Harley-Davidson plans to trim down their model range globally, with the US set to see no less than six models leave the line-up; including one which is considered to be the company’s signature model, the FLHR Road King.
Sources stated that the company plans to tend to the price overlap and thus, the XR1200X Sportster, the FXS Softail Blackline, FLHTC Electra Glide Classic and the FLHRC Road King Classic will be discontinued in North America. The FLTRX Road Glide Custom and FLTRU Road Glide Ultra will not make it to 2014, but are going to reappear with a redesign in the coming years. The FLHR Road King will be discontinued in other markets as well.
In India, the company has already discontinued the XL883R, 1200 Sportster, 1200 Nightster and XR1200X Sportster, with the Forty-Eight being the only 1200 on offer. Their most expensive offering on arrival, the CVO Ultra Classic Electra Glide, is also no longer available.
We are sad to see the Road King not show up in the list of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, but we are sure that the company definitely has something up their sleeve in terms of model positioning and pricing strategy.
Story: Jim Gorde
