Click above for high-res gallery of the H-D Night Rod Special
First we heard ruminations that India's Tata Motors was considering a purchase of Italian bike manufacturer MV Agusta, followed shortly thereafter by similar rumors regarding Mahindra, another huge Indian automaker. The latest company rumored to be keeping tabs on a possible purchase of MV Agusta is none other than Harley-Davidson, which would provide some rather interesting storylines to consider. For one, HD already owns one sportbike manufacturer in Buell, which even uses Harley V-Twin engines in the majority of its bikes. Therefore, one might question the logic of snatching up another boutique maker of bikes with outwardly sporty intentions. Still, it is a well known fact that Harley-Davidson would like nothing more than to bring younger buyers into its showrooms, which is something that MV Agusta's stunning range of machinery would surely do. For fans of the Italian marque, the idea of Harley infusing some much-needed cash flow into MV should more than offset the shock that the purchase would likely make.
[Source: Cyril Huze Blog]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Avinash machado @ Jun 11th 2008 10:12AM
Also if Harley buys MV Augusta it can get better access to the European market. So the line up could be something like
Harley Cruisers
MV Augusta Premium sports bikes
Buell Entry level sports bikes.
Pacman @ Jun 11th 2008 11:04AM
Nothing entry level about Buell but I get your point. Maybe they could use the MV brand to produce Scooters and stuff that they do not currently produce. Cant brand a Scooter with HD or Buell. The only cheap bike that Buell makes is the Blast at (I think) 5k.
Pacman @ Jun 11th 2008 11:11AM
My bad, I did not know that MV Augusta made super duper $25K+ sport bikes. No scooter maker. Duh. Yes Buell would be the entry level in comparision.
Alex @ Jun 11th 2008 10:13AM
So long as they don't try to convert them to forward peg, under-cooled, obnoxiously loud, unsteerable pieces of rolling crap, i'm all for it.
Chris @ Jun 11th 2008 10:28AM
Yeeeeaaaaa...that why they have been making them since 1903.....and people keep buying them...and the people who buy them love them. Im sure thats all because they are pieces of crap.
Rick @ Jun 11th 2008 10:52AM
Wave the flag...after all, that's the reason some people choose (or have chosen) certain automobiles over others, even in the light of quality or reliability issues, isn't it? Be honest.
Pacman @ Jun 11th 2008 11:04AM
Have you ever owned a HD? Crap hardly. Compare a HD Cruiser to a Metric Cruiser and honestly the quality of HD is evident. The Metris cruisers are good bikes but they are not HD and never can be. HD is the Apple of motorcycles.
EvenSteven @ Jun 11th 2008 11:14AM
Dude do you know anyhting about HD. The racing heritage? (not so much anymore) Anything about Buell and the great bikes they produce? Your a jackass.
AngeloD @ Jun 11th 2008 11:22AM
Yes, it would be much better if HD started making bikes like MV Agusta. Those rear-sets are so comfortable.
And with it's enviable reputation for reliability...well, it's no wonder that MV Agusta has been such a sales success.
Yep, HD could sure learn a lot from those successful folks at MV Agusta.
Seriously though, why is HD wasting money on this crap Italian loser of a company?
Alex @ Jun 11th 2008 11:35AM
Own? No. Ridden? Yes. I rented a V-Rod while i was down in Arizona for a week and a Road King in California. I didn't like either one. They were over-weight, under-powered, they built up more heat than a rocket engine, and the ride was uncomfortbale at best. I have also been out on a Triumph Rocket III and a Honda VTX. Both were far more agile, powerful and comfortable.
Call me names if it makes you feel better, but it doesn't change my opinion on HD.
Vintage @ Jun 11th 2008 12:03PM
And they've been building them the same way since about 1903 too. So yeah, they handle, brake, and accelerate great... and they're reliable.
All by the standards of over 75 years ago.
Today's bikes completley own HD in terms of reliability, power, handling ,and braking.
The reason people keep buying them is because they're lameasses like dentists and lawyers who want to feel like a badass on the weekends. Or fat people. Fat people love HD, because HD builds bikes just as fat and heavy as they are.
tuna @ Jun 11th 2008 1:43PM
@ Chris
Just because people keep buying a certain product doesn't mean it's any good. Take Gen 1~3 iPod for example.
bakka @ Jun 11th 2008 10:16AM
GOD NO! NO!
