Yea, I was wondering when (not if) this EPA crackdown would come about... Could be HD trying to move all the leftover '15s & 16s off the floor??? Cut into the aftermarket slice of the pie???
One has to realize that Harley has stretched the envelope of air cooled technology way beyond anyone else to keep the legacy (architecture) alive... The Japanese and the Germans could start with a clean sheet of paper as they had no legacy to keep alive... All of them had to go to full liquid cooling These days, Indian's "legacy" is some curves on the fenders, a logo, and a name...
The legacy designs of the modern muscle cars are just some sheet metal and plastic styling cues, they're a lot different underneath. Don't get me wrong, we are in a Renaissance Period with the automobile, the performance, comfort, safety, efficiency, durability, of today's vehicles was unimaginable in my youth, never thought I would see cars drive themselves in my lifetime... all with much less emissions. Full liquid cooled 4 stroke engines is the common denominator, except for all electric...
There was some mention of Harley TBW issues... well my 3/4 ton pickup had the throttle control module at the pedal go bad, no warning signs, just intermittently would not go above idle when starting off from a stop, (yea, some crimp marks on the seat!) Module cost $900.00!!! so even things (the automotive world) that all the major economies of the world revolve around aren't perfect... Motorcycles are a fly on an elephant's ass compared...
One of the things that attracted me to Harleys 40 years ago (when they couldn't give 'em away) was the visceral sensations, the vibration, the noise, the looks, riding a work of art, not something out of a Judge Dredd movie, and yes the legacy and the history, like something that has a life of it's own, Harley's all have their own personality... and to a large extent, the MoCo has kept that in tact... up to now...
Some folks would call me a "kool-aide drinker", and that's ok with me, due to a lot of hard work, a little luck, and being blessed, I can drink anything I want...
Yea Jerry, I'm sure your Cherry is bone stock... mine is too...
As far as the C.A.V.E folks... the petroleum lobbies are much stronger than the Coal lobbies... I'd take Coal over fracking any day! Now that OPEC has dropped the price of oil and kept it down, how many "patriotic ads about energy independence" do you see these days??? I know first hand what an oil spill is (Deepwater Horizon), I never heard of a Coal Spill???
Now don't get me wrong, I'm (mostly) pro- EPA... I'm a Land Guy, have seen my share of SuperFund Sites, and worked in areas where the Erie Canal used to catch fire...
'Gotta quote 'Ol Hub on this one...
There endeth the Lesson...