No, I beg to differ.
It's gonna go down in corporate history as the dumbest thing Harley ever did. Firstly, Harley had similar Italian proclivities in the late 60's. Aermacchi, a reputable Italian brand, was a cheap prey. A sort of belatedly defensive, i.e. anti-Japan strategy. Aermacchi's small displacement and mostly two-stroke bikes got badge re-engineered as Harleys, while Japan was successfully entering the "big" four-stroke arena. Old timers in America will remember these
spaghetti- (as opposed to rice-) burners. A dismal, commercial flop. Secondly, Harley commissioned Porsche to develop 4-cylinder engines (in-line and V-shaped) which they promptly shelved for fear that they would hurt the venerable --and very lucrative-- V-twin sales. Thirdly, Harley re-hired Porsche to develop a state-of-the-art V-twin (that's when consistency equals obstinacy) which eventually (3 to 5 years too late) gave birth to the V-Rod of which the engine is already maxed out in terms of both displacement (including annual, extra cost CVO renditions) and torque and power. Fourthly, Harley upon finally realizing (?) all of the above, including its pathetic lack of in-house engineering innovation skills (although their previous chief R&D guy was highly respected in the automotive industry as a Corvette Z-series developer), via its Buell affiliate, decided to source motors from Rotax, Which only happened 6 months ago.
That's for the Harley side of the wedding. On the MV/Cagiva side, the company's assets are amittedly worth.... naught . Euroland ain't no place to mass-produce bikes in the first place.
It takes US$ 1.54 US $ to buy one € today. But, regardless, the latest MV rendition (312-something) costs twice as much to the BUYER as a a brand-new Suzuki 1000 cc Geexer but reportedly (although very credibly) four times as much to the FACTORY or what's left of it to assemble it.
THAT'S ONE WEDDING I WON'T ATTEND. Jamie