Zonko’s attack on the Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight
Sporty like an old tennis socks?
Content of
First the notch scratched, then the exhaust, then the roller wandered across and finally I flew "completely detached from the earth" over the Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight. The world looks different from above.
D.he “Seitzmograf”, who determines the tremor at PS, and I have a common past under the sign of the American V2 in general and the screaming eagle in particular. Eight years ago we fired the glowing orange Screaming Eagle V-Rod Dragster as part of a drag race in eastern Germany. If I remember correctly, the water-cooled V2 had around 180 hp and roared frighteningly brutally from the two short and completely open pipes. Tea craziest thing was that we were told to simply let the clutch click when starting at full throttle. For me it was unthinkable. Even with a righteous 70 HP grater, such crude vehicle operation would inevitably have led to a rollover. Count Seitzmo didn’t seem to mind any of this. "What about you? Doesn’t it bother you at all that we’re going to put ourselves in plaster of paris here in the admittedly very beautiful, but completely flat east?" I asked incredulously and received the trend-setting answer: "Nobody will be in plaster of Paris. There’s a kind of launch control. ”So, so. Launch control. I was deeply saddened. Since I had no idea of the existence of such a driving aid at the time, I involuntarily thought of the controlled rationing of the amount of food at lunch.
Zonko’s attack on the Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight
Sporty like an old tennis socks?
Association more with deceleration than acceleration
Well, to save my honor, it should be said that Harley-Davidson was not famous for bringing the latest technical achievements onto the market (HD was in fact the first motorcycle manufacturer to give me a launch control), and that an unleashed Swiss almost put himself in plaster of paris because he – not at the start, but only with a good hundred – lost control of the brute iron and installed himself spectacularly. Doppellutz, triple Axel, Rittberger jumped in. Everyone knows that. The Seitzmographer recognized using sensitive sensors: “He won’t have much appetite this evening. Zonko, a second portion has just been released for you. ”What a razor-sharp analysis! Admirable.
Well, the ride on the dragster actually had a very sporty character, but in general it has to be said that "Sport" and "Harley-Davidson" are no longer often mentioned in the same breath today. It was very different in Joe Petrali’s lifetime. No question about it, the United States still has the all-screen flat-track races where the roaring XRs dominate, but in the rest of the world today, Harley-Davidson is more associated with deceleration than acceleration. Although there is a whole range of models called "Sportster".
"Your Sportster wants to take a bite"
I can well remember when I spoke to an American HD technician years ago and told him that the Sportster was really good for me, but that it was about as sporty as a vegan pork roast. I interpreted the fact that he raised his eyebrows and looked very interested as a sign of great appetite, but when he spoke I realized that he actually believed that a Sportster was sporty: “Easy handling, strong engine, excellent brakes, light weight. You can go fast. ”A spontaneous laugh came out of me, which made his expression darken. Of course I didn’t want the latter: “Sorry, Frank. But if you think of an Aprilia Tuono or a KTM Super Duke R for instance, your Sportster wants to bite off terribly. No way to keep up with them. I really love the Sportster, I love the aircooled engine with the long stroke and I love the feeling by riding it, but to be honest: It’s sporty like an old tennis socks. "Frank recognized my deep love for his machine, and the rest of mine He must have put statements in the drawer labeled“ Crazy guys talk crazy things ”. In any case, he smiled mildly and friendly and asked me:" Have a good ride , have fun! "
I had fun. Great fun, too. But only because I already knew exactly where the machine’s limits were and that it was absolutely pointless to fully sharpen the grater. When I first came into contact with a Sportster years before, I hadn’t really known that. At that time I really let it rip and was initially happy about the screeching scratching of the notches. And when the exhaust hit the ground and the rough asphalt thinned the thick-walled pipe acoustically, I felt great. Yes, there was a mighty dose of euphoria in me, coupled with a good dash of pride.
"Aha, my first slide! Only someone is cross!"
