Harley to offer GPS as option on some bikes

We're not surprised to see that Harley-Davidson is going to be offering Garmin's Roadtech Quest GPS system as an option on certain models; after all, Honda and BMW already offer similar models. And the unit does include an earbud that will allow bikers to hear voice prompts over the road noise. We can't help but wonder, though, how GPS fits in with the hog ethos of hitting the open road, never knowing what's coming around the next bend. Maybe they can add a randomizer function, just to keep those road trips at least a little spontaneous.

[Jim Wilson @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

I like the idea of a randomizer function!

As for why GPS on motorcycles, I've found it most useful for finding places in cities. It's very hard to work with a map when you're riding, especially in traffic, but easy to follow GPS directions to an address. In addition, since businesses are reluctant to put their addresses on buildings, GPS can get you close enough to where the address "should" be to let you scan for the business you're trying to find.

[Jesse @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Half the point of a bike is to go get lost on it. Not to mention, to leave the tech toys behind.

[popeye @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Damn straight #2, and this from Harley. Talk about pandering to their middle aged, white collar customer base!

[Nrage @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Have any of you ever rode a harley.....hello there is no way that you are even going to hear directions comming from a gps unit...also im sure thats real safe to be staring down at the gps unit on your bike. Remember when harleys used to mean a dirty biker....now you hear harley and you think of that middle aged doctor down the street who irons his chaps....lol

[onitatsu @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Ahh, yes.. Harley Davidson... 60 years of tradition unfettered by technology....

The reason they are offering GPS is because they have to "refresh" their 60 year old, technologically inferior product line. HD is one of the few companies that is so ineffective in its home market that it relies on protective tarrifs to be competitive. Harley makes more money on it's cross-branded products being bought by brain-dead lemming wannabe bikers kneeling at the church of Harley Davidson, than it does selling its clunky POS motorcycles. Their idea of evolution is adding fuel injection... last YEAR. People who buy Harley Davidson products aren't buying it for the technology, they buy it for the image...an image most haven't earned. It's certainly not for the technology... it's the same technology HD was running in the 60s when they QUIT from the racing ciruit because it was TOO competitive, and they couldn't hack it.

Harley USED to be the all-american bike, and marketted itself as such in the post WWII era... nowadays, over half the components on Harleys are made by Japan or Germany... how ironic. Harley bikes spend more time being maintained than their counterpart metric cruisers. They have less power, more weight, and handle like bricks compared to their counterpart metric cruisers. They are inferior in every way.

Nice try, Harley, but so much for American Thunder... Harley is a company that survives on meeting the needs of aging baby boomers who grew up on Easy Rider and long for the days of their youth, when they COULD HAVE BEEN cool if they bought a bike. Adding GPS is like putting lipstick on a pig... no matter how you try to pretty it up, it's still fat, dirty, and useful only for its parts ;)

[Pacey @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Onitatsu, do you really think that the only thing saving Harley Davidsion is "that it relies on protective tarrifs to be competitive"? Harley has such a fan-base in the US that it doesn't need to advertise like the foreign bike makers.

If you think the technology hasn't been advanced in 60 years, check out the revloution engine. Now you are right about one thing. The newest addition to the H-D line was a co-design between H-D and Porche called the v-twin. Great bike, great engine, great ride. Personally not my style, but a lot of people enjoy it.

Also, your information is out of date on racing. While they are still in their infancy on some circuits, Check out a lil sub-set of H-D called BUELL. I ride on of their bixes, the XB12R. Quick, nimble, comfortable, looks like something a sport bike but still has the Harley sound. When I go to local bike nights, I park my stock BUELL between the modified GSX'ers and the Ninjas, and who's bike do you think gets more attention? Mine.

Could Harley incorporate more technology into their bikes? Sure, anyone could. But the thrill of riding comes from the open road, not what runs the bike, and besides, what more do you need than 2 cylinders, 2 wheels and the open road?

[onitatsu @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

are you kidding?

That fan base you speak so highly of... is not buying bikes. They are buying branded merchandise. As I said earlier, Harley makes more money on its cross-branded merchandise than they make on their bikes.

