In what loyalists call a sacrilege, Harley-Davidson Inc has its first new line of motorcycles in more than a decade -- a high-performance bike with a liquid-cooled engine.
The specs are a turnoff to old Hells Angels types who love the roar and shake of the classic Dyna or the Road King.
But industry analysts say the Milwaukee-based company is trying to broaden its appeal to younger, richer Americans and buyers in Europe and Asia.
PHOTO: AP
The VRSCA V-Rod line, with a base price of US$16,995, will be officially unveiled July 16 in Los Angeles and start rolling out of Harley's Kansas City, Missouri, factory this fall.
It's the first Harley with a liquid-cooled engine, exposed frame and Porsche-developed powertrain designed to make it faster and lighter than the typical Hog.
However, the company's loyal legion of unshaven fans -- who have long shunned sleek foreign performance bikes _ already say the V-Rod threatens a nearly century-old tradition.
"Ugly," said Harley rider Joe Black of Houston.
"Expensive," added Steve Mullen of Oldsmar, Florida.
Analysts, however, counter that Harley-Davidson is at a critical crossroads and must reach beyond its aging US market to lure buyers who favor speed and handling over classic looks and noise.
"There is only a finite pool of big guys with bellies and beards going around, and Harley has to get away from the rough-and-tumble image," said Joseph Yurman, an analyst at Bear Stearns.
The V-Rod engine is designed to deliver 115 horsepower at more than 8,250 rpm -- specifications more closely associated with so-called "performance" bikes made by Japan's Yamaha Motor Co, Suzuki Motor Corp. and Italy's Ducati Motor Holding SpA.
Harley CEO Jeffrey Bleustein acknowledged that the V-Rod breaks from Harley's reputation as the ultimate cruising bike. The goal, he said, is to marry the company's existing line with something speedier. The concept is largely unexplored in the US$18 billion US motorcycle market, analysts said.
Harley-Davidson, founded in 1903, has long been the uncontested market leader in big cruiser bikes, and even without the V-Rod, it is expected to capture about 62 percent of that sector this year -- about 100,000 sales.
Don Brown of Irvine, California, an independent analyst who follows the motorcycle industry, said Harley also led its competitors in overall US sales in 1999, but lost that spot to American Honda Motor Co last year and is expected to lose more ground this year.
The competition is expected to get even tougher now that Harley has set its sights on a market that has so far eluded it -- wealthy males between 35 and 44 years old. There are about 22 million males in that age group and 50,000 are considered potential buyers.
So far, most of them have been buying Japanese bikes such as the Yamaha Road Star Warrior and Honda VTX and Gold Wing models.
Meanwhile, Harley customers are aging. The average owner is now 45, up from 38 a decade ago. Twenty percent of owners are now 55 or older.
"If you don't replace those people, then your consumer base dies off," said Tim Conder, who follows Harley for AG Edwards & Sons Inc.
"This is their way to begin to reorient themselves to the performance side of the market -- to say that Harley is not just a big, old bike, but that it also has some pretty significant technology behind it," he said.
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