Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Right) Here's the beef: Harley engineers put e lot of work Into the 1998 XL1200 S Spo rtster 1200 Spo rt. A redesigned mill feat ures hotter cams, Ignition and dual-plug heads t o boost horsepower and Incr eas e t orque by some 15 percent over last year's model. (Below) Happy birthday, Ha rley: In celeb rat ion of It s 95 years as a motorcycle company , Harle yDavidson will be offe ring selected models, su ch as th is Ultra Class ic Elect ra Glide Ann ive rsary mo del, with limited edition Midnight Red and Champagne Pearl paint schemes. The fuel tanks will be emb lazoned with special 95th anniver sary badges. lures the new nine-pla te clutch and hydro-formed exhaust. The new FLHRCI Road King Classic is on ly avai lable wi th el ectronic fuel injection and is offered in several color options: new Laser Red Pearl, new Sinister Blue Pea rl, Vivid Black, Violet Pearl, Two-Tone Mystique G re en a nd Black, an d Two-Tone Laser Red and Black. The 95th Anniversary FLH RCI features th e special 95th anniversary two-tone Midnight-Red-and-Champagne-Pearl com bination . Th e base price for the FLHRCI in b lack is set a t $15,960 for th e 49-stat e r and $16,080 for th e Cali fornia edition. The re turni ng FLHR Ro ad Kin g is available exclusively in a carbureted configu ration for 1998 an d, with the exce p tion of the 95t h Annive rsa ry version, is offered in the same color options as the Road King Classic, XL1 200S SPOR TSTE R SPORT For 1998, H arle y-Da v id son h as put even more "sport" in its XL1200s Sport ster Sport, considered th e factory' s perfonnance m odel sin ce its ge ne ration in 1996. The ma chine retains the race-bred suspe ns ion an d so ft-com p ou n d tires of previous models but ha s received a se rious pe rfo rm ance boost via an upgraded 1200cc engine d elivering m ore h orsep o w e r, a n d a n a verage o f 15 p ercen t greater torque through out th e 2000-5500 rpm operating ran ge . H arley acheived the ra dical increase b y incorpora ting an impro ve d i~nition module an d four-pole coil to light two p lu gs per cylind er on the new Sport. This e nabled Harle y-Davidson e ngin ee rs to bump compres si on fr om 9: 1 to 10 :1, while maintaining control of th e bum in the cylinders. The cam-triggered ignition is a single-fire spark system with full curren t a nd h isto ric d iagnostic retrieval capability and real -time data acquisition A six- bli p r o to r cup delivers b e t te r engine-igni tio n m an agemen t and starting. Int ake-manifold air press u re is m on itore d bya new m ap sensor fo r m ore m idrange perform ance . Timing is selected for specific RPM and load read ings. . Insid e, new cams with highe r lift an d longer duration cam lobes m aximi ze the fuel, ai r and exhaust-gas flow th rough th e cylind er h eads for si g n i fi can t impro vements in low to midrange torque. A larger, low e r-restrict ion muffler system helps spent combustion gases exit more quickly. The comb in a tio n of these improvements lead s to significantly quicker throttle response, an d the engine's to rqu e sig-: na ture has been carefully matched to the tra nsmission 's gearing fo r m ore excitem ent th rough th e gears. Cosme t ic fe atur es o n th e Sport in clude powder-coat ed top and bo tto m r o c k e r bo xes d e cked o ut i n a s il ve r bead-blast lo ok , whi ch is also ca rr ied through on th e cam bearin g, sproc ke t, prima ry co v e rs a n d crankcases . The de rby co ver and center rocker-bo x space is polished a luminum, w hile t h e an engine-tu rn fin ish on th e ti mi ng cover and air-clean e r in serts a re exclusive to the Sport model. Availabl e excl usively in Vivid Black, the XL1200s's styling is co m plemented by b lac ked -o u t co mponents inclu ding rear-fen d er support covers, ha ndlebars, mirro rs and stems, horn, an d headlight e yebrow. Four gray sp a rk-p lu g wires, boots and coils help set the unique dual- plug-per-cylinder powertrain apart. A low -p ro file Sport seat completes the look. Pricing for the XL1200S Sportster 1200 Sport is $8395 for the 49-state model and $8515 for the California version. As with the other members of the XL family of Sportsters, the XL1200s Sportster 1200 Sport features an incre ased capaci ty oil p ump, p ro vid in g major im p rovemen ts in the oil-circulation system . Rid ers w ill now find ext ra fuses and a fuse-pulling too l in th e electric d istribution center und er the sidecover, m aking roadside serviceability easy. If all this isn ' t enough to light your fire, then Harley-Davidson has a p lethora of hot -rod parts readily available through the 1998 Genuine Motor A ccessories Screamin' Eagle catalog. A