Driving report Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Springer

Posted on by admin

Menus

Driving report, Harley-Davidson Softail Springer

Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Springer

Sunglasses and dust coats, running boards and leather bags, jumpers and chrome: on the Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Springer, the Wild West begins right behind Hamburg.

Americans love their past so much that they keep repeating it: no sooner has the red star of the Soviet Union set than President Clinton declares the cold war of the stars on the red planet Mars; even Harley-Davidson cannot hold back in evoking old virtues and puts the Heritage – “heirloom” – S.oftail Springer reopened the 1948 Panhead. Well, almost: But a bright head in Harley’s design department has evidently recognized that the Bad Boy, which has been available since 1995, basically only needed to be fitted with 16-inch spoked wheels at the front and rear and to put on a tailor-made sheet metal dress, at least for the outside to revive that classic Panhead. It must be admitted that Harley has made great efforts in the recent past to bring the value – in other words: the processing quality – of the motorcycles into line with their high price. Whether the Heritage Softail Springer is worth almost 35,000 marks to its buyers is therefore less a question of price than a question of taste today. Neatly processed metal parts and welds, great chrome and paint, bumper sleeves without oil splash and tight primary chain case – that’s how it has to be. And you can even get used to the liquid crystal odometer in the tank-mounted speedometer. Reflecting on old values ​​can mean progress in many things. Even our ancestors knew how to sit comfortably on a motorcycle. Monkey-like wide spreader bar handlebars or infinitely forward footrests are something for big city peacocks. The sensibly wide Heritage handlebars with backward cranked handles, the wide, hollow-like leather saddle with the lumbar support known from the old Elektra Glides and the wide running boards with the rocker switch are way better for eating miles. The running and driving characteristics of the new “old” Twin, on the other hand, meet more and more modern demands. The engine, which is mounted in generous silent rubbers, starts at the first push of a button. Full vibrations shake the machine through while idling. However, the tuning of the silent rubbers has been chosen in such a way that all vibrations are filtered out at speeds just above idle. The Heritage conveys the feeling of smooth gliding like few other motorcycles. The fact that the engine produces practically no mechanical noises contributes to the solid overall impression. But progress also has its downsides: Due to the strict European noise limits, almost nothing can be heard of the full blow of the V-Twin. The engine compensates for this with its forward thrust. The 1997 model year of the 1338 cubic centimeter Evo-V-Twin is finally getting down to business with the pressure that Harley had already promised for last year’s versions. The 56 hp, which hardly any of the 1996 models were able to confirm on the test bench, now actually seem to be romping around in the engine housing – because a twist of the throttle grip and the vehicle, which weighs more than 320 kilograms, pulls forward happily. There is also much more going on in the lower rev range than in last year’s Evos. The Heritage Softail Springer finally has the draft that its enormous displacement promises. The clutch requires a strong hand, but the five gears of the transmission interlock smoothly and with a full blow. Only idling makes it unnecessarily rare. In the state it was practically impossible to insert into the driven machine, which with 27 kilometers on the speedometer was still virgin. The almost invisible small indicator lights don’t make this job any easier, but what does the stubborn idling care when the sun glistens in the paint and chrome, the engine purrs and pushes with relish and the Heritage Softail Springer hovers gently over the asphalt? Yes, yes – the Springer fork does its job surprisingly well. The 16-inch front wheel, which is guided in the pushed short swing arm, keeps the track cleanly and the springs of the fork swallow away whatever can be swallowed with 107 millimeters of travel. The heavy triangular swing arm with the horizontal struts under the engine may not be inferior and digest even the roughest asphalt bites, but the subject of braking is still a bit tricky. The operating forces of the two disc brakes – one at the front and one at the rear – are considerably lower on the Softail Heritage Springer than on earlier Harleys, but the effectiveness is only sufficient for the soloist. With over half a ton – exactly: 515 kilograms – permissible total weight, however, the two disc brakes give a very vivid impression of how a 1948 Panhead could be decelerated with its two drum brakes. There is only one thing that helps to protect chrome, paintwork and leather from scratches: good old-fashioned caution.

Buy complete article

Driving report Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Springer

Driving report
Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Springer

Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Springer (FB) (archive version)

Air-cooled two-cylinder four-stroke 45 degree V-engine, transverse crankshaft, a gear-driven camshaft below, two valves per cylinder operated by hydraulic valve lifters, bumpers and rocker arms, dry sump lubrication, a Mikuni constant pressure carburetor, $ 40 mm, contactless transistor ignition, electric starter, Battery 12 V / 20 Ah, bore x stroke 88.8 x 108 mm, displacement 1338 cm3, compression ratio 8.5: 1, rated output 41 kW (56 PS) at 5000 rpm, max. Torque 91 Nm (9.3 kpm) at 2000 rpm piston speed 18 m / sec at 5000 rpm power transmission primary drive via chain, mechanically operated multi-disc oil bath clutch, five-speed gearbox, toothed belt. Disc brakes front and rear.Spring travel front / rear 107/103 mmRim size front and rear 3.00 x 16Tire size front and rear 130/90 H 16Dimensions and weightsSeat height 700 mmWeight fully fueled 323 kgTank capacity 16 litersAvailable colors: ivory white / red, ivory white / blue Price 34,950 marks including additional costs

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *