| Author | Message | ||
     Gregtonn |
"They should have put a scoop over the oil cooler." Whata tyin' ta do, get that "ugly side pod" thing goin' again. Geez man I thought we had enough of that.  G.  | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Here's a review in English for you all. http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/harley-davi dson/2008-harleydavidson-xr1200-review-80682.html | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Anyone else notice the Buell XB front fender on the Storz? And I thought I was the only Harley rider that had one:-)  Maybe one day the Motor Company will get around to using floating rotors and adjustable suspension like I have on my 2001 FXDX. Not holding my breath.  | ||
| Trojan |
And while I am nit picking, the cable routing is pure ugly, the gage package is very poorly done (LCD on an XR?) and she sits waaaaay too low. can't say I was impressed with the build quality though, faults in the paint & exhaust shield, & that oil cooler looks very vulnerable, muffler mounting is ugly too. Which is where we come in  Carbon bodywork, single seat, lightweight exhaust, decent instruments anyone? All we need is a bike and we will get the performance parts ball well and truly rolling | ||
| Jlnance |
I was told it has the Buell idler pulley as well. Though I see it has belt tension adjusters on the swingarm. The idler makes less sense if you're gonna do that. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
The idler pulley is behind that fugly exhaust, I'm not sure what it's there for though as the belt tension is, as you say, a standard set up sliding axle by the look of things. I'd have thought if you were having a jockey pulley, you'd use it for belt tension, rather than extra work on the swingarm. But then what would I know? "I'm just the cook" | ||
| Jramsey |
They should have named it Wazzoo Buffalo Chip Cruncher Replica 1200 Mk 1. That thing looks like a warehouse parts cleanup. | ||
| Pammy |
Looks like a mid eighties Honda to me. It looks square and heavy. Just my opinion. I bet it will sell like gang busters.... | ||
| Tramp |
Again, it's a pretty direct throwback to the '71 Super Glide (with a nod to the '80s Storz), which, in a chicken & egg world, the 80s Honda as likely was emulating. I have always liked the look of Sporties, and detested the ride at the same time. That being said, I borrowed a brother's Storz in the '90s, and tore ass on it all over the Bay Area, rt.s 84, 92, 1, skyline, 9, and every little rivulet between Scott's valley, Bonny Doon and Los Gatos (avoiding, of course, 17). I can attest to the wonderful characteristics of the Storz, despite it's overall similarity in geometry to the Sporty. That being said, I preferred my S2, but it someohwo lacked that gravel-seeking-hotfoot-slider appeal in the gut afforded by the Strolz. (I blasted down to Soledad with it to enjoy some oval work....goddam nirvana, that scoot) Until I ride it, I'll hold off on performance predictions for this new Sporty. | ||
| Regkittrelle |
4C synopsized this in a single word, "committee.' I'm sure someone will prove me wrong but I ... at least.. strongly believe that the best (aesthetically) designs come from a single strong mind (as do the worst designs, by the way). That is why so many stunning designs come from very small outfits or, in the case of Ducati, a large company with a very strong, passionate designer backed up by a mission statement that emphasizes great design. The old saw, "a camel is a horse designed by a committee" is truer than ever. The proble at Harley is that too many people and entities get their whacks at a concept. There is no way in hell that the concept drawing of the XR is as cobbled as the production version. Companies will mouth "close to, "and in the spirit of," but the fact is all the requisite committees effectively trash a good design. For me, proof of this can be found with Buells; check out the lines of a tuber vs. and XB. The closer the project was to Erik, the better it looked. All of which means little. When it is sold here (and it will be) it will quickly find a receptive audience. All the committees will high-five and gloat. And the poor sap who sketched out the original design will think, "What happened?" | ||
| Tramp |
Really conjures up (for me, at least) the tale of discrete perception of the blind men and the elephant: They all describe the elephant, and the man near the tail describes it as being like a tall lion, the man at the trunk describes the elephant as a python, the man near a leg describes it as being a living iambic column, etc. They might call this scoot the XRD, "D" for discrete. (Message edited by tramp on June 21, 2008) | ||
| Madduck |
Harley has been selling bikes like this for over a hundred years. Every single model of theirs screams out to be "fixed" in some way by the end user. See the giant parts/accesories catalog. This motorcycle will make a lot of people, including Harley, some real coin on accessories and the labor to fix all these "defects". This is one area where Buell misses the boat completely. Most dealers make at least as much profit on the accesories and performance mods as they do on the bike sale. Want happy Buell dealers give em something to add on that the customers want. | ||
| 46champ |
you know Paul you just might have something there. I never thought about the need for under 100 dollar accessories. | ||
| Beachbuell |
I want one! | ||
| Brumbear |
I am gonna buy one if the cash holds out | ||
| Doerman |
Mr Grumpy, are customer lining up for the XR1200 in EU (and France specifically)? | ||
| Trojan |
