1990 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
CYCLE WORLD TEST
1990 HARLEY-DAVIDSON FAT BOY
Is Harley’s only new bike a portly pretender or heavyweight hit?
ALONG THE BOTTOM OF A SMALL VALLEY. GOLDEN hills rise sharply from a tight, twisty road. Following a stream, the road climbs and falls as it cuts its way through landscape dotted by oak trees and
scrub pines. This is sportbike country, pure and simple. But the bike claiming the road on this day is not a sportbike, it’s the Harley-Davidson FLSTF Fat Boy, the only new model in Harley’s 1990 lineup. And it allows—forces, perhaps—its rider to do something most sportbikes would never permit on this road: enjoy the scenery.
On such a road, a sportbike, especially one of the repliracer variety, seems most happy when it is ridden hard.
That kind of riding, while invigorating and fulfilling in its own right, leaves little room for rubber-necking. HarleyDavidsons, though, are content to chug along at sightseeing paces, regardless of the shape and direction of the asphalt. And, as Harley-Davidson’s continuing popularity attests, more and more riders are being seduced by that loping V-Twin heartbeat, a thumpa-thumpa cadence that has introduced generations of motorcyclists to a relaxed riding attitude that says. “Slow down. We'll get there soon
enough.” The new Fat Boy steps right into the middle of that Harley tradition.
Like almost any new Harley, there is nothing revolutionary about the Fat Boy. It starts with a Softail chassis, an Evolution engine and a fat, car-worthy, 16-inch front tire; in other words, it’s much the same as the Heritage Softail and the Softail Classic. What’s different is the Fat Boy’s monochromatic paint and beefier styling, making it seemingly more solid than any other machine in the H-D lineup.
Most of that hefty look comes from the extraordinarily wide FLH-style handlebar, the broad, valanced fenders and the solid, aluminum-dish wheels on the front and rear of the machine. But while it looks much heavier than the
other Softails, in reality the Fat Boy weighs in at 660 pounds, about the same as those other machines.
With about the same weight and the same basic engine, it’s not surprising the Fat Boy’s performance is about the same as other Harleys, as well. Its 1340cc, air-cooled VTwin powers the Fat Boy through the quarter-mile in 14.53 seconds, and pushes it to a top speed of 1 12 miles per hour. Not the quickest or fastest Harley we’ve ever tested, but respectable nonetheless.
Two mechanical changes, while not improving outright performance, have made the Fat Boy’s engine a morelikable piece. First is a new clutch. The clutch changes consist mainly of a lighter diaphragm spring, and a spring plate nestled between two friction plates. The clutch now has a much lighter pull and smoother engagement, making takeoffs easier. Additionally, using the clutch while inching along in stopand-go traffic will not leave the rider with a Popeye-like left forearm, a common complaint with the old clutch setup. The task of shifting is also a bit easier, though our test unit was a trifle stiff when shifting between fourth and fifth gears.
The other change to the engine is the fitting of a Keihin 40mm constant-velocity carburetor. Our Fat Boy started easier with the new carb and needed less warm-up time compared to previous 1340cc Harleys, which used nonCV Keihins. Across the entire rev-range, the bike carbureted smoothly and cleanly, from sea level to elevations that reached as high as 4500 feet. For 1990, all Harley Big Twin models will have the new clutch and carburetor.
Riders of the past few years’ Harleys will feel at home with the Fat Boy’s brakes. The front brake lever still requires a stout pull, though the foot pedal for the rear brake is effective and easily modulated. Used aggressively, the brakes will yank the Fat Boy to a halt in 126 feet from 60 miles an hour, three feet fewer than the Ducati 750 Sport we tested in last month’s issue required.
But, as alluded to earlier, it’s not the absolute performance of this bike that’s important, but the quality of it. Overall, the Fat Boy has a tight, refined feel, almost as if it were the world’s biggest pocket watch. Notch the transmission into fifth gear and the bike virtually becomes an automatic, chugging through all but the worst traffic snarl/On the road, the engine falls into step at about 60 miles per hour, content to chuff along at that speed until it runs out of fossil fuel.
The Fat Boy, like the rest of the Softails, does not utilize Harley’s rubber-mounting system for its engine, so it sends a noticeable amount of vibration to the rider contact patches: handlebar, seat and floorboards. And, while some of our riders felt that the Fat Boy’s shaking was inconsequential, that it added to the bike’s personality, other test riders wondered when Harley-Davidson’s engineers will adapt the company’s excellent rubber-mounting system to the Softail frame.
Certainly, at the cruising speeds the Fat Boy is intended for, engine vibration isn’t damning. So, too, is the bike's handling tailored for temperate velocities. Even with its wide MT90-16 front tire, it has light steering, trundling easily through traffic or along backroads at moderate paces. The handlebar accounts for much of the Fat Boy’s feather touch at speeds. Thirty-four inches wide, it provides enough leverage to lift a small truck.
While the Fat Boy handles well enough on the open road, it doesn’t like to be pushed too hard, due to its mildly sprung suspension and limited ground clearance. The twin-shock rear suspension—the shocks lie horizontally beneath the engine—is set up soft, using up its travel easily at high speeds, even with the shocks’ spring preload nearly maxed out. But what limits the bike most is a lack of
cornering clearance, which allows its floorboards to drag, even at unimpassioned lean angles. When cornering speeds are stepped-up just a little, the lower exhaust pipe hits on the right, and the rear frame section grinds on the left. A hearty romp through the twisties leaves enough scrubbed-off metal to build a small sportbike.
