Harley Davidson Fatboy

Harley-Davidson FLSTF 'Fatboy'

Well here it is, two weeks with a Harley-Davidson Fatboy, now returned to the fold.

I welcomed the opportunity to ride it, I'm thankful for the opportunity to ride it and I hope that despite my misgivings as to the 'value' of the bike, i've given it a fair summation.

I urge you lot to find the book in question, it's a history of the American motorcycling dream carved out of pre and post war dissacociation and alienation, of the beginnings of the outlaw motorcycle clubs (gangs if you prefer) All those who buy into the H-D lifestyle should read it for a thourough grounding in the iconic bike's rise to prominence on it's home turf and it's spread wings throughout the world today.

I would value comments at the end or even better on the forum (it'll get noticed more) so here you go.....


It’s not often that I refer directly to pieces of work by other much more acclaimed writers or, commentaries on articles that I’m trying to originate, but in this instance somehow it seemed to strike a chord with the way I was thinking about the latest UKBiker Road test review.
The Harley-Davidson FLSTF ‘Fatboy‘ - 94 cubic inches of motor wrapped in heavy metal, burnished chrome and denim paint.

I was struggling to find the reasoning behind the bike.
Pound for pound it’s worth it’s weight, but as for the overall ethos of a relatively old design in the modern milieu I just couldn’t make up my mind why.
Its an expensive machine, the sum of its parts are hardly contemporary and the only real item of modernity I could find onboard was the electronic fuel injection, which I’m sure if the H-D engineers weren’t forced to use through ever increasing legislation they wouldn’t.

In an anthology of stories, newspaper articles and columns cropped from the last fifty years of American bike culture ‘The Mammoth Book of Bikers’ starts with the Hollister ‘riots’ and ends with modern RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) investigations into alleged outlaw biker activity, it’s a rattling, startling and sometimes brutal book to read if all the accounts are true.

The last piece by Bernard E. Rollin (doesn’t say when it was published) sums up the reason for the Fatboy and you could argue the majority of the archetypal Harley-Davidson range. The raked low, chromed look that is recognizable by young boys and grandma’s alike and so long as the company is still breathing will probably continue to produce it’s signature product, adapting only to the vagaries of global pollution laws, (that’s sound as well as emissions).

I will summarise the lengthy article with excerpts here and there but unlike a politician’s sound bite I hope they will be relevant and related. it’s a piece about Motorcycles being art and why they are featured as such, what they stand for and what they mean to people, in this instance essentially Harley-Davidsons.

‘The motorcycle is an immortal cultural icon that changes with the times. More than speed it embodies the abstract themes of rebellion, progress, freedom, sex and danger. The limits imposed by its possible forms and functions and the breadth of variation that has been expressed within these limitations, provide a framework in which to examine the motorcycle both as object and as emblem of our century‘.

After all the motorcycle pre-dated cars by twenty odd years and aeroplanes by even longer, Harley Davidson were one of the first to build these means of ‘rapid singular transportation’ in America, and you can still see that heritage in their bikes today.

‘…on a motorcycle you are part of the world through which you speed, the wind in your face and hair, the bugs in your mouth and beard remind you constantly that you are speeding through the world, rather than as in an equally fast car a machine with you in it.’

Okay this is all a little romantic, I haven’t got much hair left personally and I’m sure a fair number of current and future owners are probably in the same boat, bearded or no, I wear a full face lid because I don’t like the taste of bugs, but you get the general idea.
This was illustrated to me by the man who offered his services to test the relative comfort as a pillion rider one day.

In all the rides on other people’s bikes that I have been fortunate enough to ride whilst in this ‘Lofty’ position as helmsman at UKBike I have never really had a bike that would almost certainly be used to take a pillion when bought by it’s new owner. This bike was a sure candidate , so to be thorough, I considered that this option had to be tested.
Step forward ‘The Bison’ (yes that’s one of his nicknames and quite apt I feel for this piece).

Unfortunately because of many reasons causing lack of freedoms to really chase the western sun across the skies of the USA we tested it on a hundred mile round trip commute to work.
One of the first things the Bison said when we dismounted at our destination was words to the effect ‘when we were riding past that long row of traffic I really felt like I wanted to touch the cars we were passing, they seemed so real, it’s amazing what you can hear as well, it’s stuff that driving a car shields you from.
So here is the word from the Bison as to his 100, mile round trip straddling a fat boys rear end (Joke, JOKE, OK)!


…………………….word from the bison – coming soon......................
....................................………………………………..............................................................

In essence I think he summed up what Rollin is saying, and was the fillip for me to dig out the book and have another read, knowing that I would find the answer to writing the road test within it’s pages.

Ok I hear you say skip the bloody history lesson and all that romanticism, did you like the bike, how did it ride and would you buy one?

I’m a biker, I like bikes and I’m open minded enough to realise that they come in all shapes and guises to suit the individual. Of course |I liked it.

I liked the overall look of the thing, as I mentioned at the beginning, its long, its low, it’s chunky.
I loved the wide sweep of the fat bars that hides the switchgear wiring and the enormous headlight shell fixed firmly in the chunky chrome sheeting of the yoke covers.
The wheels themselves are discus from titanic Olympic games, huge turned aluminum hubs fixing them to the girt forks.


