2018 HARLEY-DAVIDSON SOFTAILS
FIRST TEST
P100
you practically had to go jogging speed to navi-
gate.
Along with the Fat Boy, it's one of the two with an
ultra-wide 240mm rear tire, and it actually handles
it well. When 200+mm tires first started finding
their way into cruisers the results were not good.
This one handles really well, and is totally stable,
right up until it runs out of ground clearance.
So what would I change? Absolutely nothing.
Maybe my riding style. This is a hell of a bike.
III DELUXE IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
After the super raked-out Break-
out, the Deluxe felt unhinged.
Nimble and quick-steering, it
takes a very light touch to get it to
change directions. It also has no
trouble turning heads. Filling the
role of the Chrome Pony, made
famous in 1980s music videos
(like Motley Crue's "Girls Girls
Girls"), there has continuously
been a certain kind of rider for
whom this is the style they think
of, when they think Harley-David-
son. With bright paint, slathered
in chrome, LED lights coming out
of every lens, and wide whitewall
tires riding on spoked 16-inch
rims; the Deluxe lives up to its
name.
Born as the flashier cousin to
classic cruisers like the Heritage
and the Fat Boy, it's the epitome
of a boulevard cruiser. It's only
missing a long set of fishtails that
extends past the rear tire. It's
also missing a back seat, if you
plan on picking up a passenger.
And a heel shifter, if you're used
to floorboard-equipped bikes
having those. Actually, all of the
floorboard-equipped Softails
sport just a single shifter now.
This is a fun bike. It's basically
a stripped and chromed ver-
sion of the Heritage. Not to be
confused with the Slim, which
is not chromed and even more
stripped. The wide seat is moder-
ately supportive, the footboards
make for a few riding positions,
and the wide, low bar looks good
and works great. For me, I'd
probably get a slightly more sup-
portive seat.