Of course, the bike wasn’t really intended to get too far out of the city, its natural stomping grounds. There, the suspension seems almost perfectly suited to lower speeds. The fork and expansive front tire isolate most road bumps and jolts from the rider, and the rear shocks provide a comfortable ride.
And it’s around town the Fat Boy’s riding position makes the most sense. At highway speeds, the rider strains against the wind, because the handlebar opens his arms into a classic, spread-eagle pose reminiscent of riders on late-Sixties choppers. Around town, that’s not a problem; though, at first, the bar feels odd. But after only a few miles, it somehow begins to feel right, and every other motorcycle handlebar seems wrong by comparison. Still, Fat Boy riders on tour would be well-advised to mount a windshield to cut down on wind blast.
The Fat Boy’s floorboards are positioned comfortably forward, and the 26-inch-high seat makes reaching the ground an easy proposition for all but the shortest of riders. But the seat is firmly padded and form-fitting, forcing the rider to remain in one position. That's okay on shorter jaunts, but after 25 miles on the road. Fat Boy riders will be looking for the next hot-dog stand or scenic overlook, whichever comes first. Accommodations for the passenger are a little better, with a thicker, wider cushion than the usual Harley pillion pad.
Long-range seating capabilities aside, the Fat Boy has a rock-solid feel mixed with the kind of soul lacking in so many of its contemporaries. Some people may object to the dull, gray color and almost-fluorescent-yellow accents, and some may not like the fat front tire and solid wheel. But most folks who saw our test bike loved its backin-the-Fifties styling, ogling everything from the valanced metal fenders to the shotgun-style exhausts to the braidedleather tank strap. You may not like its style, but at least the Fat Boy has it.
There’s substance to that style, as well, going beyond how the Fat Boy looks, to how it makes you feel. It’s a veritable good-time cruising platform, a charismatic, paradoxical hunk of modern motorcycling nostalgia, a vehicle that gets a lot of looks and generates a lot of interest. Combining retro-styling with the latest in Harley technological soundness, the Fat Boy shows the potential to become a key player in the continuance of the Harley-Davidson legend.
But, best of all, it makes motorcycling in the slow lane feel just great. 3
EDITORS' NOTES
I THINK THE FAT BOY IS SO OUTLANDISH
that it’s sure to be a tremendous hit. In the best two-wheels-and-an-engine fashion, almost any Harley is a study in mechanical function, but the Fat Boy, with its alloy disc wheels, jumbo fenders and steel-silver paint, has taken that image a notch higher. It’s a full-metal motorcycle.
A touch of yellow paint here and there, the handlaced, leather tank strap and the over-and-under exhaust pipes project a customized look. too. In fact, parking the Fat Boy in town instantly attracts a gaggle of onlookers.
As nice as that attention is, I’d still rather ride a moremainstream Harley, a Low Rider Custom, say. Maybe I’m just too small for the Fat Boy: At 5 feet 10 inches, I'm intimidated by its sheer bulk and by the wide spread of its handlebar. If I weighed 300 pounds and stood 6 foot 4, maybe I would be more comfortable riding this bike. But, unless I suddenly become a taller, more-obese man. I’ll pass on the Fat Boy. — Ron Griewe, Senior Editor
EDITOR EDITOR EDITOR I I size about owning a fleet of cherished motorcycles. In my dream garage, I envision a RC30 on one side, a ZX11 on the other, an old XL600 tucked away in the back. My only problem has been deciding what motorcycle to place in the middle. Now I know: the Harley Fat Boy.
I didn’t reach that conclusion easily, because it took a little time for the Fat Boy to grow on me. When I was first assigned to ride it, the rest of the staff was heading out on a take-no-prisoners sportbike mission. I felt left out. But as I spent time chugging the Harley over my favorite roads, I began to appreciate the Fat Boy’s charms.
I knew I loved the bike the night I rode it to a chic, coolblue Tex-Mex grill. I parked between a 930 Porsche and some low-slung Bimmer, and every perfectly groomed, nattily outfitted thirtysomething in the place dropped their oat-bran burritos and eye-balled the Fat Boy.
That’s more than enough toearn it aplace in my garage of dreams. —Caniron E. Bussard, Executive Editor
WHAT’S WITH THIS BIKE’S NAME? NEXT, I suppose we’ll have Huey the Harley? How about the Chunky Child? Maybe the Meaty Minor?
At first, the Fat Boy itself didn’t strike me very favorably, either. I mean, if I’ve got almost 1 IK to drop on a motorcycle that looks as if it came from Elvis’ private collection,
has a vibrating, solidly mounted engine and only slightly more ground clearance than the average caterpillar. I'd rather scour the classifieds and find, say, a genuine 1958 Duo-Glide in creme-and-emerald-green.
After spending some time in the Lardy Lad’s wingedand-tasseled saddle, though, I think I understand. This is the ultimate around-town vehicle, a short-hop specialist that makes running to the corner bagel shop an event worth celebrating. Try not to crack a smile as you rumble down Main Street, feet on the floorboards, hands reaching out for that great chromed moustache of a handlebar. You can’t.
But it still has a silly name. —David Edwards, Editor
HARLEY FAT BOY
$10,995
