Harley Davidson motorcycles are considered one of the best in the world; there are so many models and different modifications that you can even get confused, but now we will learn to clearly distinguish these motorcycles. There is nothing complicated here: there are only 8 groups: Sportster, Dyna, Softail, V-Rod, Street, Touring, Trikes (three-wheeled Harley-Davidson), exclusive models of the CVO family. Let's talk about each of the groups separately and find out how they differ.
Harley-Davidson Touring
Touring - motorcycles designed for long trips, they are large in size, comfort is at the highest level, but the price for these Harley Davidson motorcycles is the highest. Touring cars can be easily distinguished by their trunks (those large suitcases on the sides at the back).
There are different panniers: leather, like the Road King, or plastic, like the Electra Glide. All Tourings have V-shaped engines with a volume of 103 cc. inches. There are also such varieties of Touring: Street Glide, Electra Glide, Ultra Limited, Road Glide (distinguished by dual headlights).
There are also other minor design differences. Cooling is also different - there is just air cooling, and there is also combined cooling.
Harley-Davidson Dyna
The Harley Dyna series comes from the name of the city of Daytona in the state of Florida. This city is known for its racing of both cars and motorcycles; lovers of various motorcycles gathered here.
The dimensions of the Daina are not particularly different from the Sportster, but the motor in the Daina is more powerful, in addition, the engine is mounted on the frame using silent blocks and it vibrates while driving. This creates the feeling that the motorcycle is alive. Many bikers are delighted with this feature of their motorcycle.
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Today there are 5 models in the Dyna series, and the differences between them are also not significant. These are the models:
- Street Bob;
- Wide Glide;
- Low Rider;
- Fat Bob;
- Dyna Switchback - for long trips.
Dyna Switchback is distinguished by its removable panniers and windshield.
The distinctive feature of these motorcycles is the speedometer, which is located on the gas tank, and the rear shock absorbers are also visible, just like on the Sportster. And under the saddle there is an angular-shaped battery box.
On Russian roads, the Dyna series is quite rare, because the price for them is much higher than for Sportsters; besides, the Dyna is not the fastest or most prestigious Harley Davidson motorcycle. The most inexpensive is Street Bob for 1,196,000 rubles, and the most expensive is Low Rider S for 1,694,000 rubles. In America, motorcycles of this series are quite popular.
This was unexpected!
I didn't expect to ever say this, but Harley has the best brakes! In the Street Glide, in addition to ABS, their operation is supported by the Reflex system, that is, it connects the front to the rear. At speeds above 7 km/h, the brakes are electronically distributed to both wheels to maximize traction. In theory, you can only brake the front end, but in emergency situations, pressing the pedal brings a clear improvement.
When it comes to ABS quality, the differences between the Chieftain and Street Glide are subtle but noticeable. In favor of Harley(!). On the other hand, people from Indiana should be given credit for the fact that, compared to last year's model, the ABS works better - impulses occur much more often.
Both cars are comfort and splendor on the one hand and annoying shortcomings on the other. For example, Harley and Indian have keyless systems, but with both you won't lock the steering wheel without a key (KTM or Ducati have no problem with this). In Indiana, the pinnacle of ridiculousness is the imitation gas cap - a screw cap. Harley suffers from quality issues, especially the exhaust system. These are small things, but when the prices are six figures, they are like a small chip under the fingernail.
Classic Harley - the buttons and knobs are beautifully crafted and intuitively laid out, just like Harleys are used to. Indiana developers wouldn't be themselves if they didn't put the logo on all the switches. Buttons may be larger.
Harley-Davidson Softail
Softails are large and heavy Harley Davidson motorcycles; this series is also very rarely seen in our country. In the movie "Real Hogs" with John Travolta, this motorcycle was filmed in full swing. Externally, the motorcycles in this series look like a classic bike; it seems that the wheel is attached directly to the frame, but there are still shock absorbers here, they are located under the saddle and are not visible.
Back in the good old days, the rear wheel was simply attached directly to the frame without springs or shock absorbers, so the ride on such a motorcycle was very harsh, which led to various back problems. In memory of these difficult times for bikers, the Harley-Davidson Softail was created.
The name translates as “soft tail”, and the “dry” frame here is for decorative purposes. And the shock absorbers are mounted horizontally and spring the rear of the frame, so riding on this series of Harley Davidson motorcycles is very comfortable.
The engines in the Softail are the same as on the Dyna series motorcycles, only the engines are rigidly mounted on the frame, and there is also a balancer shaft that eliminates any vibrations.
There are 6 models of the Softail series, but there is no significant difference in technical characteristics:
- Softail Slim is the simplest model, its price is 1,620,000 rubles;
- Fat Boy is a motorcycle with a large front wheel, the price of this model is 1,769,000 rubles;
- Delux - a motorcycle with an abundance of chrome, costs RUR 1,737,000;
- Breakout is a model for faster driving, its price is 1,744,000 rubles;
- Fat Boy Special - a bike with less chrome than the Fat Boy;
- Heritage Softail Classic - costs 1,843,000 rubles, it has a high windshield and leather side saddlebags.
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It’s easy to spot Harley Davidson Softail motorcycles on the road - stand on the left side and see that the motorcycle does not have shock absorbers in the rear.
Those who watched the movie “Real Boars” saw that Travolta has a rare Screamin Eagle Softail Fat Boy, which was tuned at the factory. Lawrence has a Softail Springer with a lever fork in the old school style, they don’t make those anymore. Allen's is a simple Fat Boy. And Macy's has a Sportster 1200.
Harley-Davidson Street
The Street series was created to ensure that Harley Davidson motorcycles would sell better in Asian and other developing countries, so the model was created as cheap as possible and its design was simple. Street series motorcycles are produced in India, and all other Harleys are produced exclusively in the USA. The Street series is not popular in America.
The price for a Harley Davidson Street is less than for Sportsters and is 574,000 rubles for the Street 750, which has the least powerful engine among Harleys. The engine itself is the same as on the V-Rod, with a liquid cooling system, with the same cylinder block angle, but the engine capacity in the Street 750 is approximately 2 times less than in the V-Rod. In general, Street cannot be considered real Harley Davidsons.
Harley-Davidson V-Rod
The V-Rod series are considered the fastest and most powerful Harley Davidson motorcycles. Even engineers from Porsche took part in the creation of this series.
There are only 2 models in this series: Night Rod and Muscle.
The Night Rod is a classic V-Rod, designed to allow the bike to achieve maximum speed while engineers worked to lower the center of gravity. A new engine was developed in which the cylinder camber angle became 60 degrees, and in classic Harley Davidson engines the camber angle is always 45 degrees.
In addition, in order to further reduce the center of gravity, the engineers placed the gas tank under the saddle, and in place of the gas tank there is a regular fairing that covers the air filter. The result is a Harley Davidson motorcycle, which has excellent stability on a straight road and in corners.
The second model, the V-Rod Muscle, differs from the Night Rod in that the Muscle has exhaust pipes on both sides, while the Night Rod has 2 mufflers on one side. Also, the external design is slightly different for these models.
You can identify a V-Rod by the radiator that is installed in the front; the Softail, Dyna and Sportster do not have a radiator, because their engines are cooled by air while driving. But the engine in the V-Rod has a liquid cooling system, like in a car. Such tricks had to be done in order to increase the power of these motorcycles; in the V-Rod it is 120 hp. With. And the greater the power, the more efficient the cooling system must be. Prices for these Harley Davidson motorcycles start at RUB 1,687,000 for the 2022 Muscle model.
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