HARLEY-DAVIDSON SEVENTY-TWO™ REVIVES A LEAN LOOK Dark Custom Gets Some Color A New Narrow Sportster in Sparkling Metal Flake Paint MILWAUKEE (Feb. 1, 2012) The Harley-Davidson® Seventy-Two™ motorcycle is a metal flake dream machine, a Sportster® on a trip back to the days when the cool kids rode a Sting-Ray and the big boys parked choppers in a row on the curb. Those motorcycles were long and lean; candy-apple color and gleaming chrome shimmering in hazy summer sunlight. From its Hard Candy Big Red Flake paint and ape bars to its narrow whitewall tires, the Seventy-Two is a respectful nod to that era, and to the influence of the custom culture that still percolates today along Whittier Boulevard, the legendary cruising street in East Los Angeles also known as Route 72. A new generation of custom builder is tapping into that era and making a fresh statement, not just in California but in garages across the country, even around the world. “In creating the Seventy-Two, we were also inspired by the vibe of the early chopper era,” says Frank Savage, Harley-Davidson Manager of Industrial Design. “Those bikes were colorful and chromed, but also narrow and stripped down to the essentials. You look at period examples and they are almost as simple as a bicycle. It’s a custom style that’s very particular to America and that California scene.” Metal flake, an iconic design element of the ’70s, appeared in everything from dune buggy gel coat to vinyl diner upholstery, and on custom motorcycles. Harley-Davidson brings the sparkle back on the Seventy-Two with Hard Candy Big Red Flake paint. This new finish is created by applying a black base coat, followed by a polyurethane system that carries hexagon-shaped flakes that are more than seven times the diameter of metal flake used in typical production paint. Each flake is coated with a thin aluminum film and then tinted red. Four applications of clear coat, combined with hand sanding, create a smooth finish over the flakes. “The final touch to the Hard Candy Big Red Flake paint is a logo on the tank top and pinstripe scallop details on both fenders,” says Savage. “Each was originally created by hand, and we recreated that art in a decal for production, so they still have the appearance of hand-applied graphics in that they are not exactly perfect. The graphics are then covered with a final clear coat application.” A solo seat and side-mounted license plate bracket leave much of the chopped rear fender and more of that paint exposed on the Seventy-Two. The powertrain is finished in Gray powdercoat with chrome covers and a new round air cleaner with a dished cover. A classic Sportster 2.1-gallon “peanut” fuel tank adds a final period touch to the motorcycle. Key features of the 2012 Harley-Davidson® Seventy-Two™ include: Air-cooled Evolution® 1200cc V-Twin engine with Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI), rated at 73 ft. lbs. peak torque at 3500 rpm. Powertrain is finished in Gray powdercoat with Chrome covers. Paint color choices include Hard Candy Big Red Flake with period pinstripe details on fenders and fuel tank, Black Denim, and Big Blue Pearl. Classic 2.1-gallon peanut fuel tank. Dunlop®white side wall 21-inch (MH90-21) front and 16-inch (150/80B16) rear tires. Chrome Laced wheels. Ten-inch mini-ape handlebar mounted on a two-inch high riser. Chrome, eight-inch round air cleaner cover with center screw mount. Chopped rear fender exposes rear tire. Side-mounted license plate bracket. Chrome, staggered, shorty dual exhaust with slash-cut mufflers. Solo seat with black textured vinyl cover. Handlebar-mounted speedometer with chrome cup. Chrome rear fender struts. Chrome coil-over pre-load adjustable rear shocks. Forward foot controls. Harley-Davidson Motor Company produces heavyweight custom, cruiser and touring motorcycles and offers a complete line of Harley-Davidson motorcycle parts, accessories, riding gear and apparel, and general merchandise. For more information, visit Harley-Davidson’s website at www.harley-davidson.com. More, from another press release issued by Harley-Davidson: NEW HARLEY-DAVIDSON SOFTAIL® SLIM™ IS A CLEAN, OLD-SCHOOL CUSTOM Stripped-Down, Narrow Styling with Less Chrome and Retro Details MILWAUKEE (Feb. 1, 2012) Pare down a Harley-Davidson® Softail® motorcycle to its essential elements and you have the Slim. From its trimmed front fender to its narrow rear end, Slim is a no-nonsense, back-to-basics motorcycle. Call it stripped. Call it old school. Call it lean and mean. What’s left is the elemental Softail profile and iconic Harley-Davidson® style that recalls classic custom bobbers of the 1950s. “It’s time to make the engine the focal point of the motorcycle,” says Harley-Davidson Senior Designer Casey Ketterhagen, “so we put a Softail on a diet to get the proportions back in check. Scale down the rear with a narrow tire and chopped fender and the heart of the bike, the motor, once again becomes the focus. We left a gap between the nose of the seat and tank so the rider can see the top of the motor. I like to be able to look down and see what’s moving me.” To keep the rear of the motorcycle simple and clean, the Slim has combination stop/turn/tail lights and a side-mounted license plate. The rear fender struts are left uncovered, exposing the forged steel and fasteners. A thin formed-leather strap covers the fuel tank seam. The powertrain is finished with polished covers instead of chrome, and the black cylinders are left unhighlighted. The FL front fender is trimmed to expose more of the tire. “I’d personally like to strip the bike down even further,” says Ketterhagen, “but this is as far as we can go on a production model. The Slim is intended to be a direct interpretation of home-built customs of the 1940s and 50s, and we used a number of components that evoke that era, beginning with a Hollywood handlebar.” The Hollywood bar, identified by its wide bend and cross brace, was originally an accessory for Harley-Davidson® models with a Springer fork. The name may have been coined because owners of that era who used the cross-brace to mount lights and bags had “gone Hollywood” with excessive accessorization. For the Slim, the cross-braced bar and louvered headlight nacelle are finished in gloss black. Other period styling cues include a gloss black “cat’s eye” tank console with a retro speedometer face, half-moon rider footboards, a round air cleaner cover, and gloss black wheel rims and hubs. The cover of the solo seat is stitched in a tuck-and-roll pattern. “The seat really gives you the feeling of sitting in the bike, rather than on it,” says Ketterhagen. “The bars are nice and low, too, so when you’re riding you have an unobstructed view forward, which reinforces the idea that this is a very elemental motorcycle, a real back-to-basics ride.” A counter-balanced Twin Cam 103B™ engine is rigid-mounted within the frame, creating a solid connection between rider and the machine. The Softail® chassis mimics the clean lines of a vintage hardtail frame, but utilizes rear suspension control provided by coil-over shock absorbers mounted horizontally and out of sight within the frame rails. With the combination of a 23.8-inch seat height and rider footboards, the Slim comfortably fits a wide range of riders and offers light side-stand lift-off. A pull-back riser from Harley-Davidson® Genuine Motor Accessories can be installed to move the handlebar back two inches without changing control cables and lines. Key features of the 2012 Harley-Davidson Softail® Slim™ include: Rigid-mounted, air-cooled, 1690 cc Twin Cam 103B™ counter-balanced engine with Automatic Compression Release (ACR) rated at 98.7 ft. lbs. peak torque at 3000 rpm. Powertrain is finished in Black powdercoat with polished covers. · 6-Speed Cruise Drive® Transmission. Chrome, over/under shotgun exhaust with slash-cut mufflers. · Gloss Black round air cleaner cover. Classic 5.0-gallon Fat Bob® fuel tank. Black “cat’s eye” console holds electronic speedometer with retro-style face. Dunlop® 16-inch (MT90B16) front and rear (MU85B16) tires. Black, Steel Laced wheels. Hollywood handlebar with cross-brace Gloss black headlamp with chrome trim ring. Gloss black nacelle with punched louvers. Half-moon footboards with retro-style foot control pads. Chopped rear fender exposes rear tire. Trimmed FL front fender. Side-mounted license plate bracket. Combination stop/tail/turn tail lights. Solo seat with black tuck-and-roll vinyl cover. Forged rear fender supports are finished in Gloss Black powdercoat. Gloss black “horseshoe” oil tank. Paint color choices include Vivid Black, Black Denim, and Ember Red Sunglo. · Security Package Option (factory-installed option) includes: Harley-Davidson® Smart Security System with proximity-based, hands-free security fob and Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) Harley-Davidson Motor Company produces heavyweight custom, cruiser and touring motorcycles and offers a complete line of Harley-Davidson motorcycle parts, accessories, riding gear and apparel, and general merchandise. For more information, visit Harley-Davidson’s Web site at www.harley-davidson.com.