[PugslyCat]

H-D 21 Virtual Launch Event January 19th, 2021

Hear from Harley-Davidson leaders, bike designers, engineers and apparel makers on all that’s coming to your local dealer in 2021. Follow the link below to sign up.

2021 Virtual Product Launch Event | Harley-Davidson USA (harley-davidson.com)
Tuesday, January 19, 10:00 AM CST / 16:00 UTC

I'm sure we're going to have a lively discussion about what is and is not in the product line announcement. There are bound to be a few surprises.

Several months ago it was widely discussed that all Sportsters, the Sport Glide and the Softail Deluxe were being discontinued. Well, the Sportsters have been discontinued in some markets. Another forum has pictures of a 2021 Sportster, and a Sport Glide being unloaded at a dealership in the United States. They aren't just dying on the vine, either. The Sportster had a new paint scheme and the Sport Glide now gets bags painted to match the bike.

Most of us will be wanting to see what future the Street family of bikes has. This event is where we will get the official word from Harley-Davidson. We know that the Bawal, India factory where our bikes are made for the overseas market has been closed. We know that paperwork has been filed in the EU to drop the Streets and Sportster from the line due to inability to meet the Euro5 clean air standards. On the other hand we have seen some reporting of at least the Street 500 being in the online accessories catalog for 2021.

 

[Lesblank]

It's going to be interesting with HD new leadership to find out what direction the future brings.

 

[PugslyCat]

Well that was kind of a big fizzle. I never found information on how to join the online event that I had registered for, so what I know is what I have gleaned from the H-D website.

It's official that H-D won't be making any more of the Street family of bikes. We know that for most markets that has been the case since the closure of the Bawal, India plant that handled overseas production. There was a glimmer of hope in some reporting that Street 500's were going to continue another year for markets where it worked for progressive licensing schemes. That is not to be.

This is not to say that support of bikes is going to stop overnight. H-D continues to provide parts and even some accessories for discontinued models such as Dynas, V-Rods, and older versions of many other models that continue in name after redesigns (Sportsters and pre-2018 Softails come to mind). H-D will continue to service our bikes.

Make no mistake about it, though, we will be leaning on third party manufacturers for more of our accessories and each other for advice. I encourage everybody to feel free to come to this forum for advice and assistance and for our members to chime in with what they know about the questions that arise.

 

[Lesblank]

I'll agree about lack of info. I'm off from work today and have tried to find factual info. A lot seems to still up in the air. The 500 looks to be officially on the lineup this year.

But the future of the 750 not so bright.

 

[PugslyCat]

Good to know because I'm not seeing the Street 500 on the H-D web site any longer. Is it possibly a dealer only item if they need more Rider Academy bikes? It will be interesting to see what the folks in countries with progressive licensing systems are seeing, as some of those had the Street 500 available last year when it wasn't on the H-D web site in the United States.

Your list also includes the Bronx, which H-D isn't talking about anymore. A few months ago they said it wasn't going to be introduced at this time. They didn't say whether it was cancelled or delayed, which has caused a lot of speculation. Apparently somebody figured out that announcing future bikes and not getting them to the sales floor for a number of years was a bad idea, so they just aren't saying anything about new models until they are really ready to release them.

 

[PugslyCat]

RideApart has an article that confirms some of this: The End Of Harley-Davidson's Entry-Level Streets Era

In the article they state "Our contact answered that the company will continue to supply Street 500s to H-D Riding Academy dealers for training, but declined to comment about any future models." I'm thinking it's going to be a dealer only item for which they will run a batch each fall or spring on a pre-order basis.