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Enjoy the growl and the scenery on a Softail
This is a two-wheeler that requires a paradigm shift to enjoy properly. You have to set your adrenalin dial to 'low', sit back, pretend you're Peter Fonda or Dennis Hopper in "Easy Rider", and enjoy the growl and the scenery.
Duly paradigm-shifted, you can dig not only the scenery wafting past but also the artistry that went into crafting this American bike's metal ornamentation. For this Harley is a styling blitzkrieg in an over-the-top, baroque way. It's big and brawny and, if you like chrome, you've hit the mother lode - the stuff is everywhere. You can even see your reflection in the large, chromed headlight while riding, quite handy for making sure your bandanna and shades are sitting right. The whitewall tyres, "tombstone" tail light, bullet indicators and classically shaped fenders give the Softail Deluxe a nostalgic flair.
The 18 Softail paint schemes include new solid colour, pearl, and two-tone combinations. Each Softail has a new clear-lens, reflector optics headlight "for improved lighting performance".
At R201 000, this is one expensive bike, and there are much cheaper Japanese-made cruisers available, although none with the Harley heritage. A straight road is where the Softail Deluxe is happiest. If you lean into a turn the low-set footpegs and exhausts will scrape without much encouragement; this is not a bike for corner-carving unless you dig throwing up sparks. Best to sit back and enjoy the throb and general all-round charisma. Harley's media release says the engine is rigid-mounted in the frame and has internal balance shafts that quell 90% of primary engine vibration. There's still no shortage of lumpiness, it's all part of the Harley character. The throaty throb of the low-revving V-twin is pretty cool and, because you're in cruise, not race, mode, the clunky gearshifts aren't much of a problem. The arms-and-legs-forward seating position takes a bit longer to adapt to, and it took me just a few kilometres of riding to develop lower back pain. I wonder if there's a specific gym exercise to train for sitting on a Harleys...? Tough in the traffic Another thing to bear in mind is that your trips on this bike will mostly be solo, as the narrow pillion is suitable only for the buttocks of teenage ballerinas. In contrast with the pillion seat the bike itself is very wide so squeezing it through traffic isn't really on the agenda. It's a heavy beast at 335kg (the average superbike weighs less than 200kg) but start-stop town riding isn't too difficult as the low 622mm saddle height lets even short riders get both feet firmly on the tar. Instrumentation is restricted to a tank-mounted speedometer. The needle seldom goes over 140km/h and not because the bike can't go any faster (it can) but because the lack of a windscreen makes it unpleasant. It's another reminder that cruisin' is what this bike's all about, that and showing the world you have lots of money. |