Pacman @ Jun 11th 2008 11:09AM
My bad, I did not know that MV Augusta made super duper $25K+ sport bikes. No scooter maker. Duh. Yes Buell would be the entry level in comparision.
Kotse @ Jun 11th 2008 12:14PM
(((HELLO VW)))..you there?..still wanna moto-bike maker??
AngeloD @ Jun 11th 2008 12:39PM
""Today's bikes completley own HD in terms of reliability, power, handling ,and braking.""
What crap. HD makes, far and away, the highest quality and most reliable motorcycle bar none.
And, please explan how HD clone motorcycles like Yamaha's Star line, or similar crusier bikes from Kawasaki, Honda, and Suzuki, "own" HD. They're knockoffs of HD products.
As for you "fat people" crap, explain how HD is far and away the most popular motorcycle with women if they're only built for fat people.
Your argument in a nutshell: "Duh...it's American, it must be crap..."
Alex @ Jun 11th 2008 1:56PM
"They're knockoffs of HD products."
By that argument the classic Harley Davidson design is just a knock off of early BMW motorcycles. Before that HDs looked like bicycles with an engine.
HDs are designed around the cruriser style. Honda, Triumph, Star all make crusiers too. It doesn't mean they copied eachother, they are all targeting the same demographic. Like Audi, BMW and MB all having a compact executive car.
Vintage @ Jun 11th 2008 2:03PM
"HD makes, far and away, the highest quality and most reliable motorcycle bar none"
Bahahahahahaha. Right. And all those puddles of oil and leaks are to add 'aroma' to the experience of a Harley. Give me a break. The engine was designed in the freakin 1930s. It's not that it's American that makes it bad, it's that it's 1930s technology that makes it bad. The V-rod is cool, but the rest of HD is a complete joke.
AngeloD @ Jun 12th 2008 5:53AM
By that argument the classic Harley Davidson design is just a knock off of early BMW motorcycles. Before that HDs looked like bicycles with an engine
LOL, well, no that's simply not the case. BMW did not produce a v-twin before HD because BMW didn't begin building motorcycles untill 1923, long after HD already had established their classic v-twin layout.
The Japanese crusiers are justifiably called "clones" of HD designs since they were first produced about six decades after HD established the "look" and because they are designed to mimic the HD look.
Do you have any idea of how hard Yamaha USA had to work to get convince thier Japanese parent to make an air-cooled v-twin to mimic HD's?
mk @ Jun 11th 2008 2:19PM
This debate is not going to be solved here.
Sport bikes vs. cruisers, or HD vs. Metric.
HDs are built well. I admire the craftsmanship. But the tranditional zealotry has kept HD more concerned about keeping a certain look, than a certain level of performance, even by cruiser standards.
HD ends up being a VERY NICE piece of nostalgia that isn't the best performer on the road, but that is attractive to it's own audience.
Heritage Soft tail buyers aren't going to be shopping for the new V-Max, or vice versa. Probably not cross shopped with the Gold Wing, or the Triumph Speed Triple, either.
Different iron horses for different asphalt courses, as it were.
A sport bike rider is not exactly going to buy an HD. Some even resist buell, due to the antiquity of the engine design, despite the rest of the bike being fully modern.
MV Agusta F4 750s and 1000s are the single sexiest motorcycle on the market, and one of the top 5 EVER built, designed by the same hand and mind that generated the Ducati 916. That is just the truth.
It is a VERY expensive bike, and certainly not mass market, like YamaHondaKawaZuki. Much more aspirational than even a Triumph.
Personally, if Harley Davidson can get MV's management in line, and show them how to market and promote a premium, expensive product, but LEAVES THE MV's ENGINEERING AND DESIGN ALONE, it could in fact be VERY good for MV, and let them keep building premium sport bikes. That is fine with me.
Say whatever about HD motorcycles, HD as a company are a branding and marketing DYNAMO. MV could learn a thing or two, make some money, and keep building what MV is good at building.