Verdict
It’s Friday night, and Dara O’briain invites the teams to the performance area. This week’s topic is ‘things you wouldn’t say about a Harley’ and is kicked off with ‘it’s got the best brakes’ from Mock the Week regular Hugh Dennis. The audience roll about. ‘Ride quality is the best here’, whines that little bald bloke, followed by ‘it’s the most comfortable’ from a young comic you’ll never see again. Except all these statements are true. Harley-davidson’s new Fat Bob isn’t just an improvement over the previous Dyna-based model, it’s something of a revelation. It retains the essential thumping torque, bold stance, oversize levers and weightiness that confirm the Harley experience, but delivers them with new-found handling, poise, usability and performance. It’s a statement bike that’s hard to ignore, the bike that makes the biggest imprint. It’s also the most expensive, and the cash saved by opting for Triumph’s Bonneville Bobber is equally difficult to ignore. Rounded thudding drive, surprising agility, fine quality and pleasing sensations make it easy to see why the hacked-down Bonnie is so popular. It’s the one that’ll appeal to the widest audience on a test ride. Indian’s Scout Bobber spans the gap between the polite Brit and bold Yank. It’s got free-revving smoothness and clean manners like the former, with the image and from-the-bars attitude of the latter. Somehow it doesn’t quite make as much of a dent as either, though. Whether it’s the perfect compromise or doesn’t quite measure up depends where you’re standing.
‘The Harley’s not just improved, nd it’s something of a revelation’