New Harley-Davidson FXDR power-cruiser and CVO Touring bikes for 2019

It never rains but it pours. While everybody was still buzzing with the news regarding the bikes that Harley-Davidson intend to roll out over the next couple of years, the Motor Company decided to announce more new models, this time for 2019. This way, please.

FXDR 114

First stop is Harley-Davidson's new FXDR 114, a performance-oriented power-cruiser. Using the new Softail chassis, the FXDR 114 uses the 114 ci (1868 cc) Milwaukee Eight engine equipped with four-valve desmo heads, a high-flow forward-facing airbox with a performance-inspired air filter and a two-into-one sports exhaust. Power output is around the 90 HP mark, with 119 lb/ft of torque. Power is transmitted to the rear wheel via a six-speed 'box and belt drive. The engine sits in a Softail frame with an aluminium subframe to keep the weight down. Also in a bid to reduce unsprung weight, the characteristic steel Softail swinging-arm has been replaced with a sportsbike-style aluminium unit, which saves a claimed 4.62 kg. The weight-saving exercise continues with the bodywork, made out of composite materials, and aluminium cast wheels (19" front, 18" lenticular rear).

Harley-Davidson look to the future

Mention the Harley-Davidson marque in a conversation and most people - whether they're motorcyclists or not - will reply with words such as "archaic", old-fashioned", "slow", "agricultural" etc. The latest news from the Milwaukee-based manufacturer, though, seems to be giving the lie to that.

After having made headlines worldwide recently for having made it onto Donald Trump's "enemies of the people" list, the Motor Company is back in the news, this time to announce its plans for the years to come, in the shape of a whole raft of brand-new bikes. Let's take a closer look.

LiveWire

The Harley-Davidson LiveWire - sparking a great buzz

Of all the un-Harleyesque bikes that the Wisconsin-based marque is introducing over the next couple of years, the LiveWire is the one that will be the most discombobulating to Harley cognoscenti and ignoramuses alike. For one thing there's the riding position, which errs towards the sports roadster end of the spectrum (anybody who's ever ridden a Buell will be on familiar ground). But most importantly - this is an electric motorcycle! That's right: no pushrod V-twin, no "potato-potato", no vibration-per-piston-stroke ratio, no more stopping to "pump gas", as our transatlantic cousins say.