2003 Harley Davidson Sportster Paint Colors
Bashing abroad at the MotoUSA keyboard for nine years now, Madson lends his scribbling and beat ascribe on aggregate from bike reviews to industry assay and motorcycle antagonism reports.
Barreling bottomward British Columbia’s Highway 99, activity is good. Steep forested mountains shoot up from the river valley, with the two-lane alley meandering through the scenery. Seeing new country is a privilege, experiencing it from the abaft the controls of a motorcycle doubly so. Pitching through the corners, rolling on and off the throttle, our Canadian cruise is sublime. But admitting our area arctic of the 49th Parallel, this ride has a audible American angled as we motor forth aboard the 2013 Harley-Davidson Street Bob.
The Motor Company marks 110 years in the motorcycle business with the absolution of its 2013 archetypal line. This year’s crop of Harleys appearance appropriate ceremony editions, as able-bodied as a bashful brace of our Street Bob mount. It additionally debuts the blatant Hard Candy Custom administration campaign. So, authorization in hand, MotoUSA headed north, way north, for a three-day bout of the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia to see what’s new from Milwuakee.
The alone bike in the 2013 archetypal band with any abundant changes is the above Street Bob, which gets a bashful brace (the sole all-new 2013 architecture is from the CVO line, the Softail Breakout – Apprehend our 2013 Harley-Davidson CVO Breakout First Ride). One of bristles bikes this year in the Dyna ancestors (joining the Switchback, Wide Glide, Super Glide Custom and Fat Bob) the Street Bob’s makeover includes charwoman up the rear fender with new taillights and relocating the authorization bowl holder to the left-side of the fender. Up advanced the characteristic mini ape handlebars remain, but are army assimilate new amateur clamps to facilitate easier customization mods (more on this later…). H-D additionally relocated the agitation key from the council arch cavalcade to the ammunition catchbasin console.
Though Harley alloyed things up on the Street Bob, it retains the 2012 amount tag of $12,999. This is important, as the Bob represents H-D’s best affordable access into its Big Twin lineup. Thus it is a key cardinal archetypal for the adolescent riders that Harley (and the blow of the motorcycle industry) badly charge to cultivate.
Seeking to capitalize on the adolescent addition theme, H-D formally debuts its Hard Candy Custom (HCC) attack for the 2013 archetypal year. Featuring ablaze metal cell acrylic colors, the HCC band is the blatant doppelganger to the Motor Company’s accepted Dark Custom series. The Street Bob abstracts acutely in the HCC plans, alms all three metal cell colors, two of them through the H-D1 branch customization program.
And that’s the added big account for 2013, amplification of the H-D1 affairs from the Custom 1200 to the revamped Street Bob (and, presumably, to added models in the future). H-D1 allows consumers to adjustment their bike from the branch with assorted ergonomic, artful and achievement upgrades already installed. Options accommodate handlebar, seat, bottom controls, auto and acrylic schemes, as able-bodied as an ABS/Security arrangement package. Another H-D1 advancement is the 103 Twin Cam engine, a $350 or $750 advantage for riders, depending on whether they appetite atramentous or chrome.
We spent best of our Canadian bout aboard the Street Bob, the majority of that bench time aerodynamics the 103-equipped version. The beyond 45-degree air-cooled V-Twin delivers added thrust, admitting the accepted 96 Twin Cam offers adorable abundant torque for accepted cruiser duty. Harley autonomous to absorb the earlier 96 as accepted Street Bob kit to accumulate MSRP beneath the abracadabra 13K marker, but the bang in ability from the TC103 is enough to accreditation the H-D1 upgrade. (Expect the 96 to gradually appearance out entirely, as added and added of the archetypal families get powered alone by the 103 – like the Touring and Softail models already do – with the 96 the barring rather than the aphorism in the Dyna class.)
The six-speed manual in both agent versions performed the same, at atomic by our measure. Clutch batten cull is moderately stiff, with bland engagement. The gearbox appearance advised shifts, bulky by Japanese standards, bland and quiet in allegory to its abandoned American competitor. Our alone manual ache is finding Neutral, which proves ambiguous at times.
H-D savants may be able to anticipate the complete differences of the 103 from the 96, but to our aerial the tones are authentic Harley Twin. That “potato-potato” accent ancestor out, loud and clear, with the near-trademarked tune of the lumping single-pin crank loping along. It’s the best uncompromising aspect of the H-D package, as the Twin delivers rider-grinning appearance as it throttles bottomward the alley – beneath so back the agent abhorrence at idle, awkward accordance up through the peg, bars, mirrors and, yes, the rider.
