Harley dual-sport

SOMETIMES it’s easy to be cynical about new bikes. At a glance it’s all too easy to say “it won’t beat the class leader”, “it’s going to be too heavy” or “why did they do it like that?”

In those moments, it’s time to step back and think about why you ride in the first place. Is it really to experience the ‘best’ that a motorcycle manufacturer can offer? Or is it to enjoy, warts and all, something that’s been hammered out by all-too-fallible mankind?

Which is all a long-winded way of bringing us to this, the Carducci Dual Sport SC3. A Harley Sportster-based conversion, set to be offered in kit form. And to explain why, despite the ‘Dual Sport’ title, we’re not going to mention stuff like the BMW R1200GS. Apart from just then.

This isn’t about making the ‘best’ big trailie. Or even competing with anything that’s on the market. This is about somebody who had the idea of turning a Harley into a big off-roader and who reckons there are enough like-minded souls out there to make it worth building more than one.  Would you buy one to go across the Sahara? Probably not. Would it make a practical means of  transport? Nah. It’s just something that a few people are going to want simply for what it is. And that’s a good thing.

The firm, in the form of Jim Carducci, plans to offer kits to turn any 1993-2003 Harley 1200 or 883 Sportster into a Carducci Dual Sport. Based in Silicone Valley, he’s been able to use the latest CFD and Finite Element Analysis to design all the bespoke parts, from the billet aluminium swingarm to the seat subframe. The chassis is a modified Sportster frame, while Ohlins supplies the suspension front and rear.

No word yet on price or even when the kits will be available, and even once they are you can be pretty sure you won’t see any around. Unless you’re one of those people who just wants one, in which case there’s an outside chance you might spot one in your garage at some stage in the future.  

So, what’s the consensus? Does it float your boat or would you rather use it as an anchor?

See more at http://carduccidualsport.com