Eric Buell left Harley Davidson to make his own bikes... unfortunatly, because of his lack of success marketing and selling his bike (which I applaud him for trying to do), Harley bought him back. Buells are still the bastard step child of Harley. They don't put much R&D into the bike (although it still gets more R&D than their other bikes). You seriously need to look at the company before you want to argue stuff like this with me.

If you look, your XB12R still lags behind other bikes of similar displacement. It has less HP and is less nimble. There's a reason it hasn't won any major races. When was the last time a rider on a Buell was on the podium? You want to know what competes with it? Let's see.. the ZX12R and the Hayabusa will tear it apart. For a 1.2 liter bike, it certainly gets spanked often by the regular liter bikes on the racing circuit. It's a shame, really. It would have been nice if Eric Buell had succeeded.

The v-twin is not any new technology. It's been around for a long time, and on other Japanese bikes, as well as some Italian manufacturers. Just look at the RC51 from Honda, the SV1000S and the SV650 from Suzuki, the Bandit, etc. Lots of v-twin goodness, without the extra weight of any Harley.. and spend less time getting worked on.

Most of the motorcycle cops I've talked to (CHP, San Francisco PD, San Jose PD, LAPD to name a few) absolutely HATED the Harleys they had as work bikes. When some of the police forces switched to BMWs with integrated, linked ABS, they were ecstatic.

Harley is a company that is dying. The fanbase that currently exist will die off in the near future. Current motorcycle enthusiasts are buying other bikes, because of their capabilities and technologies far outstrip anything Harley has. Once a person looks beyond the lemming-like worship of the Harley mystique, they realize that it's all show, no go.

[RedDevil @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Onitatsu, or hiyabutsu, or whatever you want to adorn yourself with. You are so closed minded. Hi-tech is not everything to motorcycles. If that were the case BMW would have been out of business a long time ago too. Seeing how fast you can go from stoplight to stoplight is irrelevent too. I don't really care that a hiyabusa or a ninja can blow my doors off. That's not why I ride a motorcycle and have for 35 years. I ride a motorcycle to feel the wind in my face, to enjoy the freedom that a motorcycle gives me and yes, I also love the sound of a harley. There's nothing like it. Is it lacking in being hi-tech? Sure, but who cares? I don't need the latest crotch-rocket to enjoy riding on two wheels. Do I need a bike that goes from 0-60 in 3 secs? Nope. One that goes 175mph? Nope. It's each to his/her own. Just because you have a piece of rice stuck in your dark side doesn't mean Harley's are bad. You like your crotch-rockets and many people love Harley's. Keep in mind, Harley is the only manufacturer that sells every motorcycle they make, every year. Can any of the Japanese manufacturers claim that? No. In fact I can go out and find a new 2003 Goldwing in a crate at just about any Honda Dealer in the area and get a great deal. But why would I? They're great motorcycles, but they're not for me. Also, the tariffs were gone a long time ago, so Harley doesn't need a tarrif to compete. They have the market for touring motorcycles in the US. If Harley's are so bad, why are all the popular Japanese bikes clones of Harleys? Their "hi-tech" bikes as you put it, are not their big sellers. Their clone v-twins are. You don't like Harleys, so what and for that matter who cares. But don't spew garbage that isn't true or you'll get flamed every time you utter a nonsensical word. I seriously doubt that the motor company will die anytime soon. In fact I would wager a bet that you and your children will die before Harley-Davidson does.

[Doc @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Got a nice chuckle out of all the Harley bashers. Too bad they just don't get it.
Just returned from one of 3 - 3000 mile plus rides I'll take this year...like every year. year. I used a Delorme GPS receiver w/ a Palm PDA to help find all the roads and sights I wanted to see. Didn't even take a map. You can bet my Ultra will be sporting one of these units soon.
I also use my '03 Harley for daily transportation and aside from routine maintenance, haven't had a wrench on it.
To all you wannabe whiners, get a life. To all you fellow bikers - what ever you ride, see ya down the road!