Bikesrepublic

harley davidson

  • Kumpulan pemilik Harley-Davidson Petaling Jaya, HOGPJ, telah menganjurkan satu tunggangan bagi menikmati satu hidangan yang istimewa pada hujung minggu lalu.
  • Hampir 100 orang peserta telah menyertai satu konvoi ke Segamat, Johor yang terkenal dengan udang galah.
  • Tunggangan kali ini telah dikawal selia dengan mahir sekali dari awal sehingga ke penghujungnya.

(more…)

  • Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya’s owners group chapter, HOGPJ organized a ride for some great food over the weekend.

  • Nearly 100 participants showed up to the ride to Segamat, Johor for the famous udang galah (crayfish).

  • The ride was expertly marshalled from start to finish.

Things are up and fully for Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya (HDPJ) and their riders’ chapter, Harley Owners Group PJ (HOGPJ).

Harley-Davidson owners can always look forward to many fun activities that are organized by HOG and their respective dealerships. So far, there’ve been many such rides that started from HDPJ based at The Gasket Alley.

But as Malaysian bikers, there are two things that we love: Motorcycle and food. Not necessarily in that order. As such, HOGPJ organized a “food ride” this weekend. Called “HOGPJ Udang Galah Ride,” the participants rode to the sleepy town of Segamat in Johore for the famous udang galah (crayfish) lunch.

The organizers had targeted 75 participants, but the number swelled to nearly 100 just prior to the pre-ride briefing. While most riders are experienced in convoy riding, the HOG marshals knew they had their job cut out for them and they took their tasks seriously. Harley-Davidson and HOG are nothing if not for their expertly organized rides.

After the marshals were briefed, it was the participants next. The briefing was quite detailed as compared to other rides we’ve covered, but the main difference was the Head Marshal leading the participants in a warm up session. They guided through some stretching and deep breathing exercises.

From HDPJ it was a straight ride to the Ayer Keroh RnR for the Sportsters to fill up their peanut tanks. The participants were disciplines and adhered to HOG’s recommended convoy etiquette.

Refueling was a fast process as the marshals ran a “pit stop” refueling style: The owner left his/her bike with the marshals, went to pay for the fuel, and the marshals filled up the bike.

We continued our way to Segamat by exiting the North-South Expressway at the Tangkak exit. The pace was good as it kept us cool despite the sun particularly hot on this day. We were also escorted by the Traffic Police thus we didn’t have to stop and get hot. Indeed, we were told during the briefing that HOG will always notify the police prior to their rides.

We reached RZ Restoran just in time for lunch. Participants parked their bikes quickly to get out of the sun and helped themselves to the iced drinks.

The restaurant had already set out the food for us in the air-conditioned section, consisting of the all-famous udang galah in fried, sambal and lemak styles, plenty of tasty vege, crispy fried chicken, fried fish, and much more. A few Harley riding friends of this writer once remarked that the Malaysia HOG unofficial mantra is “Eat to Ride, Ride to Eat,” certainly in relation to our love for great food, and that passion to ride to faraway places just for a meal. Can’t argue with that.

We rode back the same way we came from after lunch and the customary group photos. Again, the group kept the formation as tight as possible on the highway until the Seremban RnR before we went our separate ways.

To find out more about Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Harley Owners Group PJ, please visit Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya’s official Facebook page or visit them at the location below.

PICTURE GALLERY

  • Harley-Davidson has confirmed that it will be producing an adventure bike to take on BMW, Ducati, Triumph and even Yamaha and KTM. 
  • The bike is powered by a 1250cc engine from the Harley-Davidson Custom. 
  • It will feature typical adventure bike features such as an aluminium belly pan, a chain drive and a neutral sitting position.

Wow, just wow. Wow again. Could anyone have ever imagined that Harley-Davidson would be producing something as radical and out of this world as this? Meet the Pan America, a dual-purpose bike by Harley-Davidson that has been confirmed for production.

