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Harley XR1200 Now Offered In America

Posted on Sep 02, 2009

Posted 12/3/2008
It’s no secret that the current state of affairs with the economy is having an impact on consumer spending, especially when it comes to luxury expenses like a new motorcycle. It’s also no secret that the Harley crowd is aging and new riders aren’t looking at touring models or even cruisers as much as sport bikes.

Harley recognized this trend and set its sights on the crowded European sport bike market. In April, 2008, the motor company launched the XR1200 in Europe with hopes of capturing a piece of the sport bike category there. This turned out to be a good move as far as the Europeans were concerned, but it left American bikers with a bad taste in their mouth. They cried foul. With the apparent recession taking hold, Harley needed a morale booster as well as a jump start on lagging sales. They decided to offer the XR1200 in America. This wasn’t too much of a leap of faith on their part since hundreds of orders are already on the books and the bikes won’t be available in America until February, 2009.

These bikes were inspired by the XR750, the king of the dirt track racing circuit. What many riders will find appealing is the XR1200 isn’t as cramped as the Buell machines, which are true sport bikes, but neither are they as powerful as the V-Rods. That also might be an attraction to some. Still, the XR1200 has an aggressive look to its design and boasts a 90 horsepower engine, with a 10.0:1 compression ratio and 68 ft. lbs. of torque@3700 rpm. There certainly was an immediate and positive response to the announcement that they will be offered to American riders. Let’s hope this translates into better sales for Harley, which fell 15% to 25% in October and November from a year earlier.