issue 183

Ben McKinley, Director of Design at Harley-Davidson, leans back against the Roadster, one of his earlier designs.

Back in the old days, Kelly Johnson, the designer of the Lockheed U-2 and SR-71 spy planes said to his engineers just keep everything simple. Don’t make things too complex for the maintainers. He told the eggheads not to be stupid, thus he used the acronym KISS, or Keep It Simple, Stupid (meaning the designers). That is essentially what the Motor Company did in 2020 by hiring Jochen Zeitz as the CEO, and boss of keeping it simple. 

Jochen has kept KISS but with the last letter S standing for “and Smart”. Instead of 100 new models in 10 years, he is just saying we need only 10 or so models. I think he is guiding the Motor Company towards a few smart designs and manufacturing processes. You can see it with his predecessors starting the development of the Revolution Max or RevMax modular engine and motorbikes. Thus keeping everything simple.

Just look at the current model lineup at h-d.com: Cruiser, Grand American Touring, Adventure Touring, and Trike. With no mention of the electric LiveWire or Serial 1. Just core bikes for the true Harley believers. That said, enter the reality of greenhouse gases and the environment. Yes folks we have to save the planet for our grandchildren. And, I do believe the little ones will also be riding our type of Harleys 20 years from now. And with cleaner and more powerful engines that will have the “potato-potato-potato-potato” sound. The connection will still be there for our core riders. It’s ingrained with the stylist, designers and engineers that brought you Harleys in the past.

Let me keep it simple again and go back to 2010 and one student designer. “The Kid” while still in school submitted his “Streetfighter Concept” to the Company. Today that kid, Ben McKinley is the Director of Design at both Harley-Davidson and LiveWire. Sorta the same top design job as Willie G had. 

So you ask me, what is the connection between a 2010 Streetfighter and the RevMax platform? Simple. The Kid spent 12 years taking the core ideas of the Motor Company and making them viable today. Look at his Streetfighter which is now the delayed Bronx 975. And his Sportster Nightster 975T. They have much the same heart and soul as all Harleys. Maybe not the 45 degree V-Twin but they can sound just like a hot 1250cc, 60-degree V-Rod.

Ben earned his spurs designing core Harleys like the 2013 Breakout, 2014 Low Rider, Sportster Forty-Eight and Roadster, the new Softail and Milwaukee Eight including the 2018 Breakout, Fat Bob and today the Sportster Nightster. Personally, I think he was brought back from the LiveWire company to leapfrog the Bronx release with his experience on the old Forty-Eight and to make sure the Sportster Nightster 975 was an old fashioned Harley; not like the alpha-male Sportster S 1250 rocket ship. Note too that Ben was the Lead Designer for the 2020 LiveWire with the looks of the Streetfighter Concept.

In short what you are seeing with the Nightster is: 1) Making a new Sportster for the core Harley lovers using the RevMax modular architecture; 2) Legal worldwide, and finally; 3) Compete with the lightweight Euro and Japanese bikes. Thus you take the RevMax 750, 975, 1250 engine (its outside dimensions are all the same) and bolt on different front and rear-ends, air boxes, under seat fuel tanks, and all kinds of electronics for different on/off road riding styles. Call it the Lego Harley. Just add parts to the RevMax engine.

Use your imagination and the next thing you know you will have an 1850cc RevMax with a lengthened softail frame with a bolt-on Batwing or Road Glide fairing. That my friend is the next generation Grand American Touring model. It will be 100 pounds lighter and the same computer chip as the rest of the Harleys. Finally we can say good bye to the old 2008 touring frame! And Kyle Wyman will have his new Bagger #1 winner.

Just so you know I haven’t forgotten to give credit where credit is due, I’ve only mentioned one designer. But where would we be today without Brad Richards the Vice President of Design, Dias Nagao Lead Designer/Stylist Low Rider S, Willie G. Low Rider et al, Rit Booth Dyna, Louie Netz, Ray Drea and all of the 24-plus designers who actually put pen to paper or do CAD designs; not to mention the secret world of the engineers?

One last point, with electronics you can make a 60 degree V-Twin sound almost like an old Evo, Chevy V-8 or a Subaru WRX STi. With my ’21 FXLRS 114 on a hot day in heavy traffic at a stop light, my rear cylinder cuts out and my engine “potatoes” like a real Harley. Now if I could put a switch on my bike to do that while riding along at 2000rpm and 60 km/h; wouldn’t that be nice?