Harley-Davidson’s have always stayed true to their design and heritage, and even when they built wild performance bikes, they still looked like a proper Harley. So it is good to see such an iconic brand breaking out of its self created mould and venturing past its comfort zone.

It is obviously an adventure-touring motorcycle, the likes of a BMW GSA or a Ducati Multistrada, this Harley-Davidson Pan America will probably be positioned upmarket to retain its exclusivity, but yet at the same time, be hardcore enough to take Harley owners to places they could never before venture into. Hello mud and sand and rocks and everything else that a Road Glide doesn’t like.

The Pan America is powered by the same 60-degree 1,250cc engine that is powering the also freshly introduced Harley-Davidson Custom. The engine may probably be tuned different to offer more pulling power typical of a dual-purpose motorcycle.

There are some other typical DP features here too, such as the trellis rear subframe, an aluminium skid plate, Brembo high-performance brakes, and a chain drive.

According to online reports but unconfirmed by Harley-Davidson, the frame uses a cast middle section that connects the swingarm and subframe with a large backbone. This then connects to the inverted fork. There is no information yet about the overall suspension package, but you can expect it to be comfortable.

Up front, the design of the bike is seriously unique. Love it or hate it, the blunt nose and long, horizontal headlight is typical Harley-Davidson, and the three-piece windshield is also adjustable.

Harley-Davidson has been making bikes that are able to comfortably crunch miles, so it is probably not too much to assume that the Pan America will probably be a very capable mile cruncher, considering the very wide and very flat seat.

As you can see from the promotional video below, the Pan America seems to be a very capable bike. And considering the fact that Harley-Davidson has massive resources and a very capable R&D department, the Pan America might just be seriously good at what it does from the get go. But whether or not it will be a true to form dual-purpose bike like the Yamaha Super Tenere or even the Triumph Tiger XCX remains to be seen.

  • New Harley-Davidson Custom is part of Harley-Davidson’s plans for the next 5 years. 
  • It is confirmed for production and could be introduced next year as a 2020 model year. 
  • It is powered by a new 1,250cc engine. 

We would be bluffing if we said we didn’t drop our jaws at what could be the all-new Harley-Davidson Sportster for 2020. It looks like something Wolverine would ride right into the heat of battle. Whatever it is, the new Harley-Davidson 1,250cc Custom is stunning.

It features the classic cruiser design lingo with a low and long stance that gives it a hardcore roadster like stance. And powered by a 1,250cc, liquid-cooled, V-twin engine, you can expect this bike to be quite a beast.

Harley-Davidson has not released much details besides this photo and some information regarding its engine such as the fact that the engine uses a 60-degree V configuration. The cylinder heads are also unusually large and our source suggests that the engine could feature a dual-overhead-cam valve train. Also from the photo you can tell that the cylinders do not have any fins for cooling, which means the engine relies on a water-to-air radiator to keep the engine running at its ideal temperature.

The engine may look visually similar to the 975cc unit powering the Streetfighter (click to read about the new Streetfighter), but the displacement is obviously different, suggesting that Harley-Davidson could be building two variants of the same engine.

Watch Harley-Davidson’s promotional video below, showcasing its past, future plans, and the 4 new models it plans to introduce next year.

Just like the Streetfighter, the engine is mounted inside a blacked-out tubular steel frame, with multiple engine-mounts located in front and behind the cylinder heads. The swing-arm has obviously been stretched and elongated to accommodate the massive 16-inch Pirelli tyre. The rear suspension is kept out of view but the front is obviously managed by an inverted fork with a 17-inch front rim kept in check by a pair of hydraulic disc brakes.

The sitting position appears to be a mix of performance and comfort, suggested by the forward-mounted foot controls and the tracker-style handlebars.

From the photo, you can also make out other aesthetic features such as the cable-actuated clutch, Fat-Bob style LED headlights, and dropped mirrors positioned beneath the handle bars.

Harley-Davidson has confirmed that it plans to introduce this bike as a production model in 2020 alongside the Pan America and Streetfighter.

