ROLLER BIKES AT A GLANCE
WORDS: JEFF G. HOLT PHOTOS: HARLEY-DAVIDSON
BOYS IN THE HOOD 2 0 1 8 H A R L E Y- DAV I D S O N FAT B OY
W
ay back in the good ol’ days of the 1990s, when I was but a wee lad in my 30s, I was lucky enough to own a Fat Boy. It was, arguably, the most popular Harley of the entire decade, and the local dealerships had a hard time keeping them in stock. Times changed, the Dyna came into its own, and Softail fever went into a cooling phase. At least until Harley-Davidson merged the two designs into the new Softail design and put a Milwaukee-Eight into it. The Fat Boy model made the cut and has gotten
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all the perks and benefits that come with the new motor and new suspension, albeit with the beefy design we all know and love, including the solid wheels. What you might not know is that the new Fat Boys have lost weight (29 pounds, to be exact) without sacrificing the muscular look. The lighter, stiffer frame carries some responsibility for that, as well as making it more fun to ride. Its 240 mm back tire and 160 mm rubber up front do their fair share of maintaining that meaty profile though. HB
JUST THE FACTS MODEL:
Harley-Davidson Softail Fat Boy
MSRP:
$18,999
ENGINE:
107 ci Milwaukee-Eight
TRANSMISSION:
Six-speed
FRONT SUSPENSION:
Showa SDBV
REAR SUSPENSION:
Monoshock with external
WEIGHT:
699 lb. (running weight)
pre-load adjustment
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT HARLEYDAVIDSON.COM
