Harley-Davidson celebrated its 105th birthday at the end of August. Hundreds of thousands paid tribute to the cult brand in Milwaukee. The Tagi was there with the latest Road King.
The name says it all for most Harley-Davidson models: the Fat Boy is fat, and on the Road King, everyone becomes the «king of the road.» Unless Harley is celebrating its 105th birthday, that is—then even the latest 2009 model gets lost in the wild mix of flashy custom bikes.
But now it's back to business as usual, and Switzerland is not Milwaukee: when the iconic US brand celebrates in our part of the world, Gotthard plays soft rock and Gölä performs traditional music. In Milwaukee, for example, Kid Rock, Joan Jett, Billy Bob Thornton, The Black Crowes, the Foo Fighters, and Bruce Springsteen took to the birthday stage.
But it's not just in terms of the supporting program that the differences between the US and Switzerland are striking. On the road, too: while bikes in the USA must first and foremost be eye-catching, secondly they must be eye-catching, and only thirdly does (straight-line) handling count, heavy machines here have to meet completely different requirements. Despite the trend toward customization, the majority of Harleys in Switzerland are used as vehicles and not just as showpieces.
Old look, new security
The engineers in Milwaukee worked overtime for these people, while the designers were able to content themselves with the results. Although the new Road King looks almost unchanged on the road, appearances are deceptive: the bike stands and rides on a completely redesigned chassis. «Anyone who has seen the Road King, which weighs almost 370 kilograms, in the parking lot will be amazed at how nimble the US cruiser is,» confirmed Markus Cavelti after test riding the 2009 model. «Despite the comfortable tuning of the new chassis, the bike remains neutral and does not require too much force when turning. In addition, the heavyweight's logical tendency to drift toward the outside of the curve has been further reduced. As a result, the new Road King rides a little more dynamically, a lot more safely—and absolutely stress-free.»
This is also ensured by the ABS, which is standard on all 2009 Touring models. «You do have to get used to how ABS works at first,» says Cavelti. «But seven adjustments per second – not even Tom Lüthi can do that.» Despite standard brake assist and a new chassis, the Road King rolls onto the road from CHF 28,000. That's almost CHF 1,200 less than you had to pay for the current model with optional ABS.
Power Cruiser arrives in January
The most important new model of the 2009 range, the V-Rod Muscle, will be launched at the end of the year with a completely different concept. Its name says it all: like its siblings, this V-Rod variant is powered by the familiar 1.25-liter Revolution engine with 123 hp. A very short fender, low-slung air intakes on the airbox, a significantly lowered seat, and forward-mounted footrests distinguish the new model from its sister models, the V-Rod and Night Rod Special, at least visually. ABS is also standard on muscle bikes in Europe. That's because Milwaukee has long since realized that European roads place different demands on technology than the endless US highways.
