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Old 22nd April 2014, 21:23   #16
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Re: Harley-Davidson Street 750 : Official Review

Fantastic review Aditya. Felt that the quality, fit and finish seems to be sub par. The exposed wires remind me of the RE's Thunderbird. Michelin tires would have been a better option compared to the MRF. The welds are by and large ungainly/ugly.
It will surely sell considering the brand name it is associated with but apart from the initial burst how much can it sustain?

Last edited by ku69rd : 22nd April 2014 at 21:25.
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Old 22nd April 2014, 22:05   #17
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Re: Harley-Davidson Street 750 : Official Review

The high ground clearance is welcome. I believe this was a problem with all Harleys in Indian conditions. The headlamp cowl does not suit this bike. It would be better to just remove it and retain the classic bare headlamp look.



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Originally Posted by tharian View Post
The first official two wheeler review by Tbhp?
Ninja 650R has been reviewed earlier.
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Old 22nd April 2014, 23:11   #18
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Re: Harley-Davidson Street 750 : Official Review

Man... the motorcycle looks really hot in red colour! Straight away appeals to your heart. If I had the money, I would surely get one, in the red colour. The only sad part in the whole story is that they have not bothered to give a fuel gauge. C'mon, how ridiculous is that? I can live without all other things but then a fuel gauge is a must on bike costing ~4L. Do they mean that we should keep on observing the yellow fuel warning light?

Apart from that it pulled the strings of my heart at once! Full 5 * rating for such a wonderful review. I think you guys should be also doing 2 wheeler reviews; along with the regular car reviews.
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Old 23rd April 2014, 00:18   #19
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Re: Harley-Davidson Street 750 : Official Review

Net net, the only thing that bothers me is the braking. Wires et al be damned. This baby moves and moves well (is the chorus I hear in every review). I would still plonk my money on a green kwacker (a used 650 maybe) though. But for anyone looking beyond the sport bike genre; this is a mighty sweet deal

Aditya - wrt up shifts : tried clutch less shifts (as opposed to full clutch in)? May have produced better results.

And no photos of you scraping pegs? No action shots? Not done bud
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Old 23rd April 2014, 05:10   #20
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Re: Harley-Davidson Street 750 : Official Review

Mods,

For the first time in my t-bhp membership career, I will have to say that I am a little underwhelmed by the review.

As is generally the case on the bike section of the forum (not applicable to the car section), even you guys have looked at this baby HD through prejudiced eyes. I mean, most local-chap wannabe online forums(nothing to do with t-bhp obviously) have mostly concentrated on wire fittings, panel gaps..yada yada type of stuff. Unfortunately, that is where even our energies seem to have gone in.


Having said that and much to the t-bhp Mods'credit, you have given the bike its due on the engine front, but overall I don't think we went into this bike review with a very open mind. BTW, even I felt that the bike had a few rough edges of the fit and finish front.

I think this new Harley needs to be looked at in a slightly different light. This, at the end of the day, is a new bike domain for HD as well (smaller bikes). So, isn't it expected that the bike will be slightly smaller than the smallest Harley available till now? The engine being liquid cooled, isn't it expected to sound a little different than the potato-potato sound? We have to understand that not only in India, the world over HD positions itself as a slightly premium brand (much like Ducati, BMW etc in bikes; not Apple premium), with most of their bike sales happening in the higher price range. So, I think looking at this bike on a VFM scale is always going to be futile. If we look at the bike with a slightly more open mind, I think it's a valiant effort by HD.

PS: Having driven all three bikes: Superlow, Iron and Street back to back, I can safely say that I found the Rev-X engine at least a couple of notches ahead of the 883 engine. Also, I got the Night Rod started on special request at the showroom just to compare the sound, and found that the engine sounds like the liquid cooled, Porche designed Night Rod engine.

Disclaimer: I don't plan to buy the baby HD just yet since all my current money has gone into my car purchase. May not buy it at all if the KTM Duke 690 shows up at a right price.

