Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)

HARLEY BREAKS WITH TRADITION

- BY GEOFF HILL

Harley doesn’t do radical. The last time it tried, with the stunning V-rod powered by a Porsche-designed liquid-cooled engine in 2001, its traditiona­l customers took one look, aimed for the nearest spittoon and drawled: “Hot diggity dawg, that ain’t like no damned hog I ever saw, boy.”

So you can imagine my surprise when I plonked my eager buns in the saddle of the Breakout and saw before me the most innovative instrument panel in the history of motorcycli­ng.

A digital screen no bigger than two postage stamps laid end to end with a narrow strip of informatio­n and warning lights below, it tells you speed, rpm or time, fuel state and what gear you’re in. Waxed cotton jacket and riding jeans, since you ask. Astonishin­g. If the bike was half as good as that dash, I was in for a treat.

Harley certainly hopes so. This is one of eight new machines in the Softail range designed from the ground up with a lighter, stiffer frame and swingarm, better suspension and a choice of 1,745cc or 1,868cc engines. It’s the start of an evil masterplan to launch 100 brand new models and get two million new riders on Harleys in the next decade.

First impression­s of the Breakout 114, the more powerful version, are good.

Engaging first gear on the previous model produced that traditiona­l Harley clang like an empty bucket being dropped down an even emptier well, but this time around, it’s only like a very small spanner being dropped into the bucket.

Accelerati­on, with the bike now 16kg lighter, is 10% faster from 0-60mph, according to Harley, and it pulls cleanly from 1,700rpm to the redline at 5,500rpm. The six-speed gearbox is like a hot knife through a buttered cliché compared to the agricultur­al lumps experience­d on Harleys even 10 years ago.

The chassis is a third stiffer than the previous Breakout to improve handling and, although those wide bars need a firm push to get the bike turning, the lighter weight, improved suspension and a low centre of gravity made swinging through the endless corners of the mountains above Barcelona on the launch a happy affair, albeit a waltz rather than a jive.

Stripped down and svelte, it’s a muscle machine which looks like a traditiona­l Harley but rides like the much-missed V-rod.

So maybe Harley does do radical after all, but by evolution rather than revolution, the cunning dawgs. Harley Softail Breakout

Price: From £17,245

Engine: 1868cc air-cooled V-twin

Power: 93bhp @ 5,020rpm

Torque: 114 lb ft @ 3,000rpm

Colours: Black, red, silver, blue

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 ??  ?? LOW RIDER Breakout is a real treat
LOW RIDER Breakout is a real treat

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