  • New Harley-Davidson Streetfigher is set to expand on the American bike maker’s middleweight range of products. 
  • It is the first model to be introduced as the 2020 range of bikes. 
  • Powered by a new liquid-cooled 975cc engine.

It may still be over a year away, but Harley-Davidson has confirmed that this prototype will make it to production for the 2020 model year, which means the production version will be unveiled around the second or third quarter of next year.

Called the Streetfighter, the new Harley-Davidson is powered by a new multi-purpose engine that will power at least three other models.

The water-cooled V-twin engine has a capacity of 975cc and features a 60-degree V configuration with large cylinder heads that hide a pair of double overhead camshafts. As you probably already figured, this will help provide the power and performance that has come to be expected of modern Harley-Davidson’s.

The Harley-Davidson Streetfighter is said to utilise a tubular steel frame that is said to be similar to the new custom and roadster models. However, the massive swingarm is unique to the Streetfighter and is in charge of ensuring the bike is manoeuvrable in corners with masses of grip during fast-paced rides. You don’t expect a bike called Streetfighter to perform poorly around the bends now do you.

Though it may be different on the production model, but the prototype rolls on 17-inch spoke alloy wheels shod with Michelin Pilot Power 2CT tyres measuring in at 120/70-17 at the front, and 180/55-17 at the rear.

Keeping performance in check are a pair of cross-drilled discs up front with a radial-mounted Monoblock callipers from Brembo. The rear on the other hand is managed by a Harley-Davidson branded opposed-piston caliper and single cross-drilled rotor.

As is visible in the photos here, this prototype uses a belt final drive. While suspension set up consists of an inverted fork up front and a vertically mounted shock absorber at the rear.

The new Streetfighter is a more aggressive bike ergonomically with rear-mounted foot controls and a tallish handlebar with rearview mirrors perfectly integrated into the ends of the handlebar. And what is most visible here is the deep cutout on the fuel tank for the rider’s knees, giving riders something to grip on to with during heavy braking.

We will share more information about the new Harley-Davidson Streefighter as it becomes available.

  • Harley-Davidson has launched its Passport to Freedom campaign.

  • Future H-D bike owners can enjoy rebates up to RM2,600 when they purchase a new bike until 30 September 2018.

  • These incentives will help new bike owners in funding for their B Full license, merchandise, parts, accessories, and H.O.G® membership costs.

The folks representing Harley-Davidson here in Malaysia has just launched its premier Passport to Freedom campaign. From now until 30 September 2018, new H-D bike owners can enjoy a number of great rebates that can assist in obtaining their B Full licenses, training costs plus more. (more…)

  • Harley-Davidson has announced its plans to move its production to their plants outside of the US.

  • Due to the trade wars between the US and EU, the import tariff for US-made bikes has been raised by 25%.

  • The President of the United States, Donald Trump, had a few remarks to say about H-D on his Twitter page.

The latest trade wars between the US and the European Union (EU) has resulted in some nasty remarks between a few key parties in the motorcycling industry as well as the President of the United States, Donald Trump. (more…)

  • The Harley-Davidson Sportster 48 is among the most popular Sportster models.
  • It gets its good looks from the iconic fat front tyre and a low profile.
  • But it’s smallish 8-litre tank makes it better suited for urban riding than long distance touring.
  • But if it is style you want then the 48 is the bike you need.
  • The 48 Special gets some retro touches such as chrome highlights and those AMF-era tank stripes.

So where the Harley-Davidson Sportster Iron 1200 is the hardcore chopper with performance that could make a sports bike blush, the Sportster 48 is the chilled out cruiser with a design that looks like it came right off a 60s era vintage Harley.

That iconic fat front tyre, the low slung body, forward controls and single-passenger seat are all meant to make the bike look retro cool. And cool it definitely is.

I have always been a huge fan of the 48. I have a 2014 Sportster 48 and love every bit about it, especially because of its laid-back yet powerful character, and because of its classic good looks of course. So if the weather is not too hot and I am having an easy day, I usually take out the 48.

