Officially revealed today; the replacement for the original Sportster model that was produced from 1957 up until this year.

I personally find the styling cheesy, but it's good to see Harley at least make a credible attempt to appeal beyond their traditional riders.

https://www.cyclenews.com/2021/07/article/2021-harley-davidson-sportster-s-first-look/

Don't those tailpipes get REALLY hot? That seems like a cute engineering idea with horrible possible consequences.

Yes, I see the pipes have some sort of protective covering. But still, heat's gonna do what it does surely...

Looks pretty and solid otherwise.

I wonder what they are going to call those heads. Past Harley motors were named for the style/look of the cylinder head cover. Flathead, Knucklehead, Panhead (my favorite),Shovelhead and Blockhead. My thought on those is … Robohead. Or maybe Spacehead. Helmethead.

I think it'll be the Robothead.

First off some prior disclosure:- I ride the bike this is designed to compete against (Indian Scout)

Well the colour of the engine is gonna lead at least some to call it a ****head

That said it's good to see Harley finally come up with something with some 'oomph' in this size bike and seems to have a decent spec with all the electronic doodads and (hopefully) some decent suspension/Brembo brakes(never a Harley strongpoint). Competition can be good.

What does concern me is the belly pan- looks like a PITA to change oil/put it on a lift to change tyres etc.
Mudguards look pretty pointless- riding in rain (I'm in UK) will lead to a very wet back and the radiator is gonna get: all kinds of gunk thrown up from the front wheel
Seat height is ~4" higher than Scout/Chief, with seemingly no way to reduce it.

The exhaust is fugly- but I'm sure there will be plenty of aftermarket options- ditto for the number plate mounting
Headlight is fugly too (tho kudos for going led).

Gonna be interesting to see some real life reviews of this

Nice bike but I would never own one. They are essentially suicide machines down where I live!

I like it... if I was going to buy a Harley, that would be it. (not that I could ever afford one).

Footpegs nearly underneath handlebars - like a chopper, but who'd want to sit on THAT bike like that?? Oh, maybe to keep your legs off of those stupidly located headers?

I prefer the look of the Indian Scout Bobber, it's closest competitor, but Harley has the advantage of vastly more factory and aftermarket support and is considerably more powerful even in the currently detuned form.



If I were to buy a V twin cruiser, I'd go with a old school hardtail chopper though.

This is my Bobber at the moment... Still don't think I'll ever be able to afford any of the Harley street bobs or sportsters though...

That is a nice bike. My first was an old Triumph.

^^^

That's probably a better bike in most respects than any current Harley anyway, unless you planned to mod the heck out of one.

Yes, it's a great ride, it's now Triumphs biggest selling bike...

I do enjoy the more classic and "simplistic" looking bikes. That said, I have no room to talk - here's mine:

That's plenty old school, my grandfather rode a BMW original version in the '50s and early '60s.

Pretty cool Argon. I just have this real personal problem with a 500 lb "Sport Bike" like the Sportster and that Indian Scout..

I think I'd rather have something like Argon has so you can drag someone pretty with you, as he demonstrates.

In todays nutty traffic environment, I think I would rather have a very agile dirt bike...seriously. That 500 lbs of metal would only help mutilate you more when Suzy Instagram smashes you between her daddy's S-class and the old S-10 driven by a hyper high undocumented idiot.

Glad I had fun on motorcycles in the 60's and seventies...now???

No thanks.

Great photo ArgonV!

Yep, that is a great photo.

Thanks gents! There is some merit to a sidecar - you're bigger and more likely to be seen, you're never just going to lay it down (unless you do some really hard and sudden right-hand turn) and it's much more comfortable for the ladies to ride.

Did I mention it has a trunk? And reverse?