After deleting the Bronx 975 streetfighter from its future releases lineup, Harley-Davidson (H-D) has shown the Custom 1250 Sportster with a planned release date of 2021. The Custom 1250, if launched, will join the Harley-Davidson Pan America adventure-tourer, scheduled for release next year despite being announced in 2019.
Both the Custom 1250 and Pan America will use H-D’s new Revolution Max V-twin, announced at the EICMA show in Italy and slated to come in 975 cc and 1250 cc versions. Power numbers for the Revolution Max in 1250 form are 145 hp and 122 Nm of torque, which places it in the median for naked sport motorcycles in this class.
While the Custom 1250 has yet to receive an official name from H-D’s marketing division, styling for the new street bike is still long and low like a cruiser, with a flat tracker style seat while photos of the Bronx showed a motorcycle that fit more into the norm for motorcycle design. Exhaust pipes are high cut and exit on the right side and overall design is on the hefty side of things.
Steel is still used for the frame and swingarm, and, with the wide profile front tyre, giving the Custom 1250 a muscular look, would likely do no favours for weight savings. Perusing the press photos, we would hazard a guess at the Custom 1250 coming in well over the 240 kg mark in terms of bike weight.
Featuring liquid-cooling, internal engine balancers to cancel primary and using the engine as a stressed member, the Revolution Max is an important step for H-D moving forward. Success of the new V-twin will quite likely decide if the American motorcycle maker is able to compete on an international stage in market areas outside its traditional comfort zone of luxury cruisers favouring looks over performance.
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