Last edited by Abhi_Automobile : 23rd April 2014 at 05:15.
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Old 23rd April 2014, 09:35   #21
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Re: Harley-Davidson Street 750 : Official Review

Aditya,

Good detailed review, thanks for all the information. Rated 5*****!

I was all ready to take the jump and go for the first 750 delivery of the Street at Hyderabad. I was standing near the bike on the first day of the display and liked it a lot. However, I postponed my buying decision by an year for lack of ABS & finishing prowess. I hope HD gets an ABS option by next year!!
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Old 23rd April 2014, 09:58   #22
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Re: Harley-Davidson Street 750 : Official Review

Aditya,

A nice detailed review, this bike is important for harley and they seem to have got it right.

Their efforts had been focussed on developing countries conditions and they have done just that, price, ground clearance, relative performance (liquid cooled).

As a whole their idea for this bike is commendable. Thank to you, you have probably seen the bike the way a typical prospective customer would have approached the bike.

Rated 5 stars.
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Old 23rd April 2014, 10:00   #23
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Re: Harley-Davidson Street 750 : Official Review

Great review! As many have mentioned, probably the first 'official' HD review on the forum. Was in a dilemma whether or not to plonk in my hard earned money on a HD. Still concerned about their service coverage(since these are long distance touring bikes) and expertise though. Considering the HD rip-off threads on the forum, probably its still better to wait and watch before taking the jump.
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Old 23rd April 2014, 11:07   #24
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Re: Harley-Davidson Street 750 : Official Review

Excellent review Adi. The writeup gives a lot of info, and makes one feel they're there, with the bike. Harley have gone the distance to welcome more members to the famed HOG club, by making the bike affordable and the customisation aspect places a very lucrative proposition. Waiting to see more of these on roads soon.

BTW, I just noted that the 'Street' moniker will now be shared by HD and Triumph, though the bikes are world's apart
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Old 23rd April 2014, 12:45   #25
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Re: Harley-Davidson Street 750 : Official Review

Adithya,

Good Review and in crisp style. Your Executive Summary in the first post is infact a great start and you have really substantiated it visually by excellent photos you have put in as well.

From the pictures - I get a feeling the GC of the bike is compromised further, with the lower belt guard and one has to be really careful driving it through less than smooth tarmac

Anyway khoodos to HD as well, for bringing the HD Dreams to within reach of a lot of petrolhead in our country in the Street 750

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram
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Old 23rd April 2014, 13:07   #26
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Re: Harley-Davidson Street 750 : Official Review

Nice Review Adi !!

Like many said, its not your typical Harley motorcycle but, HD seemed to have focused more on performance than everything else about this bike

It's lack of fit and finish has been already discussed to death on other threads on our forum, so if prospective buyers fall in love with its performance, iam sure they will overlook those downsides ( even though its a compromise as people buying a Harley will look at quality as its symbolic to HD) and still go ahead and buy it

Considering its miniature size, it seems to be well suited for people with short and lean stature. So, Iam not regretting not buying this bike

Finally, it has to be a heart and not mind decision to buy an HD Street 750 as people looking for real Harley experience will have to plonk in 10+ lakhs and buy one of those big boys from the Harley stable !!!
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Old 23rd April 2014, 13:57   #27
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Re: Harley-Davidson Street 750 : Official Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by W.A.G.7 View Post
The only sad part in the whole story is that they have not bothered to give a fuel gauge. C'mon, how ridiculous is that? I can live without all other things but then a fuel gauge is a must on bike costing ~4L. Do they mean that we should keep on observing the yellow fuel warning light?
IMHO, this is not a deal breaker at least for me.

I ride a Ninja 250 which does not have a fuel guage too. I consistently get around 26-27kmpl on it so I know that the low fuel warning lamp will come on anywhere at the 320 kms mark or more (trip meter). I plan my fuel stops in this way and I haven't felt this to be an issue in the last 33,000 kms of touring on my ninja. That said, not including a temp gauge is definitely a sore point.

