Call it the “Indian Chief” effect if you will! Harley-Davidson’s bete-noire Indian Motorcycles had been planning its moves since long. Indian Motorcycles even took potshots at Harley-Davidson all throughout its advertisement campaigns leading to the launch of the All-New Chief at Sturgis a few days back.
To provide a befitting reply, Harley-Davidson has definitely gone the extra mile. Instead of just refurbishing a couple of existing models, they have turned their whole lineup on its head.
How’s the brand new portfolio? We take a peek :
- Word is on the ground that a part of the tweak job was titled in-house as “Project Rushmore”. Under the garb of Rushmore lies a plethora of improvements including the mushrooming LED headlamps and tail-lamps combination. The Electra Glide Ultra Classic as well the Tri-Glide receive these, whereas the Road King and the Street Glide are gifted new dual halogen lamps.
- Harley-Davidson will offer 11 new colors alongside dual-tone color combinations and options. There are some new paint sets for the 1200 Custom, available through the H-D1 factory customization program.
- The stereos on the Street Glide, Tri-Glide and the Electra Glide Ultra Classic boast of Voice Recognition now. Just blurt out what you want to hear, and your Harley-Davidson will belt out that track for you. Else you can get touchy-feely with the touchscreen system introduced for the music and satellite navigation systems.
- To stream music, you could use your phone too as this new stuff is Bluetooth compatible. To store that phone, there’s a waterproof cubbyhole which Harley-Davidson has termed as the “Jukebox Shelf”.
- The Fat Bob has been restyled extensively. We have a reshaped tail possessing LED rear lights and a new darker design scheme which has blackened many components of the bike.
A glance at the newly inducted technical gizmos, else the preview is rendered incomplete :
- The latest additions include “Reflex” linked ABS brakes. They say it is ahead of the curve with respect to the earlier linked anti-lock braking systems.
- Larger disc brakes have been slammed on to the front, with the size reaching 300 mm now as compared to the earlier 292 mm discs. The brake calipers have also grown to 34 mm size from 25 mm. Though the size of the rear disc remains same at 260 mm, they are now bit into by dual 38 mn pistons as compared to a single one in the earlier editions.
- There’s a keyless security system on offer as well. When the wireless device is at a specified distance from the motorcycle, the security system automatically disables the ignition. It again crackles to life when the rider returns to the specified distance along with the wireless device.
- The biggest inclusion here has been what Harley-Davidson calls “Twin Cooling”. The V-Twin mills might be utilizing water or oil cooling for the cylinder heads. Evidently, this is aimed at retaining performance standards in the face of tightening emissions regulations.
- The exhaust system has been updated with fully-welded header pipes and new heated oxygen sensors linked to a closed-loop emissions circuit to clamp down on noxious fumes.
And a final attention to the price sheet :
Road King Classic : £17,595 – £18,245
Street Glide : £18,295 – £18,595
Electra Glide Ultra Classic : £20,495 – £21,495
Electra Glide Ultra Limited : £21,395 – £22,395
These are UK prices. Thanks to the Rupee’s nosedive, we aren’t sure of how much you have to shell out for the newest range of Harley-Davidsons. So, are these also coming to India, Harley?
Source: Visordown
