{"id":163455,"date":"2026-03-14T19:09:38","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T19:09:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/163455\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T19:09:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T19:09:38","slug":"is-harley-davidson-thinking-ahead-or-in-rerun-mode-remember-the-bronx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/163455\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Harley-Davidson Thinking Ahead Or In Rerun Mode? Remember The Bronx?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Haven\u2019t we seen this movie before? Here\u2019s the plotline. Harley-Davidson diverts from past design practice and unveils a concept of a sporty, non-cruiser model and seeks public response. Time passes and, well, nothing comes to fruition. At least not in 2019 or 2020.<\/p>\n

Here it is 2026 and Harley-Davidson is engaged in a rerun in the form of a concept model labeled the RMCR. Photos of which began showing up and generating chatter on social media about two weeks ago.<\/p>\n

That was when Harley-Davidson posted a batch of images of the concept model \u201cinspired by the legacy of the original XLCR caf\u00e9 racer.\u201d The company stated that the RMCR was created as \u201ca modern interpretation of a rebellious original, and a tribute to Willie G, whose influence still guides how we design today.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2014<\/p>\n

A short explanation revealed that the RMCR is a \u201ccarbon fiber concept\u201d that utilizes a 1250cc Revolution Max V-Twin engine. It has \u201ca custom 2-into-2 exhaust and a chassis shaped with performance in mind. Every line intentional. Every detail considered.\u201d The RMCR name stands for Revolution Max Caf\u00e9 Racer.<\/p>\n

So why did the reveal of the RMCR make me think back to 2019 and another more attractive concept sport model? <\/p>\n

Remember the Bronx streetfighter? No? That\u2019s because it never went into production. Harley-Davidson used the EICMA show in Milan, Italy in November 2019 to unveil the Bronx and provide additional info on an adventure touring model called the Pan America, which did get built.<\/p>\n

\"\"Harley-Davidson\u2019s proposed Bronx model from 2019<\/p>\n

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\u2014<\/p>\n

The Bronx was targeted for release in late 2020 and was to be powered by a new 975cc Revolution Max V-Twin that would put out more than 115 horsepower. It was to come with Michelin tires and have Brembo brakes. <\/p>\n

It looked to be a perfect modern-looking sport model to lure younger riders and riders not wanting a cruiser, except Harley-Davidson never moved forward with Bronx. Instead, the slow-selling Pan America was produced.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been said many times and many ways over the years that Harley-Davidson isn\u2019t known for fresh, imaginative designs and for forward thinking. It has long been accused of merely swapping items from a parts warehouse to come up with new models . <\/p>\n

\"\"\u2014<\/p>\n

While the RMCR is hardly innovative, it is different. In its favor, it isn\u2019t a cruiser, it is sportier than anything currently offered, it is smaller and it presumably would be less expensive, too. These reasons alone suggest that it\u2019s worth building.<\/p>\n

But why not resurrect the Bronx as well and give potential customers two new models to choose from? Combined, they could team up to help alter Harley-Davidson\u2019s struggling sales and a trajectory that can only get worse as old riders continue to fade away. It\u2019s time for a Hail Mary.<\/p>\n

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(Photos courtesy of Harley-Davidson.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Haven\u2019t we seen this movie before? Here\u2019s the plotline. Harley-Davidson diverts from past design practice and unveils a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":163456,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-163455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}