There is a saying that goes - “There’s only one way to really understand Harley Davidson. Ride one.” All this while, this statement made complete sense of a brute machine that lets you cruise around in the brawniest fashion. But now, Harley is taking a whole new approach with the LiveWire electric motorcycles and a brand new segment – the naked streetfighter.

Yes, the Milwaukee brand is expanding its line of middleweight models with its first-ever streetfighter motorcycle that is planned for the 2020 year. This news comes along with the showcasing of its first-ever adventure bike, Pan-America, in a bid to bring new people to the brand from new markets across the world.

It's weird to have the 'Bar and Shield' on a streetfighter. But its happening and I'll probably take two of these.

As part of its brand new “More Roads to Harley-Davidson” growth plan through 2022, HD has showcased multiple concepts under electric motorcycles, adventure-tourers, customs, and this streetfighter being the prominent ones. Surprisingly, Harley is also developing a more accessible, small-displacement product for the Asian markets.

“Unapologetic modern style with enough performance and agility to carve through city streets.” Is how Harley puts a structure to its brand-new streetfighter. Taking the game to the likes of Ducati, Triumph and KTM, the machine will be built around a new 975cc liquid-cooled 60-degree V-twin platform with a larger cylinder head, a revolution of the already existing 883 cc and 1200 cc Sportster engine.

We don’t have much information about the machine yet, except for a couple of photos of the pre-production version that indicates this Harley is running on 17 inchers wrapped with slick street tires. Beefy USD forks and mono shocks will be handling the suspension while dual Brembo Monobloc radial calipers up front with huge 320 mm disks will halt the machine.

Replacing the age-old air-cooled mill that is running the show since the ‘80s, these new liquid-cooled power monsters will be making lower tailpipe emissions and a few more horses to compete in the hottest segment at the moment. This will allow the chaps at HD to snug fit the mill with the intention it making it a tad bit sleeker than the air-cooled ones. Power will be delivered via a belt drive and the gearbox will probably even feature a quickshifter and a slipper clutch.

The tubular steel frame is probably borrowed from the custom/roadster unit but gets an all-new swingarm setup to heighten handling experiences. Carbon-fiber fenders, LED lighting all around, TFT instrumentation, minimalistic angular bodywork with aggressive styling, stainless-steel exhaust, stainless steel brake lines, rear-mounted foot controls, bar-end mirrors are a few of those giving this Streetfighter 975 the needed oomph factor.

All of this comes in as a surprising change in the corporate stance where Harley Davidson has gone on record showcasing its future plans over the next five years in great detail. Blowing the door wide open, HD gave us a peek at all their new products coming in the next five years including new internal combustion engines (500cc, 750cc, 975cc and 1,250cc) that will go onto 16 new models.

The first to hit the streets will, however, be its first electric motorcycle, LiveWire, in 2019. It will be the first in a broad, no-clutch “twist and go” portfolio of products that will put the company right in the center of the electric race.