Can you imagine the mechanics at the Harley Dealer's response when they find out they will need a training seminar to become certified to work on a Chinese built Harley?  Will the "Made in USA" attitude that persists with the Harley faithful be a deal killer for sales?

I believe a Chinese built Harley will be just as big of a disaster as the Livewire is/was.  Folks who want Chinese products are not going to pay the Harley markup.

I think one of the reasons mid sized bikes are so heavy is they are built on a budget and they are using heavy and cheap materials to save cost.....not more expensive and lighter materials.  It seems that is is impossible for them to make a bike that weighs less than 380 pounds with fuel.

I like that this bike is using a twin cylinder engine - they are far better at highway speeds than single cylinder bikes.  My little Ninja 250 could travel at 80mph all day long......one EX250 forum member rode his like that all the time and got 83,000 miles on the engine before the cam chain was just too worn for the tensioner to take up the slack.

Manufacturers just aren't making a mid sized, twin cylinder motorcycles as a sport touring, standard style motorcycles that would be good for trips or commuting in the USA.  The Honda 500 Rebel likely has a nice engine - I don't like the styling.  The Yamaha SR400 is a pretty bike - it is heavy and has an under powered single.     

zipidachimp wrote on 03/18/22 at 03:47:55:


I considered the CB500F a few years ago before I bought my BMW F800GT.  I knew the Honda would be reliable, capable of taking me anywhere, easy to get parts/service, and would be a very affordable and fun bike.  The quirky styling and chain drive are what kept me from buying the Honda and made me go to the more exotic bike.

Since nobody makes what I want...my current project of turning a Savage into a belt drive, standard style touring bike that weighs around 350 pounds is my solution.

MMRanch wrote on 03/18/22 at 10:00:01:


A 411cc single is not a touring bike.  It is only 24HP - it needs about 10 more HP before it would be a decent bike for long trips that might include some interstate travel.  Some times the only way to get from Point A to Point B without a long detour - is at 70mph on a 4 lane highway.

If you want to tour on a 400cc - 500cc motorcycle, it needs to have 2 cylinders so it can hustle you down the interstate when needed.

The Royal Enfield Scrambler or Adventure version would be fine for the back roads we often ride on once we are in the mountains - but it would not be a good bike for getting to Texas from Lynchburg in 2 days.

I don't understand why Honda doesn't put the parallel twin motor from the 500 Rebel or into a standard styled motorcycle.  If they could make a retro bike similar to their ground breaking CB 450 Black Bomber.......I think it would sell very well.  It would need to have enough speed to get down the interstate at 70mph - and I bet the CB500 engine could do it.

https://www.motorcycleclassics.com/classic-japanese-motorcycles/honda-cb450-b...

I always wanted to build a later version of the cb450/500 , great bikes and I know with a little work they can crank out 60 hp easy.