ND TH E REST Harley-Davidson was no t content to leave the remainder of the model lineup unchanged. Overall improvements to the FL touring family include th e new ninep late clutch, which provides hi gh er load capacity, increa sed d u ra bility an d relia bili ty an d; perhap s m ost sign ifican tly, a 20 · pe rce n t r edu ct ion in clu tc h -l e v er effort. All FLs fea ture the new h ydroformed exhaust. All to uring m od els come w ith sound syste ms: The new Road G lide, Electra Glide Classic a n d Ultra Classic Electra Gli dec will b en efit from th e new 1998 s o u n d sys te m , which is s ai d to offer improved relia bility and sound qu ality. The Ultra Oassic Electra Glide features an upgraded cruise control with a selfdiagnostic system and a self-adjust cruise cable that takes up the slack in the throttle cable, allowing for precise set and res ume. The Electra Glide Standard an d Electra Glide Oassic have new tank gra phics. A laced-whee l op tion is a va ila ble in No rth Am e ri ca on ly o n th e fo llowi n g mod els: the Electra Glide Standard; Electra Glide Classic (non -95th Anniversary models); Ultr a Classic Electra Glide (non95th Anniversary models); an d the Road Glide (non-95th Anniversary m odels). A laced-wheel option is av ailab le on th e Road King worldwid e. The Electra Glide Classic and Road Glide are a vaila b le w it h elect ro nic sequential-port fuel in jec t io n (ESPFl). The Ultra Classic Elec tra Glide a n d Ro a d King C las sic a re o n ly a va ila b le wi th ESPFI, and the Electra Glide Stand ard an d Road King a re on ly available in a ca rb ure ted co nfig urati on. The 1998 Softail family consists of five models: the Softail Custom, Springer Softail, Fat Boy, Heritage Softail Oassic and Heritage Springer Softa il. Most notable o f th e n ew features on th e Softa ils is the nine-plate clutch. Harley FXSTSB have cau se to mourn: The FXSTSB Bad Boy is not part of th e 1998 model lin eup affi cianados. TI,e 1998 Dyn a family consists of four m o d el s: the Dy n a Super Glide, Dyn a Low Rider, Dyn a Convertible and Dyna Wide Glide. The biggest improvement in the Dy na range of m o d el s is th e n e w nine-plate clu tch. A laced-w heel option is ava ilable on the Dyna Super Glide, Dyna Low Rid er and Dyna Conve rti b le in No rt h a nd South Ameri ca on ly. The re mainder of the 1998 Sportster family consists of five models: Sportster 883, Sportster 883 Hugger, Sportster 1200, Sportster and 1200 Custom. A ll ' Sportsters fea ture a new inc reased -capacity oil pump which pro- vides bette r oil sccven gtn g from th e crankcase. An electric fuse box , located under the left sidecover, is accessible for easy roadside serviceability . Extra fu ses and a fuse-p ulling too l are included. Availab le in Sep tember 1997 on Sportster 8835 only is a new antifog, am ber backlit electronic speed o m e te r that is designed to provide improved nigh ttime visibil ity and diagnostics for trou b le shooting. All Sportsters , except for the Sportster 1200 Sport, have a new integrated timer sensor and ignition-module system with a vacu um -o perated electronic switch -based ignitio n. HA PPY BIRTH DAY, HA RLEY The year 1998 will be another milestone year for H arley-David son, as it celebra tes its 95th year as a company. In tribute to its pride and tradition, the '98 model year will includ e a fleet of Special motorcycles commemoratin g Th e Motor Co m pany's 95th anniversary. For 1998, limited edition 95th an ni versary motorcycles are available in the following models: XL1200c Sportster 1200 Cus tom, FXDWG Dyna Wide Glide, FLSTF Fat Boy, FLSTS Heritage Springer, FLHTCI Elect ra Glide Classic with electronic fuel injection (ESPFl), FLHTCUI U ltra Classic Electra Gli d e (ESPFI), FLHRCI Road King Cla ssic (ESPFl) an d FLTRI Road Glide (ESPFI). Each anniversary model wil l carry special gra phics and paint two- tone, 95th-Armiversary-€ditiononly colors of M id nigh t Red and Champagn e Pearl. The fuel tanks will be embl azo ned w it h a u nique 95th Annivers ary cloisonne emblem . The Electra Glide Classic, Ultra Class ic Electra Glide and Road Glide will also feature Champagne-Pearlpain ted cast wheels. And, for a finis hin g touch, each specia l anniversary model will include a serialized nameplate. With its 95th birthday in clea r sigh t, it has obviously been f'- long road for the Ha rley-Da vidson Motor Com p any, and o ne tha t ca me so very close to ending so m e 12 years b ack, But, for n ow, it appears that th e America n m otorcycl e com pa ny from Milwa u kee will roll on, unchall enged, t o a date w ith th e 21st century. Full speed ah ead. '"

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