The Golden Goose
2017 Harley Davidson Fat Boy
Somedays are better than others. And improving a day by riding a motorcycle always makes sense. I’ve been having my share of good days from a perspective that I’m not necessarily used to, a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy.
I’ve been quite the fan of the big H-D since I was a very, very young child and whilst being supervised by an underpaid and unobservant baby sitter I watched The Sons Of Anarchy and was taken by the sheer road presence that it had. I love that ‘solid’ front wheel and I’ve yet to see another machine like it.
The bike that I’m using isn’t the standard black. This one is gold. ‘Olive Gold’ to be precise. This was an official factory finish back in ’17 and as a result this colour lets it stand out from the rest of the range.
Superiour stopping power
Long and low. It’s a healthy 2,385 mm long with a seat height of only 670mm. It’s also heavy, weighing in at 318kilos, and that’s dry. A full tank with 18.9 litres of juice in it adds another couple of kilos but it also returns a decent range.
Also allowing it to stand out is the sheer ‘bigness’ of it. Big wheels, big forks, big front lightbar with it’s extra lights, big fenders (mudguards to you and me), a big saddle and a set of big, yet subtle, engine bars. This thing owns the room. Chrome is everywhere, the bike positively glistens. That solid front wheel though, it looks so cool!
Easy on the eye
The previous owner has fitted a few extras to it. These include a detachable windscreen, a set of spacious panniers and a back rest with a luggage rack.
Now I’m a firm believer in riding stripped down, basic, bikes. The idea of riding unnecessarily bulky machines with an oversupply of luggage simply distresses me. I am, however, covering a commute of up to 500 kilometres a day a few times each week. As an aside to this I’m finding the panniers quite useful indeed. They’re a cleverly made heavy plastic affair with the leather covering the outer. This makes them very practical from a storage point of view. They also don’t lose their shape and the fasteners are a speed clip on the underside of the traditional straps.
I’ve managed to fill them both over the last few weeks and, quite frankly, while I could have travelled without them they’ve made life so, so much easier.
The back rest isn’t something that I’d have any need for as I don’t know anyone who’d sit on a bike with me. However, the luggage rack, I have used. To carry a tent. It’s a long and deeply distressing tale that we can all wait for another day to be told.
Loud pipes save lives
One of the first things that I notice about it is how it feels to sit on. The seat is deep. Like not quite couch deep, but definitely nice cushion deep. The clocks are a hybrid affair with an LED display that can be scrolled through to view different menus from a button on the left bar. I press the starter button and I’m rewarded with a thundering roar from the bikes exhaust and the vibration of the engine.
The motor is a 1,690cc V-Twin and it produces a nice healthy 139Nm of torque. I put my foot up on the generous foot board and kick it into first. The bike ‘thumps’ into gear and I remember why the Harley range is so different to any other range of bikes on the market. I let the clutch out, even the levers are big, and roll out for a day full of promise on a classic piece of ‘Americana’.
1,690cc of American v-twin fun
The rest of the day is spent on a decent road trip. Like any bike, the Fat Boy takes a few kilometres to get attuned to. On the first roundabout I accidently rub the riders footboards on the ground before finding the bikes balance point. Once I do we’re the best of friends. Even though the tank holds a modest 18.9 litres of fuel, thanks to a sixth gear ‘overdrive’ I manage to get 210 ‘enthusiastically’ ridden kilometres out of it. For a bike that weighs in at so much this isn’t a bad result at all!
The torque is a lot of fun. Even without dropping a gear it still executes clean and efficient overtakes. Also helping here is the fact that the tax disc keeps falling down over the reg plate. Even then it’s registered in Kerry and those people are exempt from the road traffic act…
And the prize for sexiest barista in the country goes to...
Prices for a new Harley Davidson Fat Boy start at €29,495. This one is a 2017 model with all those extras and a one year official H-D warranty for €18,995. Talk to Mo on 052844200 about a test ride.