Harley-Davidson reveals new 121-hp Sportster S

2021 Sportster S - Scotland Photo Shoot

As part of its lineup overhaul, Harley-Davidson officially pulled the sheet off its new 121-horsepower Sportster S model, topping off the performance bike range with double the output of its Iron 1200 model.

Harley has been teasing the new Sportster S for a while now, touting its performance and hinting that it would render the bikes it replaces obsolete. Power comes from Harley-Davidson's new 1,250cc water-cooled V-twin, dubbed the Revolution Max 1250T. It makes 121 horses and 94 pound-feet in the Sportster S (as opposed to the 150 horsepower it produces in Harley's Pan America 1250 adventure touring bike). Despite nearly doubling the Iron 1200's horsepower, its fuel economy is expected to be 1 mpg better (49 vs. 48).

“The Sportster S is the next all-new motorcycle built on the Revolution Max platform and sets a new performance standard for the Sportster line," said Jochen Zeitz, chairman, president and CEO, Harley-Davidson. "This is a next-generation Sportster defined by power, performance, technology and style. And it’s part of our commitment to introduce motorcycles that align with our strategy to increase desirability and to drive the legacy of Harley-Davidson."

"Every visual design element of the Sportster S model is an expression of the motorcycle’s raw power," said Harley-Davidson design boss Brad Richards. "This is a wolf in wolf’s clothing."

The Sportster S is more than just a new engine. Its powertrain is a structural member of the chassis, which means it doesn't have a conventional frame, but sub-frame elements bolted directly to the driveline. H-D says this significantly reduces the bike's weight (it weighs 62 lbs less than the Iron 1200) and helps centralize the mass better for superior control. Its high-mounted exhaust and forward-mounted controls reinforce its performance ambitions, but H-D will offer a relocation kit for those who want a more relaxed posture.

The Sportster S will be available this fall with a starting price of $14,999.

Build Your Own Awesome Personal 3D Avatar with Avatara

Do you use social networks and want to build your own awesome 3D avatar? Maybe you want to send someone a cute cuddly image of yourself (kind of)? Or maybe you have your own ideas of what you would do with an Avatar… Well look no further than Avatara which I discovered from the MakeUseOf directory . You can create 3d avatars out of pre-set up templates or create your own from scratch. To start, visit Avatara’s homepage . You will see this screen: Click Get Started to umm, get started! That will take you to this screen: You see that you can build your own Avatar using an uploaded head shot like the Obama one above (just an example, guys). Or roll with one of their awesome avatars. I chose to start with a blank avatar by clicking Start with a blank avatar at the bottom of the screen. That takes you to here: I clicked on the filter at the top and told it to filter out everything but male characters and then I saw this: I rolled with Buck and continued. You need to click Select...

Fun Tools to Translate Your Name into Japanese Calligraphy

Japanese calligraphy is an artistic writing style of the Japanese language. Its Chinese origins can be traced back to the twenty-eighth century BCE. Calligraphy found its way into Japanese culture in 600 CE and is known as the karayo tradition. For Westerners, calligraphy is forever fascinating. However, it takes years to learn how to properly draw the signs. Two basic principles must be known to understand Japanese writing: there are different writing styles and different alphabets. Kaisho for example, is a writing style most commonly used in print media. Tensho on the other hand is used in signatures. Other writing styles are Reisho, Gyosho and Sousho. The alphabets include Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana. Katakana is used for writing foreign words. It can also serve to highlight words, in analogy to capital letters as we know them from the Roman / Latin alphabet (Romaji in Japanese). Each Kanji character has a meaning of its own, while Hiragana or Katakana characters merely repres...

Boom, the startup that wants to build supersonic planes, just signed a massive deal with Virgin

Have you heard about Boom? Boom is a relatively new startup that’s aiming to build something pretty crazy. They’re not building an app… or a social network… or even some new gadget for the Kickstarter crowd. Boom wants to build planes. Really, really, really fast planes. Specifically, they’re trying to design and build a supersonic passenger plane that goes 2.2x the speed of sound. If all goes to plan, they’ll be able to shuttle people from New York to London in 3.5 hours, and SF to Tokyo in 4.5. Sound crazy? I wouldn’t disagree. It’s worth noting that the company is in the very early days for something as intensive, massive, and hugely expensive as designing and producing a passenger aircraft. They’re still working on their first prototype, and hope to fly it by late next year. But it’s also worth noting that the team behind the plane has some serious talent in its blood: the company’s 11 employees have collectively contributed to over 30 aircrafts — having worked on thin...

Kiran Upadhyay

Search This Blog