The Bob does an admirable job casting its claimed 672-pound barrier weight about the bends, but the 64.2 inch wheelbase and 29 amount rake arrest it from anytime actuality rated a absolutely active mount. That said, its attenuate for a cruiser annoy profiles (100 advanced and 160 rear) offers reasonable turn-in and anticipated handling. It’s fair to say the Street Bob is lighter on its toes than best of its Big Twin siblings, and it seems to adore added arena approval too, admitting its pegs anon scrape on active jaunts nonetheless.
While the accepted affair mini apes attending cool, they get backbreaking for long-haul rides and beg more effort to abuse the Street Bob into a corner. The botheration is affronted with the alternative advanced bottom controls, as the addition feels alike added like they are blind from the bars. H-D reps affiance fine-tuning the bend of the apes to clothing addition ambit will advance the appropriately package. As far as the administration arrears goes, anatomy generally trumps action in the crusier chic – it is alone a amount of degree.
It is hasty how abundant a distinct H-D1 change, like handlebar or bottom control, can transform the Street Bob’s character. In fact, afterwards benumbed one with the $180 pull-back handlebar we afield anticipation it was a altered bike archetypal altogether. The aforementioned can be said for swapping mid-controls for the added cruiserly advanced position. Our claimed alternative was for the pull-back confined and mid-controls – admitting we got forth with the accepted apes aloof fine. We additionally begin the banal abandoned bench comfy, admitting not as accretion as the sofa-like perches on the H-D touring mounts. At 26.7 inches the bench acme makes for an easy, flat-footed ability to the arena as well.
Braking on the Street Bob isn’t annihilation to address home about, decidedly the distinct disc four-piston caliper front. Riders charge amalgamate a stout cull at the batten with a firm rear pedal begrime to accompany things to a brisk(ish) halt. Thankfully, ABS comes as an H-D1 advantage on the Street Bob, packaged with the aegis arrangement at $1195. It allowances abundantly from the assurance enhancement, and we can’t advice but brainstorm that by packaging ABS with the aegis arrangement H-D is accomplishing its best to affably nudge its ridership into that adventurous new ABS world… (And if there’s a chic of bikes that allowances added from ABS than big, abundant cruisers with single-disc advanced brakes, amuse acquaint me in the Comments below!)
We amount ABS upgrades benign abundant to be aloof an beard shy of mandatory, admitting it would jack MSRP up accomplished $14,000. And speaking of price, befitting the Street Bob’s MSRP beneath $13K is laudable. It’s also, arguably, a call if H-D wants to alum its Sportster demographic into the Big Twin ranks, like it says it does. And while thirteen Grand is a acceptable block of change to be sure, it does administer to attenuate all but one of the offerings from Victory (Vegas 8-Ball $12,499, with abutting cheapest the $13,999 Judge). From Harley’s ancillary of the coin, that $12,999 allurement amount is aloof a solid abject from which its customer’s will body – abounding Street Bobs figure to roll off the accumulation band costing more.
The Street Bob absolutely doesn’t attending cheap. And relocating the key to the catchbasin console, while a accessory change, yields a big addition in fit and finish. Added baby H-D traits, like self-cancelling about-face signals, advice in this attention too. However, we weren’t huge admirers of the apparatus animate – added than the accessible to apprehend analog speedo. The LCD advice screen, inset beneath the speedo, is baby and the advice displayed beneath than ideal. A acceptable archetype is the inaccurate Range option, instead of a ammunition gauge, which counts bottomward the assets to 10 afar – afresh displays Low. The two times we coasted about on effluvium during our tours we’d been able-bodied in balance of the 10 mile warning. The after tach isn’t abundant use either, admitting the accompanying accessory position indicator is.
As far as looks are concerned, the characteristic apes set the Street Bob afar in the H-D calendar (along with the Seventy-Two Sportster). It’s additionally a agleam attention-grabber back decked out in the new HCC colorways. The Hard Candy Big Red Cell comes as a accepted affair on the banal bike, with the Lucky Green and Coloma Gold Cell offered as H-D1 options – two of 14 absolute acrylic options from the branch for a amount alignment amid $400 to $1000. The added acceptable two-tone Pearl Blue/Vivid Atramentous colorway, a accepted option, batten to our close administration muse. But afresh again, our haberdashers of best are Walmart or Target… so readers are forewarned! (however, our Roland Sands Designs leather Ronin Jacket donned in the photos – appealing accursed spiffy, no?). The HCC attack will no agnosticism win over at atomic some of its ambition admirers (see sidebar).
Scything bottomward Highway 99 to Whistler, BC, ruminations about Hard Candy Custom is far from my mind. Aforementioned with celebrated 110-year anniversaries, or allocution of bike prices, new markets and customization programs. Instead, my apperception focuses on the abutting corner, how my Street Bob grumbles along, the pegs scraping, actuality and there, through the ribbons of asphalt… Activity is good.
