In over 20 years of writing for HEAVY DUTY Magazine, this is the first time that I’ve written about the big picture rather than focusing on Harleys. So bear with me while I give you my educated guess about the short-term future… First the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 worldwide pandemic. Then I will share with you a little bit about our 2020 worldwide economic recovery. And finally the good news, when I think we will return to the good old days or riding.

In the short term smart money says there will be no “On The Other Side” of the pandemic until there is a COVID-19 vaccine. It will not be widely available for at best 18 months, if ever. Or when our own immune system protects us after we are infected by this virus. Or lastly there is the prospect of living our lives self isolating. One of the worrisome signs of this virus is that some people are just carriers and do no show any symptoms and you can be infected by just talking to them. Thus it is harder to track, predict and fight this pandemic virus.

https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-a-pandemic#pandemic-defined

“On The Other Side” will be when the virus is dealt with, we have rebuilt our lives, and we get back to work. We can predict this timing by looking at the history of previous recessions and the recoveries. Let’s just say it will be three to four years. But! It seems that China after only a few months is already restarting its economy!

In the 1918 Spanish Flu, the US economy was restarted too soon before the flu was completely wiped out thus extending the pandemic even longer.

Jesse Colombo in 2008 as a college student, warned about the Global Financial Crisis and again in 2018, at forbes.com predicted the 2020 “Everything Bubble” burst on YouTube. His is a great 16-minute history lesson about the classic global financial cycles like in 1990 when Paul Keating said, “The recession we had to have.”

Many think corrections/recessions occur every eight to 10 years. What I now worry about is how long it is going to take our governments to restart the economies and then payback (taxes) the debts they are now running up?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76Q4ph_3zZ8&feature=emb_logo

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/analyst-who-predicted-the-2008-crash-warns-of-bubble-brewing-in-us-household-wealth-2018-10-18

https://realinvestmentadvice.com/vlog-why-u-s-household-wealth-is-in-a-bubble/?mod=article_inline

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007–08

http://www.thebubblebubble.com/historic-crashes/

GOOD TIMES?

Now for the good times, and my big question is when will we actually see the Harley-Davidson Motor Company recover from the global pandemic, who will be running it, and where will the bikes be built?

My guess is we will not see a Model Year 2021 staged release in August 2020, with marching bands and venues filled with hundreds of dealers. But rather a sedate, measured livestream on the internet for everyone to see at the same time. Press releases and demo rides will be, well different. Your guess is as good as mine. Ask Qantas when and where they will be flying overseas?

Therefore I believe the new management team at the Motor Company will release for sale in late 2020, the MY21 Bronx 975 and Pan America 1250 along with new paint jobs and accessories for the previous bikes. I hope they will have something like the M8 Softail FXRT midsized tourer and the VR-1250 with a sport fairing that it just patented for the Revolution Max frames. Also we might see a less expensive Electric Dirt Tracker EDT600R. That said, economics and the pandemic will together make the final decision. Harley-Davidson, Polaris and all the Euro and Asian motorcycle manufacturers have new models not just on the drawing boards but ready to build and ship to the dealers. In the meantime of our “Open Space” living, go to www.heavyduty.com.au/cybercycles and click on all my links to keep your mind on bikes while stuck in the cyber world. Stay safe for all our sakes.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana

https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-a-pandemic#pandemic-defined

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76Q4ph_3zZ8&feature=emb_logo

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/analyst-who-predicted-the-2008-crash-warns-of-bubble-brewing-in-us-household-wealth-2018-10-18

https://realinvestmentadvice.com/vlog-why-u-s-household-wealth-is-in-a-bubble/?mod=article_inline

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007–08

http://www.thebubblebubble.com/historic-crashes/

DAILY CYBER LINKS…

Here are my daily reads, online bike magazine websites and links to some fantastic reads from around the world. The first place I check everyday is Mark Hinchliffe’s Motorbike Writer at https://motorbikewriter.com for all the motorcycle news in Australia and around the world. If you read only one link, this is it. Also he is on FB at https://www.facebook.com/Motorbikewriter.

Then I have a look at the websites from around the world in no certain order:

https://www.motorcycle.com established in 1994 and perhaps the biggest USA site.

https://www.hotbikeweb.com is another huge online “magazine.”

https://www.mcnews.com.au in Austalia is tops for all brands.

https://www.cycleworld.com is one of the biggest and best motorcycle sites on the web!

https://www.harleysite.de “Sprichst du Deutsch”? This is the one for all kinds of Euro offical Harley stuff.

https://www.visordown.com is a great one for the UK.

https://www.asphaltandrubber.com is homed in Oregon, USA with almost a million readers worldwide.

http://www.bikeexif.com covers cafe racers, bobbers, scramblers, classics as well as guides.

https://thundermountainharley.com my Harley dealer in Colorado.

https://www.bennetts.co.uk is of course the UK but also Ireland, France and Europe.

https://www.motorcyclenews.com again the UK.

https://paultan.org/topics/bikes/ located in Malaysia with not only bikes but cars and lots of photos including spyshots.

https://read.epgmediallc.com/i/1223826-april-2020 ThunderPress is an excellent free US magazine on the net. Sign up for a continuing subscription.

