Slim chance of success speed dating a Harley

I’VE BEEN doing a bit of online dating lately (no sniggering, everybody does it these days), and as an online dater I’ve become very familiar with the secret language of the middle-aged man’s dating profile: Great sense of humour = does all the talking; shy = does none of the talking; tall = 5ft 8; athletic = saw the inside of a gym once. So when I arranged a date with one of Harley-Davidson’s latest offerings for 2012, it should have come as no surprise that “slim” would be a bit of a misnomer.

Although the Softail Slim certainly has the look of an “attractive professional”, to the untrained eye it seems like it might be packing a few extra pounds. On closer inspection it seems that HD have simply taken a nice big Fat Boy and whittled off 12kg. They say they have “put a Softail on a diet” by trimming off a few bits and pieces. Gone is the whopping fat tyre that has become the trademark of Harley Softies in recent years, replaced with a leaner number. The mudguards are chopped back for a vintage feel. There’s no pillion seat (so it’s probably just as well the dating hasn’t been going so well). Combination LED brake/tail/indicator lights shift another few ounces off the back.

“We left a gap between the nose of the seat and tank so the rider can see the top of the motor,” says Harley-Davidson senior designer Casey Ketterhagen. “I like to be able to look down and see what’s moving me.” I don’t know about Casey, but I prefer to look ahead and see what’s in front of me. Although the view directly below me was perfectly acceptable, it’s not something I ever think about.

If I didn’t immediately notice in what way the Slim was slim, I was aware of how close to the ground it is. Although I don’t ever have much of a problem with cruisers when it comes to getting my leg over, as it were, the slightly lower seat height of the Slim (25in) made for a very stable centre of gravity – a boon for anyone who’s nervous about riding a heavy bike.

A counter-balanced Twin Cam 103B engine is rigid-mounted within the frame. Although the chassis mimics the clean lines of a vintage Hardtail frame, like all Softails it uses rear suspension, provided by shock absorbers that are mounted horizontally and out of sight inside the frame rails. I felt the suspension to be a little jarring when tackling some rougher bits of road (maybe HD haven’t ventured down Leith Walk lately), but I was delighted with the way the bike steered. The ground clearance isn’t too good – fire into a corner a bit quick and you’ll scrape a footboard along the ground – but as with all the Harley V-twins, the transmission feels great, and the torquey engine is 1,688cc of pure fun.

The new “Hollywood” handlebars (wide and low) remind me of a bike of my youth which should have had buckhorn bars but those were replaced with motocross bars to make it look a bit more “naughty”. It’s a look I like, although I have to admit that I’ve had more comfortable rides. And by all appearances this Softail Slim should have been the most comfy ride imaginable, yet after an hour or so on the road I found all my tricky spots – shoulders, lower back and backside – were aching.

I can’t escape the feeling that Harley were struggling with their design budget when they came up with the Slim. Not quite as fanciable as the iconic Fat Boy, yet not as bargainous as last year’s “budget” Softail, the Blackline, it’s hard to see how it will earn its place in Harley’s stable. Still, it takes all sorts, and while this model didn’t set my heart racing, it could be your soul mate.

Harley Davidson Softail
Slim, from £14,695, visit www.harley-davidson.com