Saturday, January 31, 2015
2008 Harley Davidson FXSTC ANV 105th Anniversary Softail Custom – Motorbike Bicycle
The Harley-Davidson Softail Custom steps out with authority on the I-8 freeway heading away from San Diego. Quickly reaching the speed limit riding into the hills, I drop the tranny into its final sixth cog, which drops the engine’s rpm to a low rumble at 70 mph. The combination of the new Twin Cam 96B engine and the new six-speed “Cruise Drive” transmission allows this Softail to glide down the highway at a more relaxed engine speed than ever before. Most of the work went into the lower end, with an increase in stroke from 4 inches to 4 3/8 inches. To reduce vibrations usually associated with stroked engines, pistons and rods were redesigned to reduce reciprocating mass. The net result, according to H-D specs, is 90 foot-pounds of torque at 2,750 rpm, an increase of 15 percent in the Softail line. The Dyna pumps out 92 foot-pounds at 3,000 rpm and the Touring platform achieves 93 foot-pounds at 3,500 rpm (an increase of 17 and 13 percent respectively).
Harley-Davidson engineers made some additional revisions to the driveline for greater “reliability and durability.” The primary drive and case have been redesigned, in part, to take advantage of the new six-speed by changing the gear ratio. The new six-speed transmission is a cassette-style unit with helical-cut gears in second through fourth that, according to Cruise Drive Program Manager Ben Vandenhoeven, offers increased strength while reducing noise. The gears, along with other beefed-up components, increase the new transmission’s torque-handling capacity by 28 percent over the old five-speed, with smoother shifts and a shorter throw at the shifter lever. The final-drive ratio has also been changed, and Harley has switched to a thinner, final-drive belt that’s 30 percent stronger. The narrower belt allows the use of wider rear tires with no offset between front and rear wheels.
While the new engine and transmission get most of the attention, Harley-Davidson also took another notable step with its 2007 lineup. Electronic fuel injection is standard on all 2007 Harleys, including the Sportster lineup. A Stage One kit can be fitted to the 2007 Harleys and the fuel-injection system will automatically adjust to match. Davidson said millions of dollars and thousands of hours were spent to meet emissions requirements and, at the same time, “We’ve got the potato, potato, potato (exhaust note) back.” The Softail is the only Big Twin model retaining external oil lines—a sacrifice to styling, according to H-D. All other Big Twins have internal lines flowing from the oil tank, located under the transmission, to the rear engine/transmission hard mount interface. The Custom is actually an older model that left the lineup in 1999 to make room for the Softail Deuce—a highly stylized bike that took many design elements from the aftermarket and showcased the then-new TC88B engine. Bill Davidson described the Custom as “Easy Rider cool,” referring to the iconic film that made choppers a household name. I’m told by a Harley rep that the Street Bob’s bars are slightly angled in more. I hit the starter button and the new big-inch motor comes to life with a slight metallic slap. Skip Metz, Program Manager of the Big Twin power train, told me the sound is simply a side-effect of the redesigned starter system and high-compression engine. The starter and starter ring are repositioned to eliminate the jack shaft assembly. The suspension handles minor road irregularities with ease. At a rest stop, I take notice of the ample chrome and Harley-Davidson’s almost endless attention to detail. The backrest, for instance, looks like liquid chrome. “We use a process called SSM, or semi-solid material,” a Harley spokesman tells me. The new six-speed handles shifting duties with ease. Overall, the new powertrain works exceptionally well. Only in the rubber-mounted engines do you get a bit of a vibration—more like a thump—in sixth gear, when engine speed is less than optimal, due to the low rpms at cruising velocity (only 2,500 rpm at 70 mph). With its competitors producing V-twin cruisers with cavernous displacement approaching, or at, a liter per cylinder, Harley was in need of putting the “big” back in their Big Twin. If 96 cubic inches still isn’t enough, H-D’s parts and accessories division is quick to point out that the engine was designed to easily accept the 103 cubic inch (1,690cc) big bore kit upgrade at a cost of around $1,000 (out the door) at your local dealer. While the Twin Cam 96 engine represents a new era in Harley-Davidson’s history, the company remains extremely aware of the importance of its history and tradition. “The essence of Harley-Davidson,” says Bill Davidson, “includes three ingredients: look, sound and feel.”
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment