I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!!

Can you spot the rear shock adjuster?

Harley Davidson is not holding back or onto tradition by the looks of it. The release of the 2018 Models show that they are serious about making changes.

Gone is the Dyna line of motorcycle.  Three “nameplates” of the old Dyna line have been retained but they are now part of the “new” softail family.  The Wide Glide and Low Rider S are gone completely along with the exposed twin rear shock Dyna frame.

The V-Rod and its 125HP right out of the box engine is gone too! No more V-Rod Muscle or Night Rod.  Those bikes have been around for more than a decade but have been rolled out of the lineup for whatever the future is bringing.

The softail line has been totally changed!  New engines (the Milwaukie 8), new frame and a new rear shock.  Gone is the under frame, dual shock configuration, replaced with a mono-shock that is hand adjustable from the outside of the motorcycle!

As noted above, some of the old Dyna names moved over to the softail world.  The Street Bob, Low Rider and Fat Bob models are additions to the softail lineup while the Softail Slim S and Fat Boy S have been dropped.  Speaking of the Fat Bob… wow they really hit the styling cues out of the park, well at least for me!

Everything said and done, excluding the Sportsters, all the motorcycle in the Harley Davidson stable are now water cooled… or twin cooled to use their terminology.  Harley Davidson is making waves with all the changes.  Their promise of 50 new models in 5 years and 100 in 10 is well underway.

So what is my take?  I like it!!  Harley Davidson took a big step on technology with the Softail family.  While the bikes might look the same, it is only sheet metal.  Folks that have been complaining about how Harley does not embrace new(ish) technology cannot say that now.   Between the new engine, water cooling, monoshocks, this is not your Dads’s softail or maybe not even your brother’s or sister’s softail.

P.S.  Mr. Davidson also stated that their electric bike will be out within the next two years, how is that for embracing new technology.

The FAT BOB is looking good!