Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

s we pulled off Interstate 15 and· on to Las Vegas Boulevard, it was clear that no one Knew where the hotel was. It was cool, though. We were on six of the biggest, baddest cruisers the world has to offer: the ultimate motorcycles for playing it cool, taking it down a notch and profiling wherever it is you need to go, slowly. Even if you aren't sure where that is. And we were on the ultimate road for cruising - the Las Vegas Strip. The only problem was that it was 10 a.m., and already about 100 degrees. Still, it was cool. The failure to get directions to the Hard Rock Hotel (where else to stay but a place where they celebrate rock 'n' roll in every way and have- custom Harleys on display in the casino?) was really the only major glitch in the whole plan. This ride was something we'd actually planned months in advance. When you're used to working on a weekly deadline, tomorrow even seems like a long way off. "Vegas in July?" they said in disbelief when the idea to cruise the Vegas Strip was first suggested. "Vegas? In July?" It was obvious it was going to take more than "The Ultimate Cruise" argument to convince this group that going to Sin City in the middle of July was a good idea. "You don't want to use the company credit card to buy liquor and gamble on a day that you'd otherwise spend at work?" "Well, since you put it that way..." Strangely, we all agreed that the only sane thing to do was to meet at Tiffany's restaurant - where Interstate 15 and California Highway 138 cross halfway up the Cajon pass - at 5 a.m., to beat the heat we surely would encounter once we hit the desert. For most of us, tha t mean t getting up just past 3 a.m. Two of our riders, Editor Carruthers and Jeff Hain of Personal Watercraft mustrated, thought the best way to prepare was to stay up until 2. They were late. Go figure. By 5:30, everyone was there and we were ready to go. The group of machines we assembled were all claimed to be aimed at doing roughly By Mark Hoyer I Photos by Kinney Jones the same thing: cruising and looking cool. For bikes with ostensibly the same purpose in mind, the final assemblage was a very diverse group indeed. What must surely be considered the purest or at least most original form for the cruising motorcycle is the HarleyDavidson Fat Boy. It's long, it's low, it's got a large-displacement, tractable 1340cc air-cooled V-twin and classic American styling. It's an old-style American motorcycle from the only surviving American motorcycle maker. In many people's eyes this gives it the edge of authenticity. In other people's eyes it is totally meaningless. Either way, most like the style of the bike. The relative merits of the mechanical package, however, are much more likely t.o corne under debate. It is either "straightforward and simple" or "unrefined and outdated." The bottom line is this bike along with the rest of the Harleys - sells. And that has made it the target bike. It's the real thing and it's the one bike all these others have in their crosshairs. On the open highway the Fat Boy didn't win many fans. "Beats you up," was the common response. It is reasonably stable at speeds up to about 65, but tends to start weaving a bit above tha t. Like most of the other bikes in this class, the wide handlebars so good for low-speed maneuverability turn freeway running into an eternal pull-up from the wind blast. Also, the torquey, single-pin-crank engine that makes chugging around town an easy if molar-shaking experience really begins to wheeze as speeds rise - especially with a passenger. Blame that on the modest 45 hp on tap. That's easy to fix, but until then, best to play it mellow on the Fat Boy and populate the slow lane. Average fuel consumption was 43 mpg and ranged from a high of 51 to a low of 35. The twin disc brakes are adequate, if a bit dull feeling, and like most of the controls on the Fat Boy - the clunky shifter especially - take some effort to operate. Ergonomically, the Harley ra ted in the middle of the pack. The seat is rea-

• Cover