Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Special Review: A Quiet Fat Boy !
Emblematic model of the Softail range, the Fat Boy gains in charisma and comfort with its Special version. Without being a brand new model, this version nevertheless fulfills its function of large custom perfectly going straight to the point.. Test.
Change in continuity
From the top of its rich heritage of more than a century (read our), Harley-Davidson strives to meet the requirements of the most "tattooed" of its customers by playing the card of conservatism, while seducing bikers from other horizons by regularly offering new models or simple changes in the range.
This is the case of the Fat Boy Special: advanced as "one of the most original designs from Harley-Davidson design offices", the FLSTFB (its little name) is actually a" Classic "Fat Boy, but equipped with a narrower handlebar, a very successful dark and satin finish, half-moon footrests, exhausts Shotgun and a narrower and lower saddle (680 mm).
However, the magic operates and we find ourselves coveting this "special fat boy" as if he redefined the genre … Yes, they are strong at Harley and this propensity to make the biker salivate with more recipes. that tested has enough to annoy many Japanese engineers summoned to redesign a motorcycle every two years…
In its superb black color – where shine skilfully mixes with matte colors – the Fat Boy Special throws a max: from the big round headlight with chrome rim to the tank covered with a qualitative leather panel and a legible console in satin chrome, through the solid wheels and the glossy black finish of the rear fender support, the air filter surround and the headlight casing, no fault of taste is to be mentioned.
A real magnet for compliments from onlookers who are generally impressed and envious, the machine does not go unnoticed in the city: its 330 kg in running order and its 2385 mm length play an active role, but it undoubtedly gives a statutory side to its pilot: if he knows how to play it cool and nonchalant enough, the cute little neighbor below should soon be tempted by the promising jump seat !
The cool attitude…
At this stage, you might as well not cool down your enthusiasm by confessing that if the pilot seat shines with its accessibility and comfort, the passenger seat is not very spacious and above all less soft than expected … But after all, to each his own American dream !
Notwithstanding this slight defect, the Fat Boy Special is rather welcoming: the new "mini beach" handlebars (quite a program!) Are both narrower and more easily gripped, while integrating the inevitable – and nevertheless unsightly – wiring.
The controls have the good taste to fall easily to the hand, although adjustments of gaps and a less firm clutch lever would certainly not have damaged the table. The purists will undoubtedly retort that a Harley is not a Pan European and that this absence of frills contributes to the authenticity of the Fat Boy Special. !
Note that with its coded key, its sequential injection, its sixth gear engagement indicator, its fuel gauge and its digital window (time, two trips and odometer) on the center console, our "fat boy" did nothing antiquity: underneath this large stripped custom set hides in reality obvious concessions to modernism !
Skillful, Harley-Davidson engineers, however, camouflaged as much as possible these obstacles to the traditionalist philosophy dear to the brand, like the horizontal mono-shock absorber hidden under the imposing curved rear part..
Likewise, when stationary, it is impossible to detect the presence of the balance shaft responsible for attenuating the vibrations of the large twin of 1,584 cc. Twin Cam 96B, mounted rigid in the frame: would the Fat Boy Special tend to mix genres, even if it means losing his soul? ?
To find out, there is only one solution: a push on the accessible starter, a kick on the double fork selector – hard, slow and noisy! – and lo and behold, the crew takes off with an astonishingly timid roar … waiting for the kick to the heart … behind !
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