NEW· BIKES 1997 Harley-Davidsons
he tone of a proud father resonated from Harley-Davidson Executive Vice President of Styling
Willie G. Davidson's lips as he
stood before the throng gathered to witness the introduction of the newest
model in the Milwaukee-based motorcycle company's lineup at the Gene Autry
Museum of Western Heritage in Los
Angeles, California, on July 12.
"In the back of oUI minds, this was
always a motorcycle that we knew we
would build," Davidson said. "This isn't
a motorcycle for everybody - it isn't supposed to be. This motorcycle is a classic
representation, a dramatic statement of
Harley-Davidson history."
Indeed, it would seem that with the
introduction of the 1997 Harley-Davidson FLSTS Heritage Springer Saftail,
America's oldest-running motorcycle
company has come full circle. Just as its
creators intended, Harley's newest
model is paradoxical in that it could easily pass for one of the oldest, combining
vmtage 1940s styling with the motor
~ompany's current technology and qualIty control.
The Heritage Springer Softail owes
its styling cues to two of the Motor
Company's landmark machines, bearing
a passing resemblance to Harley's 1936
E-model Knucklehead and perhaps
more so to the 1948 Panhead. The
machine is clearly an exercise in nostalgia.
Imperative in the conveyance of that
?ld-style look is the Springer front end,
mtroduced on two previous models, the
FXSTS Springer Softail of 1988 and the
1995 FXSTSB Bad Boy. This one is somewhat different, however, with the
chrome, coil spring and shqp:: absorber
(Above) HarleyDavidson dug deep
Into Its own history for
the styling of the 1997
FLSTS HerItage
SprInger SofIaIL
(RIght) T1le FL touring
rIInge got 8 host of
ch8nges, Including 8
. -rr- thlIt lowers
the SNt height
