes, the folks at Harley hear all the time about the different places their motorcycles have taken them. But Harley designers and engineers also have the advantage of reading the pulse of their customer base by seeing what these people decide to do to customize and modify their bikes. Need I remind anyone of the unfortunate custom chopper craze of not too long ago…?

C’mon, you knew it was going to happen. How could we not put the newcomer to the ADV scene head-to-head with the long standing heavyweight from the Fatherland? Our comparison of the Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special and BMW R 1250 GS kicks off a series of monthly two-bike tests for 2022. Look out for a new scorchin’ comparison from MO every month. Spanning the smorgasbord of genres, your favorite kooky MO characters will ride, review, and bicker about some of the spiciest meatballs on the market today. To kick things off though, America versus Germany! 

Harley-Davidson delivered its Q4 2021 earnings report this morning, providing a look at how the first year of its Hardwire plan fared. We’ll have more on that in a separate post (spoiler: H-D did very well), but for now, we’ll focus on one interesting portion of the earnings call: an update on the separate LiveWire brand.

Taking inspiration from its championship-winning King of the Baggers factory race bikes, Harley-Davidson introduces new, performance-focused ST versions of the Road Glide and Street Glide.

When you show up on a CVO, you know you’ve arrived and so do all the peons on lesser machines. “Exclusive and hand-crafted paint and designs are executed to a level of intricate quality that is unmatched in the motorcycle and automotive categories,” says H-D, to “represent the pinnacle of style and design.” For 2022, a new CVO Road Glide Limited replaces the CVO Limited, with CVO Street and CVO Road Glides returning, along with the CVO Tri Glide. 

Perhaps no other manufacturer harnesses the power of its history better than Harley-Davidson. But more than being able to tap into the company history, Harley is equally in tune with the custom scene and unique builds its loyal fan base has pumped out over the years. The 2022 Low Rider and Low Rider ST are perfect examples of Harley blending its heritage with the custom scene, all while adding modern twists.

Harley-Davidson is expected to announce more 2022 models on Jan. 26, including its top-of-the-line Custom Vehicle Operations models. While the full list of 2022 CVO models remains to be determined, we expect a new Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide Limited will be part of the announcement.

Last week, Harley-Davidson announced its first batch of 2022 models, listing several models that are returning mostly unchanged, except for new paint and graphic options. A few models were conspicuously absent from the announcement; most of them, like the Iron 1200, were discontinued. The lone exception was the Low Rider S, which we reported would be announced on Jan. 26 with some updates.

Today, Harley-Davidson announced its first batch of 2022 motorcycles, with models already arriving at dealerships across the U.S. These models return mostly unchanged from 2021, save for updated colors and, for some, new wheel designs. If you’re looking for any new models, CVO models, or motorcycles getting more significant changes, you’ll have to wait until Jan. 26, for Harley-Davidson’s “Further, Faster” world premiere event.

Harley-Davidson announced plans to take LiveWire public, making the brand the first publicly-traded electric motorcycle company in the U.S. The transaction is expected to raise net proceeds of $545 million which will be used to fund new product development.

To those of you who have been paying attention over the past year, our selecting the 2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special as Motorcycle.com’s Motorcycle of the Year should come as no surprise. To win the MOTY, a bike has to do two very important things. First, it has to claim victory in one of the MOBO categories, proving that it has the chops to successfully compete against its peers. For the Pan America to do this in the ultra-competitive heavyweight adventure touring class in the first year of its production says a lot about how seriously Harley took the task of stepping out of its cruiser/bagger comfort zone. Second, the MOTY has to say something about the current state of the motorcycle art, where the industry is, and where it’s going.