https://rideapart.com/ great everything motorcycles including a women’s section.

http://www.womenridersnow.com/default.aspx Women riders now since 1999.

https://www.roadrunner.travel Motorcycle touring and travel magazine.

https://canadamotoguide.com/category/motorcycles/ For the three months of summer and winter detailing.

https://flipboard.com/@jiteshsurana/motorcycling-rs40h2dpz Flipboard’s motorcycle magazine.

https://nwhog.wordpress.com Lots of current and historical Harley reads!

https://www.harley-davidson.com/au/en/owners/hog/h-o-g-magazine-archive.html?dm_i=4383,T4WU,4ONEZX,3IF89,1 As a H.O.G.® member, you get our exclusive member-only magazine

https://blog.hog.com Euro HOG member & Magazine website

https://serviceinfo.harley-davidson.com/sip/search/search?options.inGlobalReferenceNumber=true&__checkbox_options.inTitle=true&options.inTitle=true&__checkbox_options.inContent=true&selectedDocumentGroupId=16&options.inSourceId=true&terms=&options.inContent=true&sortOrder=DESC&sortField=GLOBAL_REFERENCE_NUMBER&__checkbox_options.inDescription=true&page=0&options.inDescription=true Put your VIN in and find neat official stuff on your bike.

https://www.harley-davidson.com/us/en/owners/motorcycle-maintenance/service-recalls.html Put your VIN in and find neat official stuff on your bike.

https://www.harley-davidson.com/shop/motorcycle-parts-accessories USA Parts and accessory for your bike.

https://twitter.com/harleydavidson?lang=en Harley’s official Twitter site.

https://www.facebook.com/harley-davidson/ Harley’s official Facebook.

https://www.harley-davidson.com/au/en/owners/hog.html HOG members via the H-D.com site

https://blog.hog.com/magazine-articles/ HOG Magazine in various languages thus countries.

https://harleydavidson.roadsideonline.com.au/about Your bikes first two years free Harley Assist or extended.

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-motorcycle-scooter-parts/motorcyclesmake-harly/c18628 Gumtree and all the Harley sales.

https://www.google.com/alerts/ Crate a Google search alert for any subject. I use “harley” as an example. If you use HOG you will get HOG stock market results. You can have as many alerts as you want and as timely as you want. Once a day is okay, once a week is good enough.

https://www.australia.gov.au Coronavirus (COVID‑19)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8179823/Online-DIY-tutorials-method-using-pillowcase-T-shirt-create-protection.html DIY detail using T-shirt to create protection mask

INTERESTING READS…

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/news/2020/april/harley-davidson-cafe-racer-and-flat-tracker Pan America adventure bike and the Bronx – albeit without that name – as well as a 2021 water-cooled custom bike that has yet to be revealed in detail. All three bikes were based around the ‘Revolution Max’ engine, a DOHC, water-cooled V-twin that’s set to be available in 1250cc and 975cc forms.

https://www.motorcycle.com/mini-features/harley-davidson-files-cafe-racer-and-flat-tracker-designs-with-revolution-max-engine.html Two more liquid-cooled models to follow Bronx and Pan America Harley-Davidson has filed designs with the European Union Intellectual Property Office for two more models using the liquid-cooled Revolution Max engine powering the Pan America and Bronx. The two new designs, one a cafe racer and the other a flat track-inspired model, further add to the modular concept promised with the new engine platform.

https://electrek.co/2020/03/22/harley-davidson-livewire-electric-motorcycle-1000-miles-in-24-hrs/

A rider in Zurich, Switzerland, covering around 200 km (124 miles) to reach Stuttgart, Germany. From there, Michel rode the approximately 150 km (93 mile) distance back and forth between Stuttgart and Singen, Germany on the A81 highway. After six legs, interrupted by short charge stops as needed, he finally peeled off for Ruggell, Lictenstein to finish the 24 hour ride.

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/3-surprising-items-harley-davidson-sold-that-you-didnt-know-about-142002.html 3 Surprising Items Harley-Davidson Sold That You Didn’t Know

http://www.thebubblebubble.com/historic-crashes/

Historic Stock Market Crashes, Bubbles & Financial Crises by Jesse Colombo

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/easy-rider-captain-america-worlds-most-legendary-and-disputed-harley-davidson-141881.html Easy Rider Captain America: World’s Most Legendary and Disputed Harley-Davidson

https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/story/news/2021-bmw-r-1800-bagger-spied-testing-preview/?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email 2021 BMW R 1800 Bagger Spied

https://www.cycleworld.com/story/motorcycle-news/bmw-r-18-details-revealed-in-patents/?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email 2021 BMW R 1800

https://www.webbikeworld.com/harley-davidson-highlights-the-xr750s-50th-anniversary/

Harley-Davidson Highlights The XR750’S 50th Anniversary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4M5GF1_010&feature=youtu.be

The Batman- Leaked Set Pics of Pattinson Batsuit & Batbike

https://www.hotcars.com/sons-of-anarchy-15-surprising-details-about-the-motorcycles-most-fans-forget/

Sons Of Anarchy: 15 Surprising Details About The Motorcycles Most Fans Forget