Harley-Davidson Street Bob
Harley-Davidson Street Bob
New for 2006
Minimalist Dyna
MATTHEW MILES
WHEN FRIENDS AND FAMILY ASK ME HOW LONG I'VE BEEN with Cycle World, I don't say, "Since the debut of the Harley-Davidson Dyna platform.”
But I could.
Although Harley claims that the Dyna family can be traced back to the first factory custom, the 1971 FX Super Glide, the actual platform, with its reconfigured frame and vibration-quelling, engineisolation system, debuted with the 1991 FXDB Dyna Glide Sturgis.
It was the first Harley created with Computer Aided Design, and with its pair of composite rubber-and-steel engine mounts (two fewer than were used on then-current FXRs), set a new standard for smooth.
“At idle,” noted our October, 1990, road test of the monochrome machine, “when the engine’s power pulses are at their most violent, some booms and throbs make it all the way to the footpegs, seat and handlebar, but they hardly are annoying-in fact, they make for a rather pleasant sensation.
And once the revs climb above 2000 rpm, the shakes and quakes are all but eliminated.”
I was reminded of this as I tooled toward Long Beach on Pacific Coast Highway aboard the solo-only Street Bob, a factory homage to bob-jobs of the past and one of six Dynas in The Motor Company’s lineup for 2006. The carbureted, 1340cc Evolution V-Twin that powered the Sturgis has long since given way to the fuel-injected, 1450cc Twin Cam 88, further refined this year with a host of internal improvements, but, overall, the on-the-road experience is much the same.
Startup is immediate, and the black-powdercoated engine (matching the console, battery box and belt guard) settles almost as quickly into an even idle. Regardless of rpm, throt-
tie response is hiccup-free. Output is sufficient for getting away first from stoplights but never intimidating. This is a most pleasant and charismatic powerplant.
Right up there with the engine in terms of user-friendliness-if not spiritual presence-are the new six-speed Cruise Drive transmission and easy-squeeze clutch. The first-gear “clunk” remains, as Harley intended, and the throws are positive. I never missed a shift.
About that transmission: Last November,
Harley recalled 13,400 ’06 Dynas worldwide.
According to the notice, affected gearboxes might not engage neutral, even though the indicator light was illuminated. Turns out, the star on the shifter drum wasn’t deep enough. The fix was to replace the drum, the detent arm and the neutral switch.
Recalls aside, the light-effort clutch and the much-improved transmission underline an important point: Harley is making every effort to broaden the appeal of its products in hopes of attracting beginning and smaller riders.
Experienced motorcyclists will appreciate the copious chassis upgrades. A bigger-tube 49mm fork, beefier triple-clamps, a strengthened swingarm, 1-inch-diameter axles and a wider, 17-inch rear wheel that carries a 160/70 bias-ply tire (only the liquid-cooled VRSCs roll on radiais) yield a noticeable improvement in handling. The Street Bob swings through corners with an unforced ease and feels locomotive-solid at speed.
Downsides to all this goodness are few-and largely subjective. I found the near-shoulder-height mini apehanger handlebar a good fit, although the rubber mounts allow it
to flex back and forth too freely for my tastes. More problematic, at least for a six-plus-footer such as myself, is the mid-mount location of the footpegs, which felt cramped and awkward in relation to the gear selector and nonadjustable brake pedal. At least the frame features mounts for highway pegs.
Though it may top the ton, the Street Bob is happiest cruising at half that velocity-50 mph or so. That’s where the bike is at its best, where I wasn’t hanging onto the handgrips for dear life, where the dual-disc brakes and moderately damped-and-sprung suspension were least-taxed. In many ways, then, it’s a lot like that original Dyna, only better.
Hopefully, I’ll be around to witness Harley-Davidson’s next revolution. □