The Iron 1200 may have that iconic chopper like styling and the ergonomics of it makes you feel totally in control weaving in and out of corners. But the 48 is different, it encourages you to slow down and enjoy the ride, some call it a thinking-man’s bike, the man with a free spirit but yet has places to be and people to see.

The 48 is lower than the Iron, a little over an inch closer to the ground, with a little more rake and trail and a shorter wheelbase. Then of course there are the tyres with the 48 getting beefier 130 section front tyres and a smaller 16 inch rim while the Iron 1200 gets 100 section tyres and bigger 19 inch rims. Both share the same 150/80B 16 rear tyre.

The wheels and the sitting position are the only difference between the two bikes, but the bikes are far from the same. The Iron 1200 lets you carry lower lean angles into corners which means more speed and agility, while the 48 feels like it is hardly done bending over when the foot pegs meet the road.

The build of the bike gives it a heavy metal feel to it, you will come to appreciate the weight of the bike. Cables running down the handle bar and beneath the frame all suggest that this is bike that will give you plenty to customize later on in its life, so you may never get bored of owning it.

Living in Kuala Lumpur means you’re constantly surrounded by traffic, construction and buildings, and though the 48 felt at one with the roads carved into the cliff side roads of Split, Croatia, I will confess through experience that it is also perfectly adapted to life in the concrete jungle. It does not have a very good turning radius for tight u-turns, but at least you will still look cool while clumsily turning around.

And so, after spending some time with the Iron 1200, I hopped on to the new 48 Special. The Special variant gets some chrome highlights around the exhaust and other shinny bits. It also gets the same mini-ape bars as the Iron 1200 but not the headlight cover.

At first ride both bikes offer about the same character, and why shouldn’t they as both are powered by the same air-cooled evolution 1202cc engine with the same 100Nm of torque. Even the gearbox and all of its ratios are the same.

But the similarities end at the first corner, each bike has its own unique character in a corner. There is an immediate feeling that the 48 is a little reluctant to bite in as compared to the Iron. This is because of the thicker front tyre, but once it settles in the front end feels more confident especially during the exit where the Iron can feel a little nervous as soon as it squats under power.

The Iron 1200 is also better to cover miles with. The 8-litre peanut tank of the 48 gives it a range better suited to city riding. And its outreached handle bars, foot pegs and smallish seat will kill your back after about an hour or so of riding. It becomes so uncomfortable that you simply want to get off the bike. It is a common problem with the 48, I suffered the same with my own bike and the solution was to get a bigger, more supportive seat. The seat on the Iron 1200 though is fantastic to say the least.

The 48 also comes with the same retro AMF-era paint job which just lends to its classic looks. The two new Sportsters, though visually different, are nearly identical in geometry yet completely unique in character. The 48 Special is obviously the more stylish sibling in the Sportster family.

The 2018 Harley-Davidson Sportster 48 Special is yet to hit the Malaysian market but we hear that may happen towards the later part of the year, and when it does arrive, this is one Sportster that would be worth giving a look at the Harley-Davidson KL showroom at The Gasket Alley in PJ.

  • The Harley-Davidson Sportster Iron 1200 is the latest addition to the popular Sportster family. 
  • It builds on the Iron 883 but has a bigger 1202cc engine that offers over 30% more power. 
  • With tall mini-ape handlebars, mid-set foot pegs and a big 19-inch front wheel, the Iron 1200 is an absolute brute when it comes to corner carving fun. 

The Harley-Davidson Sportster is the oldest continuously produced motorcycle. It has been in production since 1957, and though a lot has changed, park new and original together and you will still be able to pick out some similarities through 60 years of evolution.

This is something the geeks in product development call ‘product continuation’, it is the retention of the DNA of a particular model so it can develop and evolve but yet stay true to the original. Sometimes in design, sometimes in purpose.

But the Sportster is special because it is one of the few motorcycles that is perfectly adaptable to being multiple versions of the same bike.

