Ramblings From Justin Penney

This week Harley-Davidson released an new model in the Sportster line that they have named "Iron 883". It's a very black Sportster with a satin finish on the paint. The overall feel is like that of the Nightster, the motorcycle I currently own. The Nightster has the larger Sportster motor, 1200 cc, while the Iron 883 has the small 883 cc version.

This thing hasn't even hit the streets and name calling and being pissed at Harley-Davidson is already rampant. Sportsters from 1957 through 1985 are nicknamed ironheads as the engine heads were made of iron. So now the ironhead owners are all in a tizzy because this new model is called iron, but it's not an ironhead.

There seems to be a pretty large group of Sportster owners that were upset about the Nightster being so awesome looking and are now directing their hate toward the Iron 883 as a Night Lite. Great. It's hilarious to see the same group that bitch about their Sportster being called a Skirtster then pick on the people that buy the small one.

Kind of related, I recently had a non-motorcycle riding guy ask if my Sportster was the little one, or the big one. The teenager in my head thought, "Even if it's the little one, I've got the big ones for riding it." I didn't say that, instead I said, "it's the big one."

I kind of feel bad for Harley as they have more than 100 years of baggage to drag around. The V-rod is still pretty marginal, Buell never really took off, and Harley is still mostly making fat bikes for fat old men. When they do look at what people are doing to their bikes, and respond in a fairly timely manner, the get chastised for chasing trends or not sticking to their heritage. So instead they should stick with the tired trend of chaps and beanie helmets with doo rags. Which is a pretty funny combination: the legs are protected, but the head is not.

I think Harley's "Dark Custom" series is a great way for them to broaden their appeal. They won me over (for a while at least) and I never thought I would own a Harley. Even my Dad was speechless for a few moments after I bought mine.

Do Triumph and Ducati receive the same complaints? I don't really see a lot of people railing against the Bonnevilles or GT1000s.

# posted by Justin @ 10:37 PM