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Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad View Post
Net net, the only thing that bothers me is the braking.
The front brakes have good stopping power but it could do with better bite and feedback. The bike does slow down significantly from triple digits with the front brakes but hard braking (and under panic moments) will be scary. Good thing is that the front suspension is stiff so the suspension dive is limited under hard braking and does not unsettle the bike.

I also feel that upgrading to better quality tires will improve braking. But that said, the rear brakes are almost non-existent. ABS would have been a better and safer option too.

Adding steel braided lines or better quality brake pads will improve the stopping power and with time, I'm sure having access to these performance parts will be easy and within reach.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad View Post
And no photos of you scraping pegs? No action shots? Not done bud
Added a pic in the previous page.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Abhi_Automobile View Post
As is generally the case on the bike section of the forum (not applicable to the car section), even you guys have looked at this baby HD through prejudiced eyes.
To be honest Abhi, I did ride the Street750 with an open mind. I did not let the other review threads influence my review. When we review any automobile on this forum, we try our best to cover every little aspect in detail. So not covering exposed wires since it has been discussed to death before in other forums or threads would be unfair.

If you feel any specific point has been missed out, please let me know and I shall clarify.

This bike is perfect for those who are moving from a regular bike to a bike that's this big. Also, this bike is for those riders who have breathed and dreamed Harley's but price of the higher models was a limiting factor.

One can cruise all day on this baby at triple digits without much fatigue. It's a lot of fun to ride not just on the straight roads but also for the twisties. And this bike is easy to ride in the city too with the exception of taking tight U-turns. Good GC and ample torque allows you to ride without the need for constant downshifting and a simple crack of the throttle is enough to propel you forward leaving the rest behind. Bad roads, potholes and speed breakers are easy to navigate at city speeds. The bike is pretty flickable while on the move too.

Quote:
Originally Posted by r_nairtvm View Post
From the pictures - I get a feeling the GC of the bike is compromised further, with the lower belt guard and one has to be really careful driving it through less than smooth tarmac
Thanks for your kind words of appreciation, Ram. We rode around 200 kms in a variety of terrains - highway, twisties, city, bad patches etc. and the bike did not scrape once. With a pillion, the belt guard may be an issue.

Last edited by n_aditya : 23rd April 2014 at 14:00.
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Old 23rd April 2014, 14:30   #28
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Re: Harley-Davidson Street 750 : Official Review

Superbly reviewed Aditya!

To be frank, I see the 750 as the 'first time Harley' for many aspirational riders. That is - in the form, it does not matter, how you build it; because at the end what matters is the HD badge for the price you pay.

I'm sure, even if they decide to offer drum brakes on rear, it will see many takers. And for the rest "purist", the 750 will not even be considered Harley.

Having said, that if after-sales of the motorcycle is well taken care, this bike will a delight to ride at a very competitive price point, and I for one looking forward to own one. But it still remains a big gamble; if they can't provide fuss free ownership experiences to their premium customer, I can only pray what's gonna happen with this "Made / tailored / customized (read lower quality) India" Harley owner!

IMHO certain features should be made optionally available, including ABS and better set of footwears.
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Old 23rd April 2014, 14:35   #29
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Re: Harley-Davidson Street 750 : Official Review

What about the octane number of fuel?
Will it run happily on RON91 petrol available all over India?
Or will I have to hunt around for RON97 (heaven's forbid!)

I think the bike has filled a gap (2 - 7 lacs) very well almost midway. (Not talking about the "sporty" looking bikes)
Now I would want to know about heads on comparison with Hyosung Aquila 650 and ST7.
Similar genre (ok the ST7 looks more cruiser than the other two), similar price, similar performance ...

Last edited by alpha1 : 23rd April 2014 at 14:40.
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Old 23rd April 2014, 14:54   #30
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Re: Harley-Davidson Street 750 : Official Review

Sorry this is slightly OT. Its great to find an official T BHP review of the 750. Can you please try and get some similar official detailed reviews of the Triumph range as well? Particularly the more popular versions like the Bonneville, Street Triple etc. I'm sure there'll be a wide enough interest in it.

Thanks
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