Fat Boy's street cred

It was a 'knucklepanshovelheadthingymajig' and was owned by a giant of a man called Jez who wore a weird beard and was clad in tassled leathers which were littered with strange badges. He let me ride it along Bournemouth sea front. . .thank God there were no bends.

The forks were raked so much I needed binoculars to see the front tyre and the seat was nothing more than a tiny plank of wood covered with leather.

No danger of taking this very far I thought. The gears were horrible and the brakes non-existent. But it pulled well and was even quite lively for something with the aerodynamics of a tank. It was his pride and joy, his life no less. I wasn't arguing, he was enormous.

Since then I've listened to 'speed junkies' lecture to me that Harleys are for nancy boys who spend more time cleaning than riding them and when they do venture out it's only to pose down the wine bar on a Sunday afternoon. . . and never if it's raining.

Not true. . .the trick is understanding what it's all about. The thing about a Harley is you have to forget about speed, that's not what they're for.

Most 500cc bikes would wipe the floor with anything in the Milwaukee range.

It's about being laid back, enjoying the scenery and still being left with a chuckle on your chops.

In 1990, Harley brought out the Fat Boy. It was drop dead gorgeous, long, low slung and film directors decided to give a black one to Arnie to play with in Terminator 2 - instant street cred.

Film celebrities like Cher and Clint Eastwood bought them and sales rocketed. Every UK dealer sold out of black Fat Boys before they even hit the showroom floor.

Since then it has remained unchanged and has been the most popular Harley in the family selling more units than any other model.

Now it's had a revamp and is better than ever. Not surprisingly, Harley was reluctant to change a winning formula and at first glance you'd be hard pushed to notice any difference between the old and new models.

What the designers have cleverly managed to do is change absolutely everything about the bike except its looks.

It gets a brand new frame, excellent new brakes and suspension and, most importantly of all, the new Twin CamB 1450cc engine.

Because of its styling the Softail has to have a rigid mounted engine. This in the past has meant lots of vibration through the bars and footboards - but not any more.

The new engine is fitted with a set of balancer shafts which smooth out the vibes without spoiling the bike's classic looks.

The seating position is wide and low and your feet sit firmly planted on the large chromed footboards. The fat, wide bars come back to meet your arms at the perfect position and everything falls to hand in a very 'laid back, slumbering' sort of way.

Clunk the heel and toe lever into first, dump the clutch and the thudding V-Twin takes off. The five-speed box is much smoother than before and the fuel injection keeps the whole thing going to a top speed of just over the 'ton'.

The acceleration won't loosen your fillings, but at least now, neither will the vibration.

Speed doesn't come into it though. Anything above 80mph is a chore and anyway, this style of bike is best enjoyed at 50mph or 60mph as you watch the reflected world go by through its acres of chrome.

So, as Harley moves into the 21st century with a range of revamped bikes designed to appeal to a younger market, the Fat Boy looks set to be once again the model that steals the heart.

Its stunning looks and charismatic ride give it a unique charm. It's in a league of one and clones just don't quite cut the mustard.

Just one thing though, don't buy a Fat Boy if you don't like attention.

Small boys will drool all over it, old men will reminisce about by-gone days when they rode proper bikes and gorgeous women will throw themselves all over you. Hasta la Vista baby!

On the road price 13,250.

Story date: Wednesday 12 April

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.