[Moto] Harley prepares a new Sportster 1250 ‘more Sportster’

[MosterOfficial ☆]

 

When it introduced the new water-cooled Sportster S last week, Harley-Davidson dropped the first hints about more Sportster-brand machines for the future. The next model has now appeared on the web thanks to a questionnaire sent by the Yankee firm itself. The new Sportster S is an intentional departure from any existing model. With a 1252cc 121hp V-twin with water cooling, dual overhead camshaft heads and variable valve timing, this is a genuinely modern bike. The monoshock rear suspension, inverted forks and a chassis that uses the engine as a structural component show that this is not your father's (or grandfather's) Harley.

 

However, the old air-cooled Sportster models have already disappeared from the European market due to the latest emission limits. The handful of models still sold elsewhere - the Iron 883, the Iron 1200 and the Forty-Eight - have been registered by Harley as cruisers rather than "Sportsters" and are expected to be discontinued in the near future. The introductory video of the new Sportster S contains some highlights of the upcoming Sportster model, including a circular headlight with a small visor, the water-cooled Revolution Max engine that is powered by a two-in-one exhaust system mounted on a low position, and a traditional style rear fender with double shock absorber.

 

 

All three items perfectly match the images in Harley's customer questionnaire, which showed the bike in six possible finishes. One of them - the most similar to the photos in the video preview - shows the engine in silver with a chrome exhaust and silver wheels. Other versions were one with the engine in bronze color, black wheels and chrome exhaust, another with the engine and silver wheels, but with the black exhaust, and another the same but with the engine finish in bronze. Finally, two options with a black engine and silver wheels were shown, one with chrome tubes and the other black. Colors aside, the bikes were the same, and all featured center-mounted running boards instead of the forward-mounted design on the longer, lower Sportster S. They are combined with relatively low and wide bars, suggesting a more comfortable day-to-day riding position than that offered by the Sportster S.

 

The wheels are also more conventional than the S model, which features an unusually wide 160 front tire on a 17-inch rim. The new model appears to have an 18- or 19-inch front with a relatively narrow tire - probably 120 - allied to a smaller 16-inch rear. In addition to the traditional double shock absorber, the bike has conventional forks. Like the Sportster S, the bike has a single front disc, but unlike the S model the caliper does not appear to be radial. This could be an indication that the bike will make a difference to the S model, either with a lower specification version compared to the 1252cc Revolution Max engine or the 975cc version that was originally scheduled to go into production this year with the canceled one. Bronx streetfighter with 115 hp and 95 Nm. This figure compares with the 121 hp and 92 of the Sportster S and the 150 hp and 94 of the Panamericana that debuted the Revolution Max engine.

 

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