The alarm bells should have been ringing, but they didn’t. Even when the tough asphalt cutter started the hike at the back and pushed towards the exit of the curve following the centrifugal force, I was still in good spirits. Aha, my first slide! Mighty murderer! Only cross is who! What can I say, I felt like the greatest rock star of all time, it was just great – until suddenly the screeching rubber caught in the asphalt and the machine catapulted me into the air with a jerky tilting motion. Then I looked from above at the Sportster in the posture of a U-Hackerl jumper from the A trampoline in Innsbruck’s Tivoli swimming pool.
So so. It dawned on me that under these circumstances I couldn’t hope to continue my journey and that I would soon spread out on the asphalt. I was somewhat baffled. And Schmahstad. So no joke. At the highest point of the highsider, Wittgenstein’s central sentence came to mind: “The world is everything that is the case”, but I could not critically examine it. For me it was like an eternally true dogma back then. Today I know that the world as a totality of facts cannot exist, because billions of new facts are added every second, but back then in the air, funnily enough, I did not think about it, but prepared myself with wide eyes for the service . I quickly called up the central sentence of the fall theory: “I am a rubber ball!” And moments later there was a three or four thump in the Rossi replica AGV knocking and rumbling. When I found my orientation again, I recognized the battered Sportster next to me and heard her voice, carried by contemptuous indignation: “You’re already a solid fool. From today I will call you luxury egg bear. And yes: I really resent you for wrecking me. You can’t just grunt yourself with a new tank of fuel. I am really offended. "
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From Vienna to Sicily in 18 hours
The next season I took out a new Sportster and drove it from Vienna to Sicily. It took me 18 hours for the 1800 kilometers to the Messina ferry in Reggio di Calabria. However, I cannot say that it was a completely relaxed ride. On the contrary. The 1200 V2 easily delivered 160 km / h cruising speed without having to struggle, but I was hanging like a sail in the wind, which meant that my hands, arms, shoulders and neck lost a lot of flexibility. On the ferry, I moved elegantly like a wooden post and had great difficulty in bringing the cappuccino to my mouth without wear. But: when I was standing on Mount Etna a little later, gazing across the wide open country and the beautiful machine crackled next to me, I was the happiest person in the world. I kissed the slim tank and breathed: "I love you!"
That the scene also aroused romantic feelings in other people could be seen from the pair of bald eagles standing next to the blue gulf with Hildesheim license flat. She whispered to him: “Look how much he kisses his machine.” And he growled back grumpily: “Don’t get your hopes up. You’re Helga, you’re not a Harley. ”That earned him a lightning-fast left hook on his upper arm, there was a laugh, followed by a tender whistle. I thought: “Wonderful! And that after an endlessly long drive in the Gulf. "
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The 48 is the smartest Sportster of all time
I’ve always had a soft spot for the Sportster machines from Harley-Davidson, but the Forty-Eight really got me. Yes, heaven, when they pushed the charismatic iron to the start, I almost freaked out. What a shape, what a statement, what an appearance! The uninspired but functional swing arm made of steel square tube and the always puny spring struts with no real spring deflection faded into the background and let the brute brawny engine under the uncompromisingly small drop tank hit the senses – and as a crowning glory, the 48 in front served me a huge one 130 slippers on beautifully spoked 16 inches! Of course I was finished. “Voll im Eck”, as they say. But not just me. The 48 got people on a scale that surprised even Harley-Davidson. The machine with the rough charisma poached in all shifts and even found its way into the garages of convinced Supersport pilots. But please don’t get childish now: Only in the rarest cases was a 1000cc racing machine exchanged for a Forty-Eight, but it was bought as a cool second iron for the city or for the trip to the next town to your favorite hairdresser . Completely understandable from my point of view. The 48 is just insanely smart and embodies the wild motorcycling of a long time past, when the sickness regulation of society was still a long way off. But of course it is not sporty in the sense of sport.
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The rumbling torque is omnipresent
Well, even if the fast Graf Seitzmo and the horsepower racing gang will now be terribly pushed into the desk armchair, I don’t want to hold back my conviction: The 48 not only looks world class, it drives that way too. Of course not on the racetrack (there it either dies in the first corners or is passed so vehemently on the straights that the suction of the superbikes rushing by no longer allows air to seep into the intake tract of the V2), but in the city and rural areas, if you can has no deadline pressure.
