Mid-State Cycles

Harley-Davidson joins forces with Marvel

MILWAUKEE (February 16, 2012) - Harley-Davidson and Marvel Entertainment have come together again for the Assemble Your Freedom contest where customers can assemble their dream bike and become a character in an Avengers comic.

From now through July 1, anyone can enter the Assemble Your Freedom contest online at www.harley-davidson.com/avengers. Just create a profile with a hero name and description along with selecting a Super Hero bike model and features on the Harley-Davidson H-D1 Bike Builder.

“We’re excited to collaborate with Marvel again and to do it with such a great and historic property like the Avengers,” said Dino Bernacchi, Harley-Davidson Marketing Communication Director. “The Assemble Your Freedom contest gives anyone who believes in things like freedom and independence the chance to express their passion and spirit for Harley-Davidson and Avengers in a truly unique way. They’ll be able to ride into an Avengers mission and be immortalized in this special edition digital comic.”

The Assemble Your Freedom contest will be select five winners based on various factors with prizes that include the motorcycle they created and being immortalized with a personal likeness and motorcycle drawn into a custom Avengers comic book.

Based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series, the Avengers film brings together the mightiest Super Hero characters on screen for the first time. The recently launched Harley-Davidson Softail Slim motorcycle will have a role in the new Avengers film, scheduled to premiere in May 4, 2012.

ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Marvel Studios presents “Marvel’s The Avengers”—the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson, and written and directed by Joss Whedon, “Marvel’s The Avengers” is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since. Prepare yourself for an exciting event movie, packed with action and spectacular special effects, when “Marvel’s The Avengers” assemble in summer 2012.

“Marvel’s The Avengers” is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures. The film is being produced by Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige and executive produced by Alan Fine, Stan Lee, Jon Favreau, Louis D’Esposito, Patricia Whitcher, Victoria Alonso and Jeremy Latcham.  The film will be released May 4, 2012.  The film is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. 

New Harley-Davidson Softail® Slim™ is a clean, old-school custom

“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 Seventy-Two™ revives a lean look

“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.

New Dyna® Switchback is a custom touring convertible

The Switchback is powered by a muscular Twin Cam 103™ V-Twin engine that delivers strong performance on the boulevard and on the highway. The Switchback is the lightest custom touring motorcycle in its displacement category, and at 718 pounds ready-to-ride is 94 pounds lighter than a Harley-Davidson Road King®. New front-end geometry, premium suspension components, and a low-profile front tire give the Switchback a plush ride and responsive handling.

"The new front end geometry, wheel and tire specs, and cartridge fork are engineered to work together to produce steering that’s light to input and immediately responsive," Brian Scherbarth, Switchback project lead engineer. "A demo ride will reveal that Switchback is a capable touring motorcycle that’s also really fun to ride."

Designed to look great with or without its saddlebags, the Switchback is styled to evoke a classic proportion and clean, straightforward lines from its 4.7-gallon fuel tank to the sweep of its full-coverage rear fenders. The bend of the mini-ape handlebar and its pull-back riser, full-length rider footboards and a two-up touring seat offer most riders all-day comfort.

Key Dyna Switchback Features

• Twin Cam 103™ engine with 103-cid (1690cc), rubber-mounted within the frame, is rated at 100 ft. lbs. of torque at 3500 RPM. The engine is equipped with Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI) and is mated to a 6-speed Cruise Drive^® transmission.
• 2-into-1 chrome exhaust with straight-cut muffler tuned for a deep exhaust tone.
• Advanced suspension is tuned for comfort and precise handling. Nitrogen-charged, monotube rear shocks have preload-adjustable, dual rate springs. A 41.3mm front fork with a 20mm cartridge delivers enhanced damping performance, handling and ride comfort.
• Low-profile Dunlop® 130/70B18 front tire and specific front-end geometry provides reduced steering effort, enhanced steering response and confident low-speed manuevering.
• Color-matched detachable hard saddlebags have a combined luggage capacity of 30 pounds. The saddlebag locks are common to the ignition key, and external latches do not interfere with packing or reduce usable bag volume.
• Quick-detach, fork-mounted windshield.
• The Black, 5-Spoke Cast Aluminum wheels have machine-highlighted rims; 18-inch front, 17-inch rear.
• Full-coverage front and rear fenders.
• Chrome headlamp nacelle.
• Chrome fork covers and chrome rear shock covers.
• Chrome tank console with integrated ignition switch.
• Classic black battery box cover.
• Full-length rider footboards.
• The one-piece, two-up seat features custom stitched detail. Seat height (laden) is 26.1 inches. Its narrow cross section enables flat-foot stops for most riders.
• Security Package Option bundles Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Smart Security System with proximity-based, hands-free security fob.
• Stainless steel, mini ape-hanger handlebar on pull-back riser.
• 4.7-gallon fuel tank.

10 years after the revolution, V-Rod® powers onward

In just 10 years, the Harley-Davidson V-Rod family grew to include a number of new models. V-Rod took to the track as the basis for the 2007 Custom Vehicle Operations V-Rod Destroyer, an eight-second factory drag racer. It was also the inspiration for the Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines V-Rod, a four-time world champion in Pro Stock Motorcycle professional drag racing. For 2012, Harley-Davidson V-Rod models continue to serve up explosive performance and urban-cool styling for riders seeking a singular power-cruiser experience.

All 2012 V-Rod models are powered by the latest version of the Revolution engine, a 1250cc liquid-cooled V-Twin with dual overhead camshafts, four-valve cylinder heads and Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI). The powertrain is equipped with an Assist and Slip clutch, five-speed transmission and high-performance carbon-fiber drive belt. Tires are Michelin Scorcher radials, including a 240mm rear. Brembo® triple-disc performance brakes are available with optional factory-installed anti-lock braking system (ABS). ABS is part of the optional Security Package that also includes the Smart Security System with proximity-based, hands-free security fob.

Night Rod Special
Dark and sinister, the restyled Night Rod Special features a new tapered tail section, lighter-weight wheels, and improved ergonomics with reduced reach to both the rider footpegs and handlebar. Inverted front forks and retuned rear suspension enhance ride and handling. This is a blacked-out, dead-on power cruiser that’s at home in a back alley.

Key Night Rod Features:

• Rubber-mounted, liquid-cooled, 1250 cc Revolution^® engine with Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI); 125 hp @ 8,250 RPM; 85 ft. lbs. @ 7,000 rpm.
• Straight-shot exhaust with brushed finish dual mufflers; black end caps and exhaust shield.
• NEW Black, split five-spoke cast aluminum wheels are three pounds lighter than previous wheels.
• NEW Tapered tail section with flush-mount LED taillight.
• NEW Pullback handlebar places controls three inches closer to the rider and optimizes overall feel with a low, wide position.
• NEW Reduced reach, forward-mounted rider footpegs.
• NEW Inverted front forks.
• NEW Two-up seat with custom stitching.
• NEW Stylized, black speed screen visor.
• NEW Slim design, center-mount license plate.
• NEW Graphics options include Sedona Orange or Vivid Black with perforated graphics on the side of the air box and tail section, and Denim Black with orange racing stripes.
• Black powder-coated engine with black covers.
• Blacked-out frame, handlebar, front fork, triple clamps and covers.
• Sport front fender with painted brace supports.
• 240 mm wide rear tire.

V-Rod 10th Anniversary Edition
A tribute to the original V-Rod that will be offered only in 2012, its Brilliant Silver Pearl bodywork with color-matched frame is exclusive in the V-Rod line. Extra chrome and polished surfaces dazzle on the engine, exhaust and speed screen. This special edition features all of the new additions made to the Night Rod Special for 2012.

Key V-Rod 10th Anniversary Edition Features:

• Rubber-mounted, liquid-cooled, 1250 cc Revolution® engine with Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI); 125 hp @ 8,250 rpm; 85 ft. lbs. @ 7,000 rpm.
• NEW Straight-shot exhaust with dual, chrome slash-cut mufflers and chrome exhaust shield.
• NEW Split five-spoke cast aluminum wheels with diamond cut highlights.
• NEW Pullback handlebar with polished finish.
• NEW Inverted front forks in silver and polished finishes.
• NEW Stylized, chrome speed screen visor.
• NEW Graphics, including V-Rod 10th anniversary emblem.
• NEW Chrome powertrain with platinum crankcase and heads.
• 240 mm wide rear tire.

V-Rod Muscle®
This power cruiser is a brawny beast for performance enthusiasts who crave power and control, with a dash of intimidation. Styling features include a wide airbox cover, side cover scoops, and dual exhausts in satin chrome with fat, turn-out mufflers. An abbreviated tail section and chopped rear fender expose the 240mm rear tire. A deep seat holds the rider firmly in place against the thrust of the Revolution V-Twin engine.

Key V-Rod Muscle® Features

• Rubber-mounted, liquid-cooled, 1250 cc Revolution® engine with Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI); 122 hp @ 8,250 rpm; 86 ft. lbs. @ 6,500 rpm. Satin chrome dual exhaust with turn-out mufflers.
• NEW V-Rod 10^th Anniversary emblem.
• Black, five-spoke cast aluminum wheels.
• Sport front fender with black brace supports and blacked-out rear section.
• Polished aluminum handlebar with integrated riser.
• Polished forged-aluminum triple clamps.
• Chopped rear fender.
• Angular airbox with side covers.
• Color-matched radiator shrouds.
• LED front turn signals integrated in mirror stems.
• LED combined stop/tail/turn light integrated within rear fender.
• Side-mounted license plate.
• 43 mm inverted front forks.
• Stylized rear shocks with black springs.
• Black frame.
• Deep, drag-style two-up seat.