Harley Sportster: The road cruiser

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

When people think about Harley-Davidson motorcycles, they picture big, powerful beasts for out-of-town trips or touring.

Few people might imagine riding a Harley through the treacherous and crowded streets of Jakarta.

Well, start imagining, because the smaller-sized, more maneuverable Harley-Davidson Sportster was just introduced here, giving Jakartans the chance to beat the horrendous traffic in style.

PT Mabua Harley-Davidson unveiled the 2004 Harley-Davidson models on Monday.

"Most of our customers buy touring motorcycles, which are very large, for their touring during weekends or holidays," PT Mabua Harley-Davidson president Djonnie Rachmat told The Jakarta Post.

"With such heavy traffic, it is an opportunity for us to sell more of our Sportster models, especially for executives who want to beat the traffic."

The new Harley models include the Sportster 1200 Custom from the Sportster family, the Road King Custom and Ultra Classic Electra Glide from the touring family, Dyna Low Ride from the Dyna family, Heritage Softail Classic from the Softail family and the VRSCA V-ROD from Harley-Davidson's latest family, the VRSC.

Sportster family motorcycles come in four models powered by an Evolution engine. The XL 883 Sportster and XL 883C Sportster Custom use the 883 cc Evolution engine, while the XL 1200C Sportster Custom and XL 1200R Roadster use a larger 1,200 cc Evolution engine.

"With a price range of between some Rp 159 million and Rp 207 million, a Sportster can be a good alternative for executives to get to their office on time.

"And with the new rubber-mounted engine, a first for Sportster, it provides a smoother ride," Djonnie said.

He said the Sportsters were now equipped with larger 17-liter tanks allowing better mileage.

All of Harley's motorcycles are covered by a two-year unlimited mileage warranty for both motorcycles and genuine accessories.

In 2003, PT Mabua Harley-Davidson sold 220 Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and expects to match or surpass that total this year.

"Last year we only set a target of some 180 motorcycles but were able to surpass it," said general manager Willy A. Tjondrodiputero.

"Most of our customers, some 70 percent of them, bought larger motorcycles for touring purposes."

Djonnie said efforts to push Sportster sales would not harm sales of larger touring bikes.

"It is just opening a new market. Previous owners can buy a Sportster as their second Harley-Davidson," he said.