Harley-Davidson Pan America, Bareknuckle, and a glimpse into the e-future
A look into the crystal ball
The two Harley-Davidson models are expected to hit the market in 2020. The biggest surprise in the new Harley-Davidson model range for 2020 is the announced Pan America 1250 Adventure.
Torque or horsepower
As a direct competitor to BMW R 1250 GS We can look forward to seeing what kind of performance figures Harley-Davidson's new 1250 engine will deliver. Harley generally likes to play the torque card, but 1250cc is a long way from the 1.9L engine in the big tourers, which boast a torque of 171Nm.
There are two water-cooled V2 engines with 975cc and 1250cc under discussion.
So we can assume that the engine will end up somewhere around 136 hp and 150 Nm at 5000 rpm, delivering impressive torque.
If the Pan America is to compete in the league of the BMW R 1250 GS, which reigns supreme in terms of registration, the necessary power could be achieved with a good gear ratio. The BMW limits its top speed to around 220 km/h, whereas top speed is not usually a priority for Harley. In any case, there is plenty of room for speculation here, so let's wait and see what Harley can conjure up from the new engine.
In terms of price, it could start close to the BMW R 1250 GS, which starts at €18,000 and offers many features only via a long list of extras.
The battle will not be an easy one!
If you look at the other well-known touring enduro bikes, you will find the affordable XTZ1200Z Super Tenere from €13,495 and the successful KTM 1290 Super Adventure R Starting at €17,999 among the competition. The affordable entry point could be achieved with another smaller-engine Pan America model and the 975cc engine.
Is the Bareknuckle Harley's new naked bike?
The bare-knuckle will come, whether they will like the new Naked bike by Harley is not yet certain. However, based on current information, this could be the case, and the engine would be the same as in the Pan America the new 1250 can be installed.
Then he will need to have power and 2020 we are also expecting the first stage of the new Euro 5 emissions standard, which is an additional challenge for all manufacturers. Harley-Davidson is targeting a whole new audience here, which was already evident in 2018 with “More Roads to Harley-Davidson” was announced by the company.
Major structural changes announced at Harley-Davidson
The new models for 2020 will generally be introduced a little later in Germany/Austria this year. This is due to the conversion of some production facilities and the fact that deliveries now also have to be made from Thailand to Europe in order to avoid punitive tariffs.
The tariff dispute is costing Harley-Davidson a lot of money
As is well known, Harley-Davidson is suffering greatly from the tariff dispute between the US, China, and the EU. The long-established company finds itself in a real dilemma.
The raw materials steel and aluminum must be imported into the US at a higher price, for which punitive tariffs are payable for the first time. Harley-Davidson then delivers the motorcycles to Europe and pays punitive tariffs again.
Harley-Davidson pays punitive tariffs from profits
Harley-Davidson did not pass these additional costs on to customers, but instead deducted them from its profits. Profits in the second quarter were down 6 percent to $1.4 billion compared to the previous year.
Donald Trump has called for a boycott in the US due to the relocation of production, which has placed additional strain on the US market. .
Profit for the second quarter compared to the previous year
fell internationally by 20% to €175 million, which means that for the future
directly reduces profit expectations. In Europe, however, things are still going well.
Good, but here too there have been declines.
Economics Minister Altmaier seeks talks with Donald Trump
Thanks to the relocation of production and significant cost savings, there is light at the end of the tunnel. In addition, there is good news from Berlin: last week, our Minister for Economic Affairs, Peter Altmaier, knocked on doors in Washington and signaled his willingness to engage in new talks.
In his pocket, he has the EU's offer not to impose import duties on US passenger cars, which have always been higher than when Europeans export their vehicles to the US.
Opinions may be divided about Donald Trump, but perhaps he is right when he claims that it is unfair.
The escalation has led to the EU imposing punitive tariffs on
Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The talks will
expected to continue in November.
Avoiding punitive tariffs via Thailand
The scene will probably be shaken up when the first machines arrive from Thailand. But let's be honest, most parts are supplied by third parties. Whether final assembly takes place in Thailand or Timbuktu is of less and less interest to people these days. The only thing that matters is the “Made in ...” label!
The network of suppliers is spread across the globe: Brembo brakes come from Germany, control units from Bosch, Dunlop supplies the tires, and so on.
Harley-Davidson will also be getting involved in China
Harley-Davidson is positioning itself strongly internationally, targeting not only India but now also the huge market in China.
Together with Qianjiang Motorcycle Company China, Harley-Davidson will begin producing the smallest engine to date, with 338cc, for the Chinese and later Asian markets at the end of 2020.
HARLEY-DAVIDSON FIRST
It clearly shows that CEO Matthew Levatich is on an expansion course and wants to win 2 million new customers for the company in the coming years.
The fact is, there will be structural change throughout the world, and whether Matthew Levatich No one knows today whether the right course is being set here for Harley-Davidson and the coming decades.
But what should he do if he only focuses on “AMERICA FIRST” Despite its focus, it still faces the problem that its customer base is aging and younger generations are not really joining the biker scene.
For Matthew Levatich, it's obviously “HARLEY-DAVIDSON FIRST”He is not necessarily acting in the interests of Donald Trump and his ideas when he relocates production facilities abroad and also enters the market in China.
The LIVEWIRE is a milestone for Harley-Davidson
In any case, we are living in an age of change, with the LIVEWIRE coming onto the market this year. This is a milestone that we will witness, even though we are probably still far from ready for it emotionally.
Harley-Davidson is a pioneer in this field, and in the long term, its technical lead in the development of electric drives could be vital to the company's survival.
Fuel cells are coming!
The German Michel is first sold the “e” by the industry.
The drive system of the future for motorcycles will be different; smaller vehicles will remain with electric drives in the long term. The future of drive systems for mid-range vehicles and trucks will be hydrogen with sustainable fuel cells.
To this end, hydrogen is produced in an environmentally friendly manner using renewable energies via electrolysis, ensuring a long range at low cost.
The German Michel Our automotive industry is now going to be flooded with electric cars, and the federal government is pushing Varta to build a large battery cell factory, so the course has been set for now.
Billions are being invested, with substantial funding coming from the government in some cases. Various companies have already joined forces to form a consortium with the aim of conquering the e-market together.
The fuel cell is more effective!
While in Switzerland, the first large-scale fuel cell projects are getting underway in 2019, showing us the way forward, Hyundai and Toyota, for example, are currently working hard on this.
In five years' time, we in Germany will probably hear that the
Surprisingly, the carbon footprint of electric vehicles is larger than
Then electric vehicles will suffer the same fate as diesel engines do today.
There is an interesting report on this in the Handelsblatt newspaper.
Now let's put the cloth back over the crystal ball and wait and see how everything develops. In any case, I'm excited about the new Pan American and how it will perform in everyday use.
I used to ride the XT600 and XTZ 750, so I'm all the more excited about my first test ride with the Pan America 1250 Adventure, it might be a reason to go back to the North Cape to drive 🙂 .
