2018 Harley-Davidson Low Rider Review - First Ride

I’ll go ahead and start with this: I’ve never been a fan of the Low Rider. Clearly that puts me at odds with tons of Harley-Davidson buyers. The Low Rider has been popular with both customizers and riders who prefer a more compact riding position (read shorter). I am neither. With this in mind, I’ll dive into what my time with the 2018 Harley-Davidson Low Rider was like.

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2018 Harley-Davidson Deluxe Review - First Ride

By now, most motorcyclists have learned of the big changes in the Harley-Davidson Softail line, how it has swallowed its Dyna siblings, added the Milwaukee-Eight engine, and been reborn as a modern interpretation of a cruiser. However, perhaps no other manufacturer is more aware of the weight of a marque’s history than Harley. Which explains why the designers at the Motor Company expended so much effort in getting the classic models like the 2018 Harley-Davidson Deluxe right. They knew that if they were able to modernize the more classically styled models, they could take some liberties with the bikes where they wanted to push the envelope. The Deluxe provides a prime example of an updated Softail that carries over the lines of the previous generation while still becoming a thoroughly modern cruiser.

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2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Bob 114 Review - First Ride

On August 22, 2017, Harley-Davidson turned the motorcycling world on its ear by announcing that it had scrapped the entire Dyna line of motorcycles and rolled it into a completely revamped Softail line. When the dust settled, eight new Softails – four of them available with the buyer’s choice of a Millwaukee-Eight 107 or optional 114 engine – stood as the heart of a completely new cruiser lineup. The names of the Softails were carryovers from the previous generation, and for the most part, the new models were easily distinguishable as their previous generation’s namesakes. In the case of the 2018 Fat Bob, this wasn’t necessarily a given. Yes, once you knew you were looking at the new Fat Bob, it made sense, but at first glance, the 2018 Fat Bob elicits wows – followed by what the hell is that?

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Harley-Davidson 2018 Softail Pictorial Overview

The changes made in the 2018 Harley-Davidson Softail line were so numerous we couldn’t fit them in one article! To read about the hows and whys of the changes, check out “ Harley-Davidson Introduces All New 2018 Softail Line.” This article is strictly an adjunct to that text which is intended to let you know what happened to each individual member of the completely revamped Softail line. Strap on your helmet; this is gonna be quite a ride.

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Harley-Davidson Introduces All New 2018 Softail Line

When Harley-Davidson released its updated 2017 touring line with the new Milwaukee-Eight engine, it didn’t take any insider information to figure out that the new powerplant would eventually propel all of Harley’s Big Twins. Well, that time has arrived with the announcement of the Motor Company’s 2018 model lineup. While the engine upgrade itself isn’t much of a surprise, the way HD chose to craft an all-new Big Twin chassis around the Milwaukee-Eight is huge news. We’ll let Paul James, Manager, Product Portfolio for Harley-Davidson explain:

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2016 Harley-Davidson Softail Slim S - First Ride Review

Harley-Davidson has utilized the CVO (Custom Vehicle Operations) line as a way to fly the corporate flag of what is possible with a production Harley and the Motor Company’s Parts and Accessories department. So, except for the CVO-exclusive paint schemes and the new technology that is often debuted in the high-end line, owners have been able to build for themselves the bulk of a CVO with their own bikes.

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Big Gun Blow-Out: Harley-Davidson FXSB Breakout Vs. Victory Gunner

Well, ahh, basically we were just looking for an excuse to tool around on H-D’s swell new FSXB Breakout for a while, and decided to bring one of our favorite cruisers, the Victory Gunner, along for the ride to see how things stack up between these American cruisers. In the powertrain departments, at least, both big V-Twins are representative of their makers’ current offerings.

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2015 Harley-Davidson CVO Softail Deluxe Review

This week,  Harley-Davidson announced its 2015 models, including four CVO – that’s Custom Vehicle Operations to the rest of us – models to carry the banner of the most premium motorcycles the company manufactures. To this rarefied atmosphere, the Motor Company brought three models based on the touring chassis ( CVO Street GlideCVO Road Glide Ultra, and CVO Limited) and one Softail-based model, the CVO Softail Deluxe. While it is notable that all four models are touring bikes, the Softail is more of a light-duty tourer that can easily be stripped of its windshield and saddlebags to become a boulevard-focused motorcycle.

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