Cycle News - Cruiser Buyer's Guide

Cycle News 2018 Cruiser Buyers Guide

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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Hard riding with a Softail Harley Davidson 2018 Line up If you're reading this, you most likely have access to this thing called "The Internet." You also probably know from all the online buzz that Har- ley-Davidson made some drastic changes to the model lineup for 2018 by killing the traditional Dyna family and the V-Rod. The biggest news was, of course, the death of the Dyna. Harley-Davidson's rubber-mount V-twin has been a production staple since it replaced its ancestor, the FXR, in the 1990s. Although it was smoother to ride than a stock Softail, the Softy held the spotlight into the early 2000s. As Softail demand rose, so did the prices for used ones. Dynas and FXRs became the poor man's Big Twin of the American bike scene. Until recently, that trend inverted with the rising popularity of performance over style in the last decade. All of a sudden, Dynas were getting pricy and the Softail? Not so much. That's why H-D's latest big move came as a shock to someā€¦ After over two decades in production, Harley- Davidson chose to lose the dual-shocked Dyna plat- form in favor of the new monoshock Softail chassis centered on the new Milwaukee-Eight powerplant. By many accounts, the 2018 Softails perform as well (or better) than a Dyna or even a FXR. These all-new Softail models are lighter than before and their new chassis is 34% stiffer overall. New Showa SDBV suspension brings a racing-style fork into the mix as well. Plus, that all-new monoshock rear suspension adjusts easily to boot. Combining the hardtail look with great performance seems like a great idea but not everyone is convinced of that yet. Of course, not everyone liked the Twin Cam when it replaced the Evo, either. Or the Evo when the Shovel was retired, or the Shovel, when the Panhead went away... The pattern is as old as the Big Twin itself. Personally, I can't wait to see what the aftermarket and consumers do with the brand new platform. Companies have already started making parts for the new Softails and naturally, you'll find some of them in this guide as you read on. That's not all that's new with H-D, though. This year also marks the 115th anniversary for the MoCo and just as with milestones past, Harley-Davidson has anniversary editions of its motorcy- cles to go with its birthday. For 2018, there are two limited-edition, serialized designs with a 115th Anniversary Eagle and special anniversary paints that are available on nine different H-D models, for those who want to commemorate the anniversary with what they ride. CYCLE NEWS CRUISER BUYERS GUIDE

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