You may remember this past February I broke up... with my 2004 Dyna Super Glide. I traded her in and got my 2018 115th Anniversary Heritage from FX Caprara Harley-Davidson.
Except that it was February... Not exactly Riding Season in Northern New York.
So I had to wait... and wait... and wait... Then finally, on Earth Day no less, we were finally together and Riding.
One month later and 738 miles are in behind bars of this beautiful bike, and it's been phenomenal!
Even though there are quite a few differences between my new bike and my old -most notably the engine displacement (my '04 was 88 cubic inch (1450cc), new is 114ci (1868cc)... !!!) -the new still felt like my old friend: cozy & natural.
And yet, the 114ci Milwaukee-Eight motor is smoooooth -so smooth in fact that it's very easy for me to get up to 70mph and not realize it. (I hope no police are reading this!)
The frame of the 2018 Heritage is as agile as my old bike, making it a true joy to lean into the corners, roll on the throttle and go flying down the road.
With the high-performance suspension, the bike is easily maneuverable in parking lots as well as quite comfortable on long rides.
Then there's the torque... as in there's A LOT of it!!
In case you didn't know, torque is the feeling you get as the power of the motor gets transferred to the pavement, sitting you back in your seat.
At first it was hard for me to know when to shift, because this bike has torque that pulls through every gear (rather than running out of power forcing the rider to up-shift).
The power and torque that the new Softails have will truly put a smile on your face! As the MoCo puts it, "...increased lean angle, quicker turn-in, quicker acceleration and more flickability, all with easier lift-off from the side stand."
I'm here to tell you that is truth in advertising!! Beyond the specs of any bike, there is the 'fun factor' to consider when making a buying decision. And all the new Softails, with their Milwaukee-Eight engines, have a very high rate of 'smiles per mile.'
I am very much looking forward to many more days behind bars, riding my new Heritage for many, many more miles.
If you're interested in what my 'old' bike is doing now, she's gone on to have lots of fun doing wheelies and performing stunts with Hostile Crew -check out their Facebook page and Instagram.
Even though I'm not a French physician writing in quatrains, I think I may have predicted the future last week when I blogged, "So, unless you're in an interview with the MoCo., let the Low Rider be in a Softail frame. It's adorable." But did I really perceive the coming of the new Softail frame through my crystal ball? (Yes, that is my crystal ball!) Let's review:
- The Dyna model family as we know it began with the Super Glide, when Harley combined the Sportster with the larger big
twin models of the day, waaaaay back in 1971. That was 45 years ago.
- Nearly 35 years ago the Softail family was born from the brain of Bill Davis, who sold his patents, prototype and tooling to Harley, who produced the first FXST Softail in 1984.
- For decades people have said that even though a new model year had been announced, the only real difference from one year to the next was engine displacement and/or paint.
- Traditionally, the newest motor goes in the Touring lineup first, then it makes it down the rest of the family tree the following year. That happened with the Twin-Cam 96ci, 103ci & 110ci motors. But when it came to the new Milwaukee-Eight, it was
too big to fit into the traditional Dyna & Softail frames.
- Earlier this year Harley announced they were moving the manufacturing of the Softail line from York, PA (where the Touring & Trike lines are produced) to the Kansas City plant, birth place of the Dyna, Sporster & Street bikes.
- It wouldn't be cost effective to continue to make four motors - the Milwaukee-Eight, Twin Cam, Evolution (Sportster), and Revolution X (Street). Harley has always been good at balancing the books as well as their bikes- that's one of the reasons they've been in business for 115 years (not many companies can say that).
So yes, I'm a Witch (told you that crystal ball is mine!), but I really didn't use a anything to foresee the change coming. Anyone who knows the pattern of a successful company knows that they will continue to innovate and push the envelope.
I am proud to keep my 2004 Dyna Super Glide as well as excited to witness this moment in history. I might even possibly add to my collection with a new Heritage Classic 115th Anniversary edition.
