Our editors decided to test the Harley-Davidson Street Bob 103 not with a journalist spoiled by new products, but with the help of an “ordinary biker” who is able to look at the motorcycle with fresh eyes. We think it turned out interesting...
Being a fan of the chopper style, I gladly accepted the offer to test the Street Bob. After all, I deeply like Harley, and besides, I am already the proud owner of a Heritage. But I will say right away, since I am not a journalist or a test pilot, it will be difficult for me to professionally talk about torque and give comparative characteristics of engines. But, I’m ready to talk about the emotions that Harley-Davidson gives in abundance, meaning the emotions of both the pilot himself and those around him. They are different, but always bright, because the brand carries an extremely strong charisma. Therefore, it always attracts attention, regardless of what kind of motorcycle it is - the powerful Electro Glide, the elegant Heritage Softtail or the sophisticated Sportster.
Get used to good things
In my opinion, the Street Bob is the ideal combination of prestige and comfort of a city motorcycle, and a very powerful one, since the engine with a volume of almost 1600 cc and 124 Newtons is serious. And all this on 300 kg of “live weight”! As a result, when starting from a traffic light, I am almost always first, even despite the fast and very expensive cars at the stop line. But sometimes you want to do exactly the opposite - start slowly and let everyone in a hurry pass with a condescending smile. After all, at the next traffic light we will meet them anyway, they won’t go far... By the way, ABS with such a power unit is a very important bonus even for those who are not a supporter of aggressive driving and move mainly around the city. Unfortunately, anything can happen on the roads.
Of course, any Harley-Davidson is a classic design and modern advanced technology (although for style adherents there is an option - a car without ABS, as they say, any whim for your money). Therefore, it would be appropriate to mention the brake group - the rear brake “stops” firmly, while the front one is traditionally weaker, but this is a matter of skill. Moreover, there are no questions about reliability. Perhaps this is an inheritance from the classics, because a real bobber - a motorcycle lightened to the limit - should not be equipped with a front brake at all. Let me remind you that the ancestors of such devices were sports motorcycles with a classic fit - without a front fender and with a cut-off rear fender so that dirt would not get clogged under it during competitions, since before the widespread advent of asphalt, competitions were held on dirt roads. However, ease of use and reasonable price brought these cars to the streets of American cities back in the first third of the last century.
However, we live almost a century later, and it is simply stupid not to use the achievements of modern engineering. Therefore, in this case we have a new example of the iconic motorcycle with the “Street” prefix, equipped with many achievements of technical progress. Essentially, this is a bobber adapted for regular use in a big city. Although I must note that the advantages of this bike were not revealed to me from the first minute of the test.
At first, I was prejudiced by the unusual sizes for me (having spent more than one year in the saddle of choppers, I got used to their large dimensions), and the “knees up” seating position at my 180 cm height did not arouse enthusiasm at first. However, I soon became convinced once again: everything related to motorcycles is a matter of habit, and it’s definitely not worth taking into account the first reaction when making a verdict. Of course, the Harley-Davidson Street Bob 103 is not a motorcycle for long trips. But its developers, apparently, had a goal to create a comfortable, powerful city motorcycle in the recognizable Harley style, developing a line of classic bobbers (there are other models for other purposes). And they succeeded.
Harley-Davidson Dyna Street Bob – TEST
Monkey's Dream
2013 onwards, 1585 cm3, 75.5 l. s., 305 kg (curb weight), 776,552 rub.
text: Daniil Kochergin photo: Nikita Kolobanov
In the photo: Daniil Kochergin
“For several years now, I’ve been thinking about testing on my own experience whether it’s possible to travel on the roads of our homeland on an orthodox bobber, and if possible, how will this affect the state of mind, the pocket and, in fact, the integrity of the human body? Of course, the bulk of the representatives of the class are privately owned cars, which are impossible to take for a full test. But there are also factory copies - for example, one of the standard bobbers of our time, the Harley-Davidson Dyna Street Bob.
Old School - New School This is the most affordable of the brand’s “big twins”: the price of a motorcycle for a Russian buyer starts from € 14,634. I received a copy for testing, which, with the help of aftermarket Harley-Davidson parts, was practically brought to the canonical New School bobber. Externally, such motorcycles are almost no different from old-school vehicles, except, probably, for the presence of a wide and high handlebar, exaggerated to the meaning of Ape Hanger (literally from English - “monkey hanger”), and, of course, the presence of a front disc brake (on old bobbers, this part is thrown into a landfill as unnecessary). Otherwise, the Dyna Street Bob firmly holds the brand of a street fighter of post-depression America: “clipped” fenders, 12-inch front and 17-inch rear wheels, spoked wheels painted black, and the canonical “frog” seat, in our case quilted in white thread into a large diamond shape. The first impression of landing on the Street Bob is probably equally strong for everyone who tried on the high 16-inch chrome steering wheel of the “American”. A storm of emotions and a gulp of air, like fish thrown ashore, ultimately forms into a simple and laconic, but no less emotionally rich, question: “How to drive this?”
With the ignition switch turned on (there is no ignition key - instead there is an electronic tag, which is very convenient) and the electric start button is pressed, the three-hundred-kilogram carcass with a rich signature sound and vibration (also branded, by the way), noticeable even on the motorcycle’s native continent, literally shakes off the recent numbness. The “bean” vibrates so much that the entire front part of the motorcycle shakes, including (I’ve seen this for the first time!) the rim of the front wheel... Not to mention the wide handlebars. Fortunately, this feature in itself is not intrusive (that is, by holding the handles, you calm the tremors, rather than embarking on an extravagant dance with the motorcycle) and generally ceases to be noticeable as the engine speed increases. By the way, on Dyna series motorcycles the power unit is mounted on silent blocks, which significantly softens the inevitable vibrations of the huge long-stroke V-twin. After the “Harley-style” ringing click of engaging first gear and with the start of movement, all the pilot’s uncertainty in front of the Ape Hanger steering wheel disappears. Getting used to a very extravagant position, when the rider’s hands are located above the top of his head, happens very naturally, one might say, almost imperceptibly, and after a couple of kilometers you understand that not everything is so bad, and riding with a “monkey hanger” is not only quite comfortable , but also very ergonomic (surely the roots have an effect...).
