FAT BOY’S NOT IN THE SAME STREET
Who says Americans don’t have a sense of irony? A third of the population last saw their feet when Kennedy was president, yet Harley brings out a bike called the Fat Bob.
It can only be a matter of time before a plump chap called Robert sues the company for emotional whiplash.
Until then, the Fat Bob 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 1745cc or 1868cc engines.
It shares the same stripped down look as stablemate the Street Bob, but with flat, wide bars compared to the Street’s more high-rise ones, which force you to hunker into an aggressive riding position in keeping with Harley’s marketing of it as a mean, lean, tarmac-eating monster. Unlike the Street Bob, it has the option of the bigger 1868cc engine which gives it an impressive grunt away from the traffic lights.
The problem comes when you get to those pesky corners, with the bars needing a hefty shove to persuade them that going around is a good idea.
Mind you, it’s not really their fault: you can blame that big fat front tyre – at 150mm it’s the biggest and fattest mother in Harley’s rubberwear store.
Combined with fairly soft suspension, it means handling isn’t even as agile as the Heritage Classic – a bigger and heavier bike, but with a thinner front tyre.
The Fat Boy’s good for bombing around the sweeping curves of A roads, but it didn’t prove so nimble on the mountain twisties above Barcelona on the launch.
With two front discs, braking is better than on the single-disc Street Bob, and it needs to be, with a rear that lacks both feel and bite.
The handling of the Street Bob, with its higher bars, skinnier front tyre and slightly lighter weight, is significantly sweeter, not to mention that it’s got the same bijou instrument panel as the Breakout built into the handlebars – an inspired style detail.
So given the choice, I’d go for the cheaper Street Bob, even without the more powerful engine. And the best looking of the new stripped-down Softails is still the iconic Fat Boy.
It just brings out the Terminator in me.