Was Harley going to close the doors? Yes. After the third quarter of 2019, HD lost over a hundred million dollars in the Indian market place. They had no choice, when India was dragging them down to under a billion dollar company.
What is Harley going to do? They sold out the name to Hero. Harley will be leaving India, but India will still be able to buy a “premium” Harley Davidson, except from Hero. The idea of doing India like they do America, build overly expensive, under powered bikes, and force them onto the market, failed them.
Hero will now be building a knock off Harley Davidson, with real Harley badges. The bikes will be cheaply made, in a less than satisfactory factory. This will, by all rights, be a money run on the Indian market, with a inferior product, at a premium price.
If these Hero products will make it to America, is unclear. Harley Davidson has not said anything about this. With the change of leadership in America, you might.
During October of 2020, a lot of things happened at the quarter’s HOG earning report meeting. Zeitz drove in some coffin nails on large chunks of Harley Davidson. He turned their focus to the network of owners, who want profits.
Really, this could go either way. Riders in America, you are getting the focus of the entire company. They are coming back to try and rebuild. Most of the world is losing out, for the US.
Harley Davidson has left 40 world markets. They are bringing those resources home. All that extra money will be spent here, on dealerships, and other things that will only turn a profit.
This will be pretty decent, if you use Harley for service. They will be speeding the process up, and improving turn around times. It is pretty good to see some positive focus on the riders, but everything comes at a price.
Zeitz goes on to talk about that price. A new Harley comes at a hefty price. They have come to notice the value of their used bikes. Harley will now turn their focus on this market.
A big blow to riders, do not expect to see any more premonitions, or discounts. You wont be getting anything else for the cheap. You will pay full price for everything you buy from them.
They plan to increase the value of used motorcycles. If you own a Harley, this is an awesome deal for you. If this works, your bikes’ resale value will go up.
What will future prospective Harley buyers see? Well, it is obvious that the price of used Harleys will go up. The price of new bikes will follow. Over the last three months, HOG gained 22% back to their market value. They did it with used bikes. The future better have a deep pocket.
The plan to drive up that price, it is simpler than you think. 30% of Harley Davidson’s line-up will be cut. See, when you are Harley Davidson, and you can control the market, you do just that. By limiting the styles and numbers of bikes being produced, the value of a used Harleys will go up. I think that is going to push people to Indian or metric bikes, who do not make many dash for cash moves.
Next, they might have given the name for use to Hero in India, but a lot of others are going to lose it. HOG parts will now be made by HOG. The shirts and other merchandise will come directly from Harley. I mean, just now?
Another big change, the fiscal year. Harley will now release new bikes before their best quarter This will be near the end of winter, when the new riders start buying in. I have been unable to find the exact release date. Of course, ill write about it when I do.
Next up was the change to E-Bike. The bike will be changed to the “Series 1” powered by Harley. Series one will now build these bikes. These resources will be put back into motorcycles.
The market is a fun ride, just like the bikes! Thanks for reading! Stop by and give my group a like, or stay where you are, ill be around! Keep your elbows pointed to the sky!
In 2019, Hatley Davidson applied for a patent. This patent was to be able to add a super charger to Harley engines!
Tucked in over the crank case.
If you have been paying attention to HD lately, you would know about management changes, and refocusing on the company. This has caused Harley to refocus on used bikes. New management proved that new bikes wouldn’t sell.
Belt driven.
Unfortunately, this project is left over from the old management. Like the Nova project, which would have made almost all HD bikes parts interchangeable, they could crush it. But, the design of this super charger, is something new!
The belt is geared into the crankshaft.
This super charger bolts right on to the crankshaft, with no modifications. Harley has not said if it will be available for used bikes, or if it will be at all. Another strange feature is the belt tensioner.
Air…
On most belts, you must tighten the tensioner. On this one, you will never tighten it. This super charger rides on two slide rails. When you go down the road, you tighten the belt. There is no belt tensioner. It doesn’t matter how old, or stretched, the belt gets, it slides good enough to keep it tight!
Springs also help hold the super charger back. Will this project come to fruition, or will it be scraped? This are questions that Harley has not answered! It might come out on new bikes, and it might end up with Screaming Eagle? We will have to wait to see!
So, I was continuing on my build, and needed volcitey stacks. I normally don’t buy stuff off Facebook users, but I have been in contact with a lot of strangers, lately.
If I would have done my leg work…
Most of them are good people. I have done some business with a few, and everything has went smoothly. Yesterday, I let myself slip. A scammer got me for $60.
I got happy, and the cocky bastard even said he got me!
Here is everything else, and a few more people that he got! Share this around! Look out for your fellow bikers! I paid $60 for this guy to be exposed! Let’s go ahead and let everyone know to watch out for this name! Watch out for any of the items for sell in these pictures, below! These are his tools!