Monkey on the road! The only thing I haven’t been able to get used to is the fact that, without hiding, you’re being looked at very closely everywhere. Both for the battered capital and for the outskirts of the city of Uryupinsk (where “Bob” and I also visited during the test), such motorcycles are a curiosity. This is understandable: important men, burdened with businesses and millions in profits, will not buy the Street Bob because it is not comfortable enough (and maybe because it is the cheapest of the big Harley-Davidsons), and young people, the main buyer of such devices in States, does not earn in our country as much as the state requires to pay import duties. Probably, over time this problem will be solved, but for now the fact remains - when buying such a motorcycle, get ready to be constantly in the spotlight. And the reason for this, in addition to the predatory customs policy of the Russian Federation and the aggressive monkey landing, is the color scheme of the motorcycle. The fenders and fuel tank of the bobber are painted in the signature Hard Candy Big Red Flake color - a bright red metallic paint with a very coarse grain that simply shines charmingly in the sun. It contrasts almost to the limit of perception with the cast-iron texture of the huge black engine, the gearbox cover of which is decorated with a signature chrome skull.
Muscle By the way, about the engine. Currently, there are two of them available for installation on the Harley-Davidson Dyna Street Bob: Twin Cam 96 and Twin Cam 103. However, starting next year, the 96th engine will be discontinued. The 96 power unit was installed on the test motorcycle, and I was lucky enough to experience the performance of this engine, the special thoroughbred sound of which was enhanced by the Screamin' Eagle exhaust system. By modern standards, the huge Harley V-twin is not distinguished by outstanding power indicators - only 75 hp. With. However, due to the gigantic displacement of the engine cylinders, it is not horsepower that rules the show, but almost car-like torque - 131 Nm at 3250 rpm!
For comparison, the motor of the Suzuki GSX1300-R Hayabusa hyperbike has a higher torque rating of only 20 Nm... The locomotive thrust of the American V-twin is constantly felt. When starting on any surface other than completely dry asphalt of ideal quality, the rider must work more carefully with the gas - otherwise the rear wheel will inevitably skid! From 100 to 140 km/h, the 1585cc Twin Cam 96 doesn't care how much you weigh or how strong the headwind is. When you open the gas, the acceleration will be the same even if the motorcycle is driven by a 40-kilogram dystrophic in absolute calm and on a downhill road, and if Steet Bob is driven by a 100-kilogram world wrestling champion, actively resisting the hurricane wind blowing from the top of the mountain where the motorcycle is rushing... True, the absolute lack of wind protection and landing in the pose of a lonely sail, white with fear at speeds over 140 km/h, allows you to “shoot through” very short periods of time. In addition, it is impossible to stay in the mode of setting world records on a motorcycle with frankly weak suspensions, without clinging with all your might to the life-saving “monkey hanger,” which is inconvenient and quite dangerous.
Guilty Gazelles Due to its low center of gravity for its size, the Steet Bob is phenomenally easy to handle. It is a pleasure to maneuver in conditions of limited space, be it traffic jams or narrow city streets, at speeds up to 90 km/h. At speeds above, due to the large weight of the “bean,” centrifugal drag comes into play, and when turning, you have to break the motorcycle in a cross-country manner, but this operation is very comfortable, and the feeling of control over the device does not leave you for a minute. But you need to be more careful with the tilt angle: its maximum value to the right is only 30°, to the left - 31°. Despite the apparent bulk of the device, the width of the Harley-Davidson Dyna Street Bob is small - 915 mm (with the “stock” handlebar). Installing the Ape Hanger handlebar adds a little centimeters, but the most unpleasant thing is that this handlebar raises the widest part of the motorcycle exactly to the level of the rear-view mirrors of cars of the Gazelle family and the like - driving in a traffic jam between two minibuses standing at the same level , becomes problematic. /
Comfort and emotions
Having started the test drive of the car, in order to get a feel for the landing, I took a three-hour promenade through the summer suburbs of Moscow. And I was completely satisfied - there were no feelings of “deadness” or numbness in my arms and legs. Moreover, I wanted to continue the trip. On city streets, I noticed very high maneuverability, achieved thanks to the low tilt of the fork. In metropolitan traffic jams, where bikers are forced to move between traffic flows and constantly maneuver from side to side, this is important. The tall 16-inch “horns” are very convincing and quite comfortable: the height of the handles is in the comfortable zone between the mirrors of almost all sedans and below the mirrors of most SUVs, which also adds maneuverability and emphasizes the urban orientation of the “bob”. As for emotions, we cannot fail to mention the classic, melodic roar of the engine, which sometimes makes those around us flinch and turn around.
It's clear that many of the Street Bob 103's details will cause true bobber fans to grumble.
In fact, this motorcycle clearly expresses the new-school philosophy, where the latest technology is hidden behind a minimalist design. It must be admitted that over many decades the style has undergone changes (this is natural and inevitable), however, even in such a device there is room for creativity. We know that the custom capabilities of Harley-Davidson are almost limitless - from replacing factory parts (handles, pedals, various plugs) to completely reworking the bike in a custom studio. Although, for me, this motorcycle is good in its original, factory form. I definitely recommend it! Author Maxim Andrianov Edition Autopanorama No. 9 2015 Photo Pavel Ivkin
