Harley-Davidson will introduce an entry-level bike subsequent yr, which is name for celebration.
For long-time readers of RideApart, you may know that I’ve been absolutely on Harley to construct one thing that is actually an entry-level motorcycle. One thing that is not a Sportster, actually, as regardless of it being considerably low cost amongst new bikes, and the model’s most cheap providing, it is nonetheless a heavy, excessive horsepower, $10,000 bike. It takes talent a newbie does not must experience one. That, my mates, is not entry-level something.
But, whereas Harley themselves will admit that almost all of us’ entrant into the model is the aftermarket, that does not assist the struggling Motor Co. rescue itself from years of catering purely towards the previous, monied Boomer crowd who ate up FX’s Sons of Anarchy. It desperately must inject new blood to maintain its 100-year historical past alive, which is one thing I wish to see, too.
What it wants is one thing to problem Triumph, Kawasaki, Honda, and most of all, Royal Enfield. Small-displacement bikes with low MSRPs, however ones that may keep it up the Harley-Davidson custom. And, apparently, that is precisely what’s coming subsequent yr, based on outgoing CEO Jochen Zeitz.
And it is referred to as the Dash.
The soon-to-be-gone CEO informed buyers of the Dash’s existence on the most recent earnings name, during which he acknowledged that the group had been engaged on the bike since 2021. Why it took 5 years to supply when Harley-Davidson already has a handful of small-displacement bikes along with Qianjiang Motors and Hero—i.e. the X350 and X440—I do not know.
However Zeitz hinted that not solely would this new Dash not be based mostly on these two, however that it was a ground-up new structure, telling buyers, “We imagine that how we have engineered this product, it will likely be worthwhile.” The engineering of stated bike is the giveaway that it is a new factor, as Harley would not must do something to engineer the X350 or X440 bikes as the corporate is already promoting these, and utilizing them as coaching bikes in its wildly profitable new rider program.
As to what the bike will likely be, Harley’s remaining mum. The one trace Zeitz gave was that there’d be a future cruiser mannequin based mostly on the Dash’s structure, which tells me that the bike would possibly resemble one thing extra alongside the strains of the Pan-America or certainly one of Royal Enfield’s or Triumph’s small-displacement bikes.
A miniaturized Fatboy, this ain’t gonna be.
The Dash will supposedly bow both late this yr or early subsequent if Harley-Davidson stays trustworthy to that 2026 debut, so we’d wish to begin preparing round EICMA. However after years of me harping on the model, I am stoked to see Harley-Davidson lastly get with the instances. Fingers crossed this works out better than LiveWire has…
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