It'sThatGuy
Member
- Apr 7, 2008
- 100
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If by 'sport bikes' you mean something like Honda CBR, Suzuki GSX-R or Yamaha R1/R6, those bikes are really very serious and single-purpose, almost a racing bike for the street. Of course you know Harley developed as a company making racing bikes, starting with wood-track racing of 100 years ago, going through flat-track racing of the 1950s/60s. But what was a 'sport bike' in those days was different.
Buell makes real sport-bikes, meaning more general-purpose bikes that are sporty and fun to ride, and you ride them to have a good time, not to push the envelope and beat someone else's time by a tenth of a second. The V-Twin engine is more general-purpose in that it doesn't sacrifice everything for raw horsepower in a narrow powerband. Buells are very popular and I could see owning one someday.
Harley is a victim of its own success. They make cruisers and their customers don't want to see anything too new or innovative if it changes the look and 'form factor' of the bike. Even the V-Rod, a total departure technically, has to look like the air-cooled, rigid framed Harleys of old. They have almost become antique replicas of themselves. So it's not just that they don't want to compete with the Japanese at what they do best, but they CAN'T. If you want a GSX-R, you're going to buy a GSX-R.
Buell makes real sport-bikes, meaning more general-purpose bikes that are sporty and fun to ride, and you ride them to have a good time, not to push the envelope and beat someone else's time by a tenth of a second. The V-Twin engine is more general-purpose in that it doesn't sacrifice everything for raw horsepower in a narrow powerband. Buells are very popular and I could see owning one someday.
Harley is a victim of its own success. They make cruisers and their customers don't want to see anything too new or innovative if it changes the look and 'form factor' of the bike. Even the V-Rod, a total departure technically, has to look like the air-cooled, rigid framed Harleys of old. They have almost become antique replicas of themselves. So it's not just that they don't want to compete with the Japanese at what they do best, but they CAN'T. If you want a GSX-R, you're going to buy a GSX-R.