Randall K. Wilson
Junior Member
Sorry, ain't got a clue what you are talking about...I'm barely housebroke.
I thought a Nova was a small Chevy II from the early 1960's?
Randall K. Wilson
Junior Member
Right thats why i dont understand why they dont .. while it doesnt look as much like todays engines its closer than the vrod look plus rads are hid
I agree with both RKW & Smitty, but the reality is what will HD do now...? With so many years satisfying shareholders and keeping the upper management status quo flush with cash...does it have the wear with all to develop the air/oil cooled and water cooled families before they run out of resources and time to sustain itself in this economy? What awaits is the really the next chapter of the story waiting to be written...as you know the:devilis in the details!
Randall K. Wilson
Junior Member
I may be able to relate to the Nova story in a manner that some may not. You see I own a 1983 Honda V-45 Sabre with 9k miles on it, (which was a gift from a friend) V-4, 4 carbs, 4 cams, and 16 valves. One source on the internet says that this Sabre can do 0-100mph in 5 seconds.
I did not read every detail of the Nova story, but will. In the meantime when I saw the v-4 engine, I thought about how snappy my Sabre is.
Honda opps said THAT word...struggled to put the V4 as their premier product and found one important lesson...while it had many advantages, the one disadvantage was IT WAS EXPENSIVE TO BUILD...and still make decent profit. They also went through 5 generations of their V4 and when all is said and done...IT is their best bike, albiet not the fastest or in the "sweet spot" for sales...but it is their finest overall sport-touring bike by most motojournalists who rate their product lines. Could Harley come out with a comparable one with marketing success...hard to say, but HRC had no problem throwing money at what essentially is a "bragging rights" model.
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poohbear
Active Member
One of the worst thing AMF did was getting rid of employees when they took over. Some of these guys had many years with HD but more then years they knew what they were doing, HD was their heart and soul. Back then they had both 3.5 and 5 gallon gas tanks. There are stories of bike going out the door with one side 3.5 the other 5, little things like this because the new hires didn't care about HD. I was in LA (1973) when a friends brand new superglide was in the shop, it had lots of issue, but one of the thing that was found was a brown lunch sack in the oil tank, trash can I guess! The Heart and Soul was not with the employees, it was 'just a job'.