These are all the pictures he uses!
$60 wasn’t that much, but it is a low blow. I will continue my build, find my stacks, and end this guy. Yall, don’t buy from people, you don’t know! Always search the name first!
Way back in the 1920s, a style would be born. This style is called the “Cut Down”. The bike that inspired this style was the Harley J. This style would become what we now know as the bobber.
1919 Harley Davidson J Series Vtwin
In the 1930s, the first “bob job” was performed. The first builders were inspired by two bikes. One was an Indian Dakota. The other, a Harley Davidson WLDR, of course. Both of these bikes battled it out on the tracks of sanctioned races.
1934 Harley Davidson WLDR
This style would be popular up until the 90s. Major motorcycle companies would then change the design of the common motorcycle. They would lose the hard tail design, for more comfortable designs. Most of them became two piece frames, like the Honda Shadow.
1992 Honda Shadow.
Honda Shadow kept the look, but once you remove the plastics, you find a mass ugly, useless, steel, airboxes, and wires. Wanting to go back to the original bobber look, people started trying new things, with these bikes.
People like Motor Psychol J started coming up with ways to rebuild bikes into hard tailbobbers. He would take time to learn the angles, the pipe size, and all that. He didn’t have my other article to help with the hard parts.
After years of practice, he learned how to build the perfect bobber.Motor Psychol Js was good enough to give us picture of their build, and now, we will take a quick walk through of the steps to install a hard tail!
First, you need to put the kit on the bike. The kit isn’t welded up before it goes in the frame, you actually put the bars in one at a time, left side and the right side.
Im going to have to get me those pipes…
Then you set the distance of the seat bar, depending on what fender you are using. Next you tack in the left and right bars. Drill a few plug welds, and then weld them up. Weld in the middle bar. Clean up your welds.
Slide it in, weld it up, make it pretty!
With people like Motor Psychol J coming onto the seen, Honda builders have options. They give the normal guy a chance. You can buy a bike, for the price of a proper pipe bender. This guy is selling these kits, beyond reasonable.
Notch it!
If you have a piece of pipe the same size as the middle bar, cut it 2 inches longer than the kit’s middle bar. Notch out both sides. This isnt easy, but adds a little to the looks!
Putting the hard tail kit in, is one of the easiest processes. Having one made, making one, makes this the hardest part of your build. Im telling you these things from experience. I tried the metal fab guys, they could only cut, stretch, and weld the pipes. This looks nasty. They couldn’t bend them. I will be ordering one of Motor Psychol Js’ hard tail kits.
The other guy… When you add that stacked up shipping, thats a brutal price to pay!
That is all for this time! We will be doing another about J. It will be some histroy, like how he started, he favorite stuff to make, and favorite build! Thanks again for coming by!
We had a recent chat to an Aussie expat living in Thailand, Jimmyb. This guy is a character, he has ridden most of South East Asia, as well as both the east and west side of the Himalayas. But, this isn’t why we were talking to him. We have featured his builds, more than once. Let’s talk about those.
Jimmyb
Jimmyb has a wicked hard tailed, springer front end, Honda Steed (Shadow in the USA) which peaked our interest. This is one of the best conversions we have seen in a long time. Even for those who are not a fan of this ratrod chopper style, you can appreciate how mean this thing looks and sounds.
The Honda is a 600cc model, which has had the Harley single carburettor conversion done. The fuel is gravity feed. It has also been converted to a brass petock.
The backbone was scrapped for a single tube, and the rear end hard tailed. The ratrod inspired rusty tank was hand made in Bangkok, with the “Crazy Mary” artwork done by a local tattooist. They done it for beer. A light clear coat keeps it protected.
The springer front end is Thai made, heavy duty, two inch over. It holds a twenty one inch front wheel. The use of brass on the springer forks really set of the whole gritty theme of this chopper.
The tires are Moonstar, available in Asia. Even though they are sketchy as hell on the road, they really fill out the vibe of the Honda. The deep black of them, makes everything pop.
The King and Queen seat was a custom made job, specifically for this build. For Jimmyb it’s a great fit, but we hear his wife doesn’t find it so comfortable. The back rest keeps Jimmy nice an comfortable.
All the electrics are hidden in an oil can, under the seat. There is no speedo, no tacho, and no fuel gauge, except for the sight glass on the side of the tank. This chopper is as basic and simple as it gets.
Noise is pumped out with twin fish tail pipes, that scream 1960’s style. They add that old school chopper look. Their sound is clean as a lion’s roar.
All and all, this is an excellent build. Jimmb has went all out. It shows.
Well, thats Jimmb and his love, Crazy Mary! Thanks for reading! Please share!
A Biker's Life For Me! 