Gettin' High On the Hog!
GETTIN' HIGH ON THE HOG!
THE HILLS WERE ALIVE WITH the sound of...Harleys. Okay, it was the lofty mountains and red rock canyons of St. George, Utah. This small desert town bordering Zion National Park was where The Motor Company introduced its 1999 models. Although the headliner was the new Twin Cam 88 engine (CW, August, 1998), the bikes themselves also were significant. Without fur ther ado, here's the skinny on the `99 Harley-Ds: First up is 4 the FXDX Dyna Super Glide Sport. This bike, says Harley's Steve Piehl, "is in tended for the person who's interested in Harleys, but wants a touch more in the handling area." Powered by the new 1450cc V-Twin, the sportiest-looking Dyna yet gets a dirt-track handlebar, wire wheels and dual front disc brakes. Available in Vivid Black, and new colors Diamond Ice and Aztec Orange, ______ it costs $12,995.
Next come the FXSTB Night Train and FXST Softail Standard. Both are powered by the old-style Evo motor and come in black only. The Night Train, al ready a success in Europe, has chopper-esque flavor with a blacked-out engine, minimalist seat, drag bars and 6inch risers. Price is $13,995. The Standard, as its name implies, is Harley's way of creating a Softail base model. Says Piehi, "Harley is sensitive to the pricing on our bikes, and we want to make sure they are available to the people who real ly want them." With subdued, traditional styling, the $11,995 FXST fits this criteria to a T.
Finally, the Sportster 883 Cus tom. The latest in a long line of Sportys, this bike combines styling cues from the carry-over Sportster 1200 Custom with the smaller-displacement 883cc en gine. Features include a longer fork and chromed bullet head lamp. The $6895 bike also has a passenger pillion and revamped rear suspension.
General upgrades include bet ter brakes, on-board diagnostics and redesigned taillights. All of last year's models return for repeat perfor mances in `99; Softails retain the Evo motor, everything else gets the Twin Cam 88. Not to be left out of the spotlight, Harley-owned Buell also staged its intro in St. George. Not surprisingly, the show-stopper was~~ the $10,599 XI Lightning (CW, September, 1998), which replaces the previous S 1. Re turning are the S3 Thunderbolt and M2 Cyclone, which have so many changes from last year's models that Buell Presi dent Jerry Wilke claimed, "There are more things differ ent about these bikes than are the same." Al! sport Showa suspen sion, a broader seat, redesigned enginemounting systemthe list goes on and on. Plus, like the Xl, the S3 has closedloop fuel injec tion. Prices are similar to last year: The Cyclone costs $8599, and the touring-oriented Thunderbolt ranges from $11,999 to $12,799. (Chalk up the differ ence to more than 400 color and accessory combinations.)
And that, in a nutshell, is all the Harley and Buell news fit to print. For the moment, at least...
Wendy F. Black