And that is what has made it immensely successful, because it can be a bike to ride up to the mountains or go touring with. It has spawned variants that were absolutely devilish in corners yet perfectly friendly for newbies to get started with.

The popularity of the Sportster grew at about the same time as the Triumph Bonneville’s, the Norton’s and the Enfield’s. The rise of today’s modern retro machine is considered to be a revival of this era, and the Sportster Iron 1200 is the perfect salute with its classic styling.

Fast and stylish with radical chopper styling, the Sportster Iron 1200 we rode in Croatia is everything Harley-Davidsons were meant to be from the start, fast and stylish.

To the uninitiated, the Iron 1200 may look just like an Iron 883 with taller mini-ape handle bars instead of the usual flat-bend handle bars on the regular Iron. But the Iron 1200 is not just the same motorcycle with a bigger engine, it is very much its own motorcycle.

It has plenty of style to begin, it could have been on the cover of U2’s Achung Baby and would have fit right in with the AMF-era tank stripes.

And just like the original Sportster intended, the Iron 1200 is brilliantly fun in corners. It shares the same chassis as the Iron 883 so it has the same frame, wheels, suspension and just about everything else. In fact, despite the fact that the it has a bigger engine and taller handle bars, it manages to be less than a kilogram heavier than the Iron 883, which is a feat by itself.

So the two are clearly siblings, just with different characters. You sit with your fists in the wind, the mid-set foot pegs giving you a perfectly adapted peg-scrapping sitting position, and the big 19-inch front wheel makes this Sportster one of the best handling in its class. It also has an amazingly comfortable seat, much much more comfortable than the 48 Special.

But it is that engine that suddenly makes this Sportster Iron everything it should have been right from the start. The Iron 883 was great but it was also very much an “entry-level” model at one point of time so it felt limited when it came to performance. The Iron 1200 obviously built around the fun package of the 883, but with heaps more fun.

So it all begins with a new air-cooled evolution engine which has 30% more capacity than the 883 and produces about 100Nm of torque. The engine is connected to the same 5-speed gearbox as the 883 though with different gear ratios. As with most Harley-Davidsons, the best way to ride the 1202cc engine is just to leave it in a higher gear and ride the mountain of torque is offers through the corners. Of course, you could bang down the gears and catapult out of corners too. Either way the Iron 1200 is happy to oblige.

But as fun as that sounds, there’s an unnerving feel as you get on the throttle though. Just as the bike piles on some speed, the front goes into a mini-wobble as the bike squats on maximum acceleration. It is not very noticeable but it is there everytime you blast out of a corner.

And matching all the fun and power is some fantastic handling. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t have fun with Harley-Davidsons because the Iron 1200 is brilliant in corners. Purists will love the fact that it does not come with a lot of electronics like ABS (optional) and traction control. And the entire meter cluster has been flushed down to the bare necessities, giving you only the most important information. And don’t let that headlight cover fool you, it sucks at deflecting the onslaught of wind, the Sportster Iron 1200 is still very much a city bike than it is a highway cruiser.

But despite the new herculean engine, the brakes and suspension are the same as the Iron 883, which means the same dual-piston calipers front and rear with a single disc keeping you in check. But this just means adjusting your riding style to allow for more foot-peg scrapping fun as you get to carry more speed into corners.

And because there is no electronic interference to control the wheel from slipping, you have to be gentle with the throttle, ask for too much and you risk lighting up the rear on exit. Which can be fun in experienced hands, but scary for the rest.

We spent the entire day literally carving up mountain roads, scrapping foot pegs on both the Iron 1200 and the new Sportster 48 Special (which we will get to in a later article). There is no doubt that the Iron 1200 is one of the greatest Sportster’s to date, just a pity that it has not made it to the Malaysian market as yet, but when it does, pay attention as only a few bikes have the talent to back up good looks, and this Iron 1200 is more than just talented.

Do you prefer a bigger bike? How about something like a Road Glide? Click here to read our review and to watch a video on it. Or do you prefer the classic styling of the Street Glide? We rode that too! Watch our video review here

Archive

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on YouTube