The twin filler fuel tank, one a dummy holding the fuel gauge with speedo centrally inset in a chrome raised panel, the tank finished in ’Denim’ paint, the simple chrome oil tank under the seat and the simplicity of the chromed coil cover.
Hardtail looking back end with overstated fender and humungous rear tyre, the sumptuous riders seat and the lumpy thump of the 1584cc motor.

As for how it rode, I will be honest. The front forks ‘kerlunged’ over all but the minor bumps in the road , by all means be traditional but damn it Willie G who’s your export manager?
Here in the UK we have lumps and bumps in the road, how about some proper front suspension, you can always wrap them up in a different coat to give them that authentic slightly old school look, it’s a 13K+ motorcycle, surely that’s not too much to ask.

I know this is not America and we don’t have long open roads and simple grid systems to navigate. We have flowing bends and very short stretches of straight (and flat) road, none the less at what seemed like anything more than 15 degree of lean the rider’s footboards were trailing lumps of aluminum down the road.

Stop riding it like a sports bike’ I hear you say. - I wasn’t!

The ground clearance is frankly atrocious in my opinion, to the point of embarrassment, it got to the point that when I saw a nice sweeper approaching, I lifted up the footboard with my toe to prevent the inevitable scraping of metal against tarmac. The first evening I rode home I followed a police rider at about 60mph at a safe distance thankfully, I was impressed at the balance of the bike, it may be heavy but it wasn’t as cumbersome as I thought it would be when it was rolling. Following the copper’s lines and matching his medium pace The footboards decked at least four times, catching me out each time.
Lift the footboards or put some pegs on it, If I owned the bike I just couldn’t tolerate it I don’t think.

The gear change is clunky and |I mean Clunky with a capital ‘C’, this however was not a disappointment, it’s to be expected, but the heel toe rocker gear change set up was horrible and would after the removal of the footboards for something more suitable be the second thing I would junk.

The performance of the motor was I have to say a bit of a let down, I was nearly caught out on a couple of occasions when overtaking. I wasn’t savagely trying to rip the throttle off the bars but I was being quite spirited and trying to stay smooth. The motor just didn’t have the brawlers punch I was expecting, It wasn’t comfortable at anything over 80mph in my opinion the bars started to weave ever so slightly, my legs were whipped by my boot cut jeans by the through draft, the hardtail softail underslung suspension started to let go, especially over bumpy surfaces 60 -70 being optimum levels of velocity solo, and with the massive bulk of the bison and I onboard the best speed was approximately fifty miles an hour, The bike was happy to go quicker but it wasn’t comfortable.
It just didn’t seem to deliver moving what it promised sitting still, with the sunlight winking off its chrome.

The 96 inch cubic motor is equipped with six gears and once notched a little green light will appear on the speedo face. Also in the centre console is the ignition, which is a chunky chrome switch with a flip up lid for the key to fit.
Once more though functional the key looked no different to a Halfords hollow barrel cheap bicycle lock, £13K bike remember, it’s a bit like a prize fighter forsaking his spiky expanse of keeper ring for a slender band of Chinese silver which you know will snap as soon as he tries to force a chunky sausage finger through it. I expected a little better I must admit.

Braking wasn’t too bad a tall, considering the bulk, (but I suppose bearing in mind the relatively low speeds), the belt drive is a great idea I reckon, virtually noiseless, clean and doesn’t need constant adjustment, so that’s a major plus.
The Zorst noise is a common complaint with me. Yes the law says they have to be quiet and the law enforces the valve on the upper muffler to get it through emissions no doubt,the specs say that this valve is to enhance 'the sound quality and street rumble'. Sorry don't agree, I thought it was very sanitised. I like bikes to sound like bikes, so head to the nearest Vance & Hines stockist my friends.

I’m not sure there is a great deal of innovative technology that I could waffle on about. The Fatboy is what it is, it was born that way, it’s ‘big boned’ bulk is in it’s metallic blueprinted DNA. It has it’s place in the world of motorcycling, thanks partly to superb product placement/sponsorship in Terminator and the desire of a buyer to live the celluloid bad boy lifestyle, of the American dream.

It’s a great bike for some people just not for me, nonetheless it was still a pleasure to be offered the opportunity of riding a kingpin in their 2008 range, like all things it’s in the eye of the beholder and the personal experience gained. Well done Harley for sticking to your guns, and producing a product that people desire and want to own (they may be Winchesters but they still fire bullets).

As Rollin says.. ‘cars have become increasingly automated, replete with cruise control, navigator computers that talk to the driver and electronic parts that take the ‘I’ out of driving. There are those who project a future automobile that do not require a driver, where the machine is centrally controlled, the would be driver thence becomes a passenger. Such changes are not seriously projected for motorcycles, for motorcyclists do not largely ride for practical reasons, despite those who extol their mileage per gallon,… motorcyclists ride largely for the aesthetic experiences riding provides , from being nearly out of control, or extending total concentration not to get killed, from getting soaked in warm summer rain to being totally dry an hour later. In a deepest sense, riding takes skill that driving a car does not, skill that one can take pride in‘. (whatever you ride)

Bernard E Rollin. (Sometime in the late eighties/early nineties)
‘The Bison’ June ‘08
Doby Trutcenden June ‘08