Harley-Davidson

At the 2019 EICMA show in Milan, the Bar & Shield brand pulled the curtains off their brand-new, strategically developed machines that will bring them a new bunch of riders, ones who’ve never looked inside its shops before. Behold the “Bronx” and the “Pan-America.”

Paving the company into the Streetfighter and the ADV touring category, the Bronx and the Pan-America are the first babies of Harley’s “More Roads to Harley-Davidson” growth plan through 2022, though it all started with the launch of its first electric, no-clutch “twist and go” LiveWire.

These new motorcycles will be powered by the company’s new 60-degree V-twin Revolution Max engine that is supposed to be like nothing seen on a Harley before. The Milwaukee brand hasn’t divulged much information, but enough to just keep us excited through to their launch sometime towards the end of 2020. We’ve gathered them around here for a pre-production review of the Pan-America 1250 Adventure Tourer.

2020 is the year the Bar & Shield brand will be aggressively trying on new markets, and the first leg is already underway with the launch of its first electric, no-clutch “twist and go” LiveWire. As part of its “More Roads to Harley-Davidson” growth plan through 2022, this year’s EICMA witnessed Harley-Davidson unpacking their first-ever models, paving the company into the Streetfighter and the ADV category.

Rightly called the “Bronx” and the “Pan-America,” these new babies will be powered by the company’s new Revolution Max engine. Harley hasn’t divulged much information, but enough to just keep us excited through to their launch sometime towards the end of 2020. We’ve gathered them around here for a pre-production review of the Bronx. The Pan-America will follow suit.

Woo wee sports fans; it’s show season once again in Milan, Italy, and as always there’s plenty to see on the world stage at EICMA 2019. This year we see the return of Bimota in partnership with none other than Japanese giant Kawasaki, new EV bikes and scooters, and new adventure bikes from both Husqvarna and Harley-Davidson with the latter checking in with a new sport/street machine as well. There just ain’t enough hours in a day to cover every single detail, so today I’m going to grab a handful of the most significant bikes to be revealed so far.

The beginning of this century saw the world views changing gradually towards climate change and the need to preserve the environment. This, along with stringent policies, has forced the manufacturers to develop motorcycles that can run cleaner fuel and extract the maximum economy from it, sometimes even at the cost of performance.

Bad news for people who seek the element of thrill, but a pretty good one for someone living in urban jungles where folks prefer commuting on a motorcycle rather thank a car for its practicality and frugal fuel-efficiency. Then there are us few who love the idea of putting serious miles on two-wheels and living the adventure.

We here have compiled a list to give you the best available tools for such situations and save some money on gas while at it.

Harley-Davidson expands the Sportster family with the new-in-2018 Iron 1200. Retro is in, so the ’70s-esque paint and custom touches drawn from that era give the Iron 1200 plenty of nostalgic value. Power comes from the venerable Evolution engine to the tune of 73 pound-feet of torque to give this ride modern performance that belies the dated veneer. A classic dish with custom spices, the new Iron 1200 raises the Iron stable’s displacement ceiling to draw new customers from a market that has been in decline for over a decade.

When Harley-Davidson makes changes to the Iron 883, they stay faithful to at least one important aspect – performance. While XL models have never been known as ’fast’ bikes, they certainly have a well-deserved reputation as ’quick’ bikes. Nothing in the Harley world comes out of the hole like a Sporty, or handles the corners like one, and the Iron 883 maintains that tradition with aplomb. Bikes like this show how the XL line has not only survived, but also thrived in the entry-level and sport-minded American markets.

No doubt about it, EV technology is coming on in leaps and bounds across the board, and the motorcycle field is no exception. There are a few domestic marques working on electric bikes at the moment such as the electro-centric Zero Motorcycles and the Harley-Davidson Motor Company, the former of which makes nothing but EV bikes and the latter offers only a single entry with its new LiveWire. There’s a third option in the lees with the Brammo-based Empulse model that was just starting to make a name for itself when its carrier, Victory Motorcycles, went tits up. That machine still falls under the Polaris umbrella along with Indian Motorcycle and we expect to see it again sooner rather than later, but we aren’t there just yet so let’s focus on what is actually ready to hit the road as of this writing.

Harley-Davidson’s Custom Vehicle Operations division was at it again with a revised CVO Street Glide model in 2019. The newest “SG” sports a new Boom! Box infotainment system with some serious speaker packages. Power comes from the Milwaukee-Eight 117 and brings its “guns” to the table with oodles of torque and a new color band as a model-year identifier.

Harley-Davidson revamped its Street Glide Special yet again for the 2019 model year in an effort to keep it “special.” First, the factory stuffed the largest non-CVO engine into the frame. Then it boosted the infotainment potential with the new Boom! Box GTS system. Color choices span the spectrum so there should be something for everyone on the palette.

Harley-Davidson kicked its Road Glide Ultra to the curb from its touring lineup ahead of MY2020 in favor of its new FLTRK Road Glide Limited. The Road Glide Limited takes touring comfort and safety up a notch with a host of new electronic features to go with its already-fabulous Infotainment system, and it all comes wrapped in a premium paint along with special bits of bling to finish off the package. Best of all, Harley powers the Road Glide Limited with its second largest production engine, the 1,868 cc Milwaukee-Eight 114 that brings over 100 pounds o’ grunt to the table for your touring enjoyment.

Harley-Davidson’s Tri Glide has always been a top-shelf machine, but the MoCo takes it to the Nth degree with its CVO treatment. The Custom Vehicle Operations division is where bikes, and in this case trikes, go to be elevated to greatness, and the 2020 CVO Tri Glide is a better example than usual as Harley uses it as a platform for all its all new electronic goodies. H-D joins the 21st century with its Reflex Defensive Rider Systems that counters the inherent issues with the traditional two-in-back trike layout to make this a machine that can compete with the burgeoning Delta-trike sector. Best of all, H-D powers the CVO Tri Glide with its largest production engine to date, the Milwaukee-Eight 117 Twin-Cooled Engine that churns out well over 100 pound-feet of torque with not one but two generous contact patches to put the power to the pavement.

Harley-Davidson’s cruiser line isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind for a performance-oriented street machine, but that changes with its newly refurbished Softail Low Rider S model. The steering geometry is sharpened for the sake of agility, and as for power, the torque-rich, Milwaukee-Eight 114 engine delivers the goods with well over 100 pounds o’ grunt ready to be unleashed on the public roads. Harley gives the Low Rider S with coastal-style design touches that sets it apart from the pack and begs for customization.

Harley-Davidson announces new models and new technology for 2020, as standard on some models and as options on others. New Softail models, a new CVO, and some long-awaited technology finally arrive to bring Harley closer to the 21th century than it has ever been before.

Harley-Davidson, just like many other motorbike makers and even carmakers that are trying to stay relevant today and tomorrow, is looking at ways to expand its range into previously unexplored niches. One such step for the American company is the introduction of the $30,000, 2020 LiveWire all-electric motorcycle, a machine that’s powerful and torquey enough to take you from 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds. But how about the little ones? Well, as of recently, Harley-Davidson has them covered as well, thanks to two new electric balance bikes dubbed Irone12 and Irone16. Let’s see what they’re made of.