Mr Grumpy, are customer lining up for the XR1200 in EU (and France specifically)? I don't know about France, but there have been over 600 deposits placed in the UK for the XR1200, which is around 500 more than the 1125R had pre-launch. The XR will sell like hot cakes over here, and all indications are that it will do the same when it arrives in the USA. Apart from some quality control issues on pre-production test bikes, every road test I have read has been extremely positive. In fact much more positive than any of the recent Buell model launches. Considering that the UK mainstream press are not exactly enamoured with Harleys this is some achievement by the MoCo, and could see a lot of sportsbike riders buying the XR. In the UK and Europe there is such a huge increase in speed cameras and restrictions that 180mph Superbikes are starting to become irrelevant for road use, and we are seeing more and more people switching to 'retro' and naked styled bikes that deliver fun at sensible speeds rather than having to go at silly speeds to get any thrills. We are certainly gearing up for the XR to sell very well indeed  | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Trojan is on the money. The sales guy at the dealers said that he had 5 or 6 guys in line with chequebook ready, all they wanted was to see it & sit on it before signing. As I said before I wasn't that impressed with the quality of the finish, but that's not what this bike's about, or what HD is about, this is the canvas you paint your own picture on. This bike is going to be BIG it looks good in the flesh (but not so good that you won't spend more money on it), it's got power out of the box (& more available if you want to spend some cash). You can cruise with the bandana & tassels crowd, & you won't be that far behind your sportbike/roadster riding friends either. It's a halfway house between a Sportster & a Buell for those who want the lifestyle but with decent performance, handling & braking. I wouldn't count on a US launch too soon as I imagine they'll want to satisfy European demand before the US market, plus all this talk is going to give HD the best & cheapest publicity they could want. HD are in a no lose situation if it goes well this side of the pond they're making good $ on the exports. If it goes well in the US they look like geniuses, if it doesn't go well in the US they just say "Well it was never meant for this market" & it hardly cost diddly either. | ||
| Tramp |
To me, at least, it's just refreshing to see HD trying something performance-esque that's not a V-Rod. Almost gives HD the feel of being a motorcycle company, again.... kinda like getting a nice, simple hot dog at a "Chili's" | ||
| Trojan |
Our XR1200 gets delivered on Monday and by Tuesday it will be in pieces getting parts made and measured Termignoni have already released a race exhaust system, adn hopefully we'll have some carbon parts ready by the middle of July. | ||
| Tramp |
is this engine, in any way, a higher performance model than that of the standard Sportster that HD presently offers? | ||
| Trojan |
is this engine, in any way, a higher performance model than that of the standard Sportster that HD presently offers? Absolutely. The engine is pretty much Buell spec except for the cylinder heads, which although sharing the same valves have a new casting with extra oil cooling passages to cool the exhaust port areas. Power is 90bhp at the crank, and that is only down on the Buell because the airbox is smaller and the exhaust more restrictive. I am confident we can have it producing over 100bhp pretty easily by getting rid of the restrictions and a few other tweaks. Biggest drawback of the stock bike is the weight, although again this will be easy to address. losing around 40kg should be relatively simple and would certainly make a big difference. The bike shares some chassis components such as brake rotors and calipers with the current rubber mount 1200 Sportster and the frame is only mildly modified, although it has all new USD forks and shocks, plus a new cast alloy swingarm. Suspension is unadjustable but specific to this model. None of the road tests have felt this to be a disadvantage and the bike doesn't seem to suffer for it. We will be offering replacement multi adjustable rear shocks with more ride height and are looking into replacement fork cartridges to improve things further. | ||
| Doerman |
Ah.. I get it. It is the resurrected tuber, indeed! This should make Rocket happy. | ||
| Tombo |
I like the XR 1200 and am glad it is getting good press from motorcyclist, but it is rather interesting to compare the verbiage used to describe the XR in contrast to that used for any Buell ten years ago. The 91 hp at the crank seems to be plenty for the XR with all of its torque, but the 101 from a 98 S3 is underpowered. It's handleing is nearly on par with any contemporary naked bike, but that did not seem to be the case for a tube frame Buell weighing 100 lbs less. It would be fun to see an XR 1200 compared to an S1 or S3, or perhaps a 99 M2. | ||
| Anonymous |
Yanks, just wait....they did kill the XL1200R for 2009..... | ||
| Tramp |
Why did you have to post that post as "anonymous"? | ||
| Djkaplan |
"...losing around 40kg should be relatively simple and would certainly make a big difference." That's almost 90 lbs. Simple perhaps... but it doesn't sound like it'll be cheap. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Exhaust goes, passenger pegs, standard stock wheels, dual disc brakes gone (replace with Buell 5 stars and ZTL perimeter braking) Possibly lighter rear shocks and a alloy swing arm. I just dont see 90 lbs coming off the bike and keeping it road legal. Now if I get to scrap the lights, turn signals, mirrors, rear seat deck, license plate.... Cripes criminy I might as well get a race license and build a g-d XR750. I like the style, I love the look, I have to have one in orange, but I dont think it will pull the way my Buell does, stop or handle. shes a touch bit porky. I think it would be easier for me to loose 90 lbs  Looks like I am back on the diet wagon. | ||
| Tramp |
....What I'd really prefer to see is a Buell that's manufactured w/Standard/Flat track stylings: Wide bars, neutral peg position, XR-shaped tank (do-able in polyethylene), flat saddle, no fairing, number plate headlight, all with a Buell frame. This would be the better direction from which to approach a flat-track-appearing, sporty-engined scoot, as opposed to the turd-polishing approach of trying to lighten that sporty platform.... Sporties feel to me like Vintage Schwinns recast in lead, with Dodge 318s shakily welded to them. (Message edited by tramp on June 30, 2008) | ||
| Tramp |
Of course, one could always go the pristine, concourse route with regard to showbike styling....  |
