Axman88 wrote on 10/31/25 at 07:59:36:


There certainly are times/places where the Superslap is the only "reasonable" option....or when it becomes a necessity.

MMRanch will remember the time he rode his Savage and met me at the Kickstand Lodge in Stecoah, NC for a few days of riding.  The morning after his arrival we discovered the rear pulley teeth were worn to a knife edge, and we knew it was not going to last 4 days of riding in the mountains.  We left around 9AM and took a nice relaxing back road trip to his house so we could trade the Savage for his Moto Guzzi.  It was around 4PM when we got to his house - if we returned to the campground using the same route....we would not get back until 10PM!  So as much as we hated to - we took the highways including a ride through Chattanooga.

And when we are riding in the mountains of TN/NC/GA and want to go explore published rides that are not near the campground - we often will take the back road scenic route to get to loop....then take the highway home so we can get back before it gets dark and the deer start running around.  MMRanch, my neighbor Bruce and I had that occur last year when we rode the Rattler.  The ride out was nice - then as we got to the beginning of the Rattler the rain started, and unfortunately it never let up.  The rain caused us to ride the route much slower than normal, and at 8PM we realized we were cold, wet and a long way from the campground.  We told the GPS to take us home the quickest route...and even on the 4 lane highway it took us 90 minutes to get back to a warm shower.  If we had taken back roads home we likely would not have arrived before midnight!  (Unfortunately MM and I sometimes ride too far away from camp and get home much later than we would like...sometimes it is just too fun to stop).

I do enjoy a small motorcycle for my local rides and where I have infinite control over the roads and can pick and choose where I ride.  When I am riding in places far from home where I am not familiar with the area - I want a bike that can get me home at highway speeds when needed.....and I want a bike that can do it comfortably at half throttle!

Having a "capable" bike doesn't mean you have to buy something exotic or expensive.  A stock Savage can do a decent job and my little 250 Ninja could go anywhere.  MMRanch's Royal Enfield 350 Meteor was really comfortable to ride - however the engine was just a bit shy of the needed power provided by the factory (in my opinion)....and evidently MM felt the same as he changed the cam, exhaust, air cleaner and was considering a piston/cylinder upgrade.

I just want folks to consider that it may be necessary to ride on a highway now and then and maintain a steady 60-70mph - they should consider that when choosing a motorcycle.

October came and went and there was no additional reveal regarding the nature of the rumored H.D. Sprint.

The idea of this was hinted at for a while, and then CEO Jochen Zeitz filled in details in a phone call with some finance folks as part of the activities associated H.D.'s 2nd quarter financial report.  All that was revealed was a release target year, 2026, a price, under $6K, and the name, "Sprint" which was used previously for the Aermacchi singles that H.D. rebadged in the 60's-70's.  Here's an article from shortly after the announcement:  https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/next-year-you-can-buy-a-new-harley-davi...

I don't know when the 750cc spec was attached.  I read that Zeitz later said, "between 500 and 800cc".

I'm not aware of any details released since, just a lot of speculation.

Here's a few facts, which I think might be pertinent.

H.D. is partnered with Quianjiang to produce the Harley D. X350 for the Asian market.  Here's the current spec. on that machine, courtesey of H.D. Australia, where it is being sold:  https://www.harley-davidson.com/au/en/motorcycles/x-350.html
X350:  353cc parallel twin, 70.5 x 45.2mm bore x stroke, liquid cooled, Port EFI, sells in Australia for MSRP equivalent of $5500

Quiangjiang sells under a long list of brand names, including QJMotors, Keeway, Benelli, and others.  There are a few existing models in production under various of these brand names, within 500 - 800cc.  For example, the SRT750X, which is already available in the USA:
http://www.ssrmotorsports.com/qjmotor/models/srt750x.php

Also, H.D. is partnered with Hero motorcycles to produce the Harley X440 for the India market.  Here's the spec on that machine, courtesey of H.D. India:  https://www.harley-davidson.com/in/en/motorcycles/x-440.html

X440:  440cc single, 79.6 x 88.4mm bore x stroke, Air/Oil cooled, EFI

The X440 sells for the equivalent of $2700 MSRP in India, which is competive with the most popular bike in that segment, the Royal Enfield 350, and offers more horsepower.  The X440 is the largest machine that Hero produces, and represents just a tiny percentage of their output, which is 5.5 million bikes in a year.   That's 36 Hero motorcycles sold in India only, for every Harley sold in the USA and worldwide.

In my opinion, to have something for sale by 2026, means the development effort either needs to be minimal, or already be well underway.  My guess would be that an even larger version of this x440 is under development or was planned from the start.   A 90mm x 88.4 mm blow-out of the existing engine with the same stroke as the existing, would be only moderately over-square, have 562cc, could be marketed as a 600, and have a decent power output around 35hp, with very little heavy lifting for engineering and re-tooling, and could be sold quite profitably for less than $6K.