Top test Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Injection

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Top test Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Injection

Really big theater

It doesn’t matter which stage the Fat Boy plays on: With sweeping gestures, she takes you into another world. According to the staging, she has both drama and comedy in the repertoire.

Not many sentences in world literature have made such a career. Are so impatiently longed for, spoken to, and suffered from by the audience. Especially suffered. This time in the top test. The Fat Boy gives Hamlet, the pylon course symbolizes a wall somewhere in the fog of Denmark, and again it says: to be or not to be – that is the question here.
It’s a drama. But one with a happy ending. Because on this stage only a tape measure marks the point where this existential question would be decided in very many cases with "not being" in the reality of German traffic. A braking distance of 47 meters and an average deceleration of 8.2 m / s2 would inevitably be the last curtain in an emergency. For the Harley, the driver – and, given a mass of 326 kilograms, also for the opponent with a full tank.
No question about it: if you consider the values ​​usually achieved around 40 meters, the Fat Boy is a tragic figure. The four-piston caliper at the front struggles helplessly to press the pads against the lonely 292-millimeter disc with the appropriate pressure, while the brake foot on the powerful pedal does not keep up with the dosage due to the very progressive effect of its rear counterpart. To block or not to block, front or back? The message is clear: these brakes do not know what to do because the locking limit is not clearly defined at the front and the dynamic axle load distribution still applies to the rear despite the 1630 millimeter wheelbase.
Just like the truths she brought to the audience in the previous acts. Because even when it comes to the serious stuff of driving dynamics, obese heroes are rather sad characters. The Fat Boy is no exception. A well-trained athlete is short of around 20 km / h in the fast slalom. To attribute this fact to her weight alone would not be entirely correct, because at least she manages to distribute the pounds very evenly between the front and rear wheels. Rather, it is this deliberately flaunted casualness of running boards loosely hanging at the height of the turf and protruding steering antlers that makes sense during a leisurely ride, but must pass as a refusal to perform in this competitive situation. Schraddel, schraddel, schraddel ?? Even at the start of dramatically changing the direction of travel, these stepping areas block themselves against every further degree of inclination, while the brave rider runs the risk of losing the handlebars on the outside of the bend out of reach when the steering wheel is fully turned.
The curtain falls, that should have been the last act of the drama. The outcome of the story is left to the imagination. What would happen in the slow slalom, in the circular path, these last, merciless tests, where, above all, freedom from banking is required. It would be rough, for people and material, probably too rough. Someone would probably fall by the wayside. It would be better if we change the genre and put lighter fare on the schedule.
The scenery: a mild late autumn evening, the day’s work done, the Fat Boy is the well-proportioned lady. Is a little shy, screeching indignantly at uncouth advances. Clearly, it is important to keep the form. So briefly press the button on the remote control twice and the alarm system is already deactivated. For a short time, mind you. Anyone who pays their bill at the gas station and gets back on the car without knowing it gets the lady going again and makes a fool of himself. The comedy is in full swing to the delight of the audience.
And continues in the next scene, at least more edifyingly for the driver. Because finally the engine comes into its own here. In the course drama, despite all the visual charms, he was still an extra, but now he is enjoying the performance. One press of the button is enough and there is life in the house. At least with the injection offered by Harley as an option and with an immodest extra fee of 695 euros. Well tuned, the V2 runs smoothly from the first meter, spontaneously accelerates, in short ?? Despite the time-honored mechanics, it is at least up to date in this respect. Well-groomed manners that consistently run through the whole plot. He gives gently, very gently? supported by the almost play-free toothed belt drive and a very long way on the throttle? continues its power to the rear wheel, produces little under load thanks to two balancing shafts, and practically no vibrations when coasting. And gently leads into a story in which the oppressive scenes from the pylon jungle are quickly forgotten.
The Fat Boy manages the role reversal perfectly. A tragic hero, now a muse, who takes even hardcore bikers with them into a world in which measured values ​​only have statistical value. Only 64 hp at 5500 rpm? so what! In view of the wonderfully smooth power and torque curve, nobody even needs that. Neither does a tachometer. When the time comes, the driver carefully pulls the clutch, with a bang he calls for the next of five gears using a powerful rocker switch ?? And the rest will be handled by the Twin Cam 88 B thanks to a pronounced torque plateau between 2000 and 4700 rpm (there are always over 90 Newton meters).
Does he also because speed is on the Fat Boy ?? always accompanied by the very restrained babbling from the double pipe system ?? mutated from an obsessive image factor to a very minor factor. Come along at 100 km / h on motorways with a 120 limit? it happens on the Harley because the wind pressure behind the eternally wide handlebar is then perceived as refreshment and not as agony and the engine is exactly in this speed range ?? not least thanks to two balancer shafts? silky smooth runs. In town in fifth gear at the prescribed 50 km / h plus ten percent? No problem at all, because the Fat Boy runs smoothly from this brand onwards. The absolutely amazing thing: On this motorcycle, even for proven freedom fighters, the state-imposed speed limits lose their repressive character. Instead, the realization matures that you can only gain time if you take it. Not if you run after her.
Seen in this way, the presentation of the Fat Boy on the chassis side fits perfectly into the storyline. If it is at the end, everything is too fast anyway. The mighty fork is allowed to teeter a lot, the shock absorbers under the frame triangle, which are under tension during compression, are only allowed to dampen insensitively: Basically, the Fat Boy with its neutral and, measured in terms of mass and wheelbase, almost handy chassis has good arguments for a trip in angled corners. If need be, even for two, because the pillion seat offers more comfort than it initially seems. Although there is no handle, the seat is quite short. But does it fall forward? and not like with the colleague V-Rod ?? backwards, seating comfort and knee angles are bearable.
In addition to the awareness-raising measures described above, another point ensures that the idea of ​​the Harley does not have lengths even on long-distance trips. It’s the transmission characteristic. The fifth gear is translated to 220 km / h, although the 173 km / h top speed is more of a theoretical nature. That cares ?? in view of 5.7 liters of highway consumption and an 18.9 liter fuel drum ?? not only for a considerable range, but in view of the pleasantly low speed level also for relaxing phases of inner contemplation.
D.he in turn stands in stark contrast to the glamor that the Fat Boy spreads during the coffee break. Chrome wherever the eye looks, more anniversary features on all possible and impossible corners for the 100th birthday, two-tone paintwork on request (930 euros extra): what a real character actor is, also likes to be in the spotlight away from the stage. And he likes to have his commitment royally rewarded. 20,940 euros plus 400 euros for ancillary costs. But exciting performances are guaranteed. Sometimes drama, mostly comedy.

