Deluxe was quite remarkable. Fuel
capacity is a healthy 22.7 litres and
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lots of manoeuvering luxury in my
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the most common quote of that day;
most of us said something like “oh
my, doesn’t the Deluxe perform better
than you’d expect!”
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tripper or urban toy, with the reworked
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the right balance between handling
and comfort. The ride position was
the best of all the bikes I sampled
over two full days of riding. A winner
for me? Almost, and price of $29,495
looks right. More than one fellow
reptile of the press lamented the
unavailability of the 155Nm 114ci
option on the Deluxe.
Now we’re moving up into the
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a rev up along with pricing and with
the looks jumping from the classic
style to more edgy, aggressive ‘own
the street’ and ‘have control of your
freedom’ look.
This second group now have an
option of the two engines. You
can jump up from the 107 to a 114
ci although that privilege will set
you back around $2700 to $3000
depending on the model. Is it worth
it? Of course it is. It is the difference
between an M rated movie or the R
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a V8. Both capacities will stimulate
you, no doubt, both will give you all
the jollies you could ever want but
the little extra width in the holes
is going to guarantee a lot more
satisfaction. Without overstating
the sexual reference, isn’t that what
motorcycling is about? I’m sure
Harley would like you to buy into the
big is better meme, and Aussies have
always voted that way as well.FAT BOB
Big fat donuts and twin upswept
exhaust is the ‘Hero’ Fat Bob. It is
offered with the 107 or 114 engine.
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‘zombie apocalypse’ label and I think
the jetlag was catching up with me
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cocktails called the Milwaukee 8 and
the Fat Bob. In my jetlagged state I
favoured a ‘chasing a very youthful
market’ approach, and ‘while we’re
at it let’s go hunting some sales from
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pick up the sales of the soon to be
discontinued Yamaha V Max’. Brave
plans indeed, and how close can Harley
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grunt it does have. Looks with attitude
is a given. Even twin discs on the front
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away starting from $27,495 is certainly
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after the best Harley to go carving up
those mountain passes we enjoyed on
the launch, then look no further. We’re
stepping away from cruising on the
boulevard into a new territory here; a
small pillion seat perches on the rear just
in case you get lucky.
When I pushed Kirk Rasmussen, the
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compromised design element on this
bike he admitted that the footpegs
took a lot of the team’s time. Finding
the best place aesthetically as well as
functionally was not easy. They onlyhad a small variable area to play with
between the exhausts, and getting
the choice between clearance and
looks just right.
The 28° steering rake and the
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agility. I just about had to create an
international incident to get hold of
the prized Fat Boy from the Mexicans
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let alone double barrelled names in
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I can surmise that the Fat Boy was
the best motorcycle their foreign
interneting arses had ever been on,
but I was looking for a good time and
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on great roads. Yes, it sure can. In a
deliberate way you have to wrestle the
package over to the tyre limit and there
is still some space between the pegs
and the surface. You can squeeze on
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and let loose with of lot of guttural
noises and acceleration.
I am not saying that red Ducatis will
be a distant thing in your mirrors,
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that some sensible and not so
sensible sports riders might plonk
down $33,995 on and get a decent
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vocabulary without spending double
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about the headlight from the same
people bemoaning the fact that they
didn’t buy a Dynaglide before its axing.
But you can’t buy a new Dyna any
more, so don’t live in the past: the Fat
Boy is the future. Well, at least until
Harley gets into action and something
like it is offered on the other 90 new
models we’re likely to see in the next
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upswept exhausts are going to be the
biggest talking point and again the Fat
Bob may just be the watershed and
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until you spot that 240mm rear tyre
and those deeply dished solid wheels
on the Fat Boy!