Softail? I think so…. but I have no idea why.
Last Wednesday, the 18th of January, Harley-Davidson announced the remainder of their 2023 motorcycle lineup. No major surprises, but a few really interesting bits.
Breakout? Try some clearasil.
The Breakout is back. Stretched long with a nice & juicy fat rear tire, it has come back to the US market. With it’s ridiculously skimpy lean angle of 26.8°, it certainly isn’t going to be carving up any roads.
Scott Stap would give you a high five…
Realistically, the Breakout is designed for the straight line — from Pottery Barn to Crate & Barrel, and then catch a pour over at Blue Bottle while you’re casually browsing Wayfair, to find some bargain decorations inspired by your earlier window shopping.
Fat Bob? Ahem, no reason to get personal.
This is a really interesting motorcycle. It’s got an aggressive look, with a modern flair that reminds me a bit of the V-Rod with it’s styling. One thing I just cannot understand is why the HD Design Team wouldn’t put a wider rear tire on that bike. Maybe not a 240, but certainly something a bit thicker than a 180. It is progressively modern for Harley-Davidson, but not so much as it looks out of place.
That headlight. 🤮
That headlight with those handlebars… sorry MoCo, but the only thing that I see is a cyclops with a unibrow. Um, wait a second. All cyclops have unibrows. OK, it’s a cyclops wearing a bandana with two antennae… Never mind, lets just say it looks odd and leave it at that.
Fat Boy! I prefer husky.
The new classic, not to be confused with the old classic. I’ve always liked the styling of this bike, and the changes that they’ve made over the years have doubled down on it’s core aesthetic, and it has worked.
Assymetric deceleration contraption
One thing that has continuously kept me perplexed about this, and many other Harley-Davidson motorcycles (yeah, you too Breakout!)…
WHY ONLY ONE DISC BRAKE IN THE FRONT?
Background, competition, and WTF?
A little about me — I’ve owned a variety of motorcycles over the years… Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, MV-Augusta… and all of them have had one thing in common. Each street bike came equipped from the factory with dual front disc brakes. The reason is simple. On a motorcycle, when using your brakes, the majority of stopping power comes from the front of the motorcycle. Two discs are better than one. Each disc can handle half the load, and the heat / wear gets spread across two discs.
Some people will talk about tradition, heratige, and style that have been part of the HD brand for years — I’ll counter by saying the following:
Harley-Davidson was known for motorcycles that were grossly underpowered, unreliable, and unnecessarily difficult to operate — but they fixed those issues and improved the product.
Woah there, hit the brakes, and slow your roll.
I’m not aware of anyone complaining that these 650+lb motorcycles are stopping too quickly…. How much can an additional rotor, caliper, and other materials add? These are already in excess of $20k. Hell, let me get a dual disc front end as a factory option. I’ll take it!
Get to da choppa if you want to live!
Nostalgia, imposing front end, thick rear end… yeah. Early 90s bliss… back when Grunge ruled the airwaves, before we were inundated with reality television…. Those were good times.
Conclusion
Well, I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to put an order in within the next few weeks. I just need to wait for the opportune moment to embezzle some money without the CFO noticing. Is it embezzling when it is your money? My boss thinks so.
When days feel like months, not moths.
I’m sure that I’ll change my mind several times between now and then.