Top test Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Injection

Really big theater

This is how MOTORRAD – seat comfort tests drivers

MOTORRAD explains the individual criteria of the 1000-point evaluation (part 10)

Comfortable like grandma’s sofa or as hard as a board like a beer bench? Opinions differ widely about what a comfortable sitting position is. Depending on the genre, the ergonomic requirements are extremely different. On an athlete, the driver is inevitably completely different from that on an enduro, streetfighter or chopper. That has an effect in everyday operation – and that alone is included in the 1000 point rating? very different. Anyone who has to keep kipping on a super sports car is unlikely to be happy off the race track. And if you have to stretch out on a chopper for the sweeping deer antler handlebars, you usually head for the first parking space for a break after a short driving time. In addition to the basic ergonomic conditions, i.e. the position of the rests, seat and handlebars, little things also play a role. The bench must be well padded, should not have any annoying edges, and the transition to the tank must not collide with the legs. Interestingly enough, the MOTORRAD testers criticize a seat that is too soft at least as often as one that is too hard, so soft does not mean comfortable. Wide spread legs, poor knee closure or asymmetrical sitting posture are further points of criticism. As usual, testers of different stature assess this criterion.

Verdict – Harley-Davidson Fat Boy

The Fat Boy is a character actress, no question about it. And you can usually see small quirks after them. That‘s why the meager point yield is no break. But character actors also have to find their way in the mundane everyday world. That is why Harley should urgently go into the matter of the brake system, because with the best will in the world, their idea is no longer up-to-date.

What else caught my eye – Harley-Davidson Fat Boy

Plus, the oil tank for the dry sump lubrication is easily accessible, the oil level is easy to check belt driveFuel gauge and warning lamp in the left fuel tank cap after the ignition is released, splash water from the front wheel lands directly on the shins, no space for on-board tools

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