The chassis is firm – not just in terms of a small spring deflection – and quite hard, the brakes are not super sporty, but they are much stronger in the bite than the anchor of a Triumph Bonneville, for example, the ABS works perfectly at a good level, and the brute one Motor is just great. At first glance, the 1202 45-degree V2 with two-valve technology, including bumpers and rocker arms, is of course sporty worthless noble junk if you compare it with a Japanese or Bavarian four-in-line, but de facto this engine, which I greatly appreciate, simply opens one up completely different world. The exciting rumbling long-stroke engine already serves around 80 Nm at idle speed and then simply does not decrease up to 6000 rpm. At the red traffic light, the entire machine is hit by a subtle, low-frequency tremor; when it is green, you can fully rivet and start like a rocket. Due to the long wheelbase, the low center of gravity and the feet set far forward, you don’t have to be afraid for a second that the load might climb into the gallery, but can concentrate fully on releasing the 67 hp and 98 Nm . If you turn off first gear, the slim, no-frills watch is 80 km / h. The second goes up to almost 120, by the way. In the free world away from the racetracks you are not underpowered. It is astonishing that the handling is not stubborn, but good-naturedly simple, despite the fat front tire, the long wheelbase, the relatively flat fork and the very high weight (256 kilos!). Mind-controlled turning is as alien to the Sportster as a budgie is to the deep sea.
This time we didn’t go to Rod in Switzerland
In terms of an assessment from a sporting point of view, it can be said that the limits of the Forty-Eight are not the limits of the world. In other words: the machine is the limit, not the pilot. The 48 hits the pegs relatively early, then the exhaust soon grinds. Nothing about that has changed over the years. But that’s no longer a problem for me. The lean angle is certainly large enough to wag around quickly through the radii in the open country. Another limit that I personally can easily accept is the short range due to the optically unbeatable 7.9 liter tank. Anyway, I like to light a pipe and admire the crackling iron. And when the sun hits the incredibly beautiful flake paintwork, I might get myself a second cappuccino.
I didn’t go to Rod in Switzerland this time. When I told him about the Forty-Eight on the phone, he said: “No, stop it. No matter how good the Forty-Eight looks, it is and remains a senseless iron pile. "Then Heidi took the phone from him and chirped:" I think the Forty-Eight is incredibly smart. Would go extremely well with Rod too. But of course only with a flake finish! ”We’ll see. The power of women cannot be valued highly enough.
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Technical data 48
andreasriedmann.at
Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight readings.
Drive: Two-cylinder 45-degree V-engine, two valves / cylinder, 49 kW (67 HP) at 5700 / min *, 98 Nm at 3200 / min *, 1202 cm³, bore / stroke: 88.9 / 96.8 mm, Compression ratio: 10.0: 1, ignition / injection system, 45 mm throttle valves, mechanically operated multi-disc oil bath clutch, five-speed gearbox, G-Kat, toothed belt.
Landing gear: Tubular steel double loop frame, steering head angle: 60.0 degrees, caster: 119 mm, wheelbase: 1520 mm, telescopic fork, inner fork tube diameter: 39 mm, not adjustable. Stereo spring struts without deflection, adjustable in the spring base. Spring travel front / rear: 92/54 mm, spoke wheels with steel rims, 3.00 x 16 / 3.00 x 16, front tires: 130/90 B 16, rear: 150/80 B 16, test tires: Michelin Scorcer 31, 292 mm single disc brakes with two-piston floating caliper at the front, 292 mm single disc with two-piston floating caliper at the rear, ABS.
Max. Rear wheel power **: 48 kW (65 PS) at 188 km / h
Acceleration**
0-100 km / h: 5.2 s; 0-150 km / h: 11.9 s;
0-200 km / h: –
Draft **
50-100 km / h: 7.3 s; 100–150 km / h: 8.9 s
Top speed *
190 km / h
Weight
256 kg with a full tank, v./h .: 46.8 / 53.2%,
Tank capacity: 7.9 liters
Test consumption 5.4 liters / 100 km
Setup fork
There is nothing to adjust here
Setup shock absorber
only adjustable in the spring base
Base price
11,975 euros, test machine: 12,175 euros
Conclusion
21st Pictures
Pictures: Zonko’s attack on the Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight
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