New-age Harley-Davidson Cafe Racer and Flat Tracker in the works?

Harley-Davidson is believed to be working on two all-new motorcycles - a Cafe Racer and a Flat Tracker. This has been revealed with the new set of design patent images filed at the European Union Intellectual Property Office. Both these motorcycles could be powered by the DOHC Revolution Max V-Twin engine, as seen evidently from the patent drawings. It could either be the liquid-cooled V-Twin 1,250cc that will power the upcoming Pan America Adventure Tourer or the 975cc V-Twin which will underpin the Bronx.

The Cafe Racer

Remember the Harley-Davidson XR1200? The Sportster that was launched in 2006. The upcoming Cafe Racer shows a strong resemblance to the XR, especially in the silhouette. The design sports a round headlight embedded in a cowl, with a small flyscreen. Instead of clip-ons, this one gets a straight handlebar. Also, the footpegs are positioned towards the rear and higher to give an aggressive riding stance. Further, the design features USD forks and conventional shock absorbers in the rear, underbelly protector, alloy wheels, dual discs in the front and a single seat unit. The pillion seat could be an optional extra.

The Flat Tracker

In terms of dimensions both the motorcycles appear to be of a similar size. The Flat Tracker gets the essential high-mounted twin-exhaust, single headlight design that seems to have been carried from the Fat Bob, straight handlebar, flatter single piece seat as compared to the Cafe Racer. The footpegs also appear to be positioned behind the swingarm pivot. At the front, the Flat Tracker gets USD forks while the rear makes use of a monoshock. Further, the alloy wheels on this appear to be larger than the Cafe Racer. The licence plate and the rear turn indicators are fixed on the rear tyre hugger.

This image of the Harley-Davidson Flat Tracker prototype was shown at one of the investor meets

Back in 2018, Harley-Davidson announced its roadmap of launching all-new motorcycles from a new platform ranging from 500 to 1,250cc. The company unveiled three motorcycles then, the Pan America, the 1250 Custom and the 975 Streetfighter, all boasting V-twin engines. Harley-Davidson had also announced a new 250-500cc platform that will attack the Indian and Asian markets. While there is no definite time frame, we expect to see the motorcycle in 2021 or 2022, assuming four years of development and production lead times.

Source: Motorcycle.com