A Basic Softail
Not long ago, I reported that Harley-Davidson would put out a Softail Standard based on some new CARB filings, and now the bike is official. The Softail Standard brings the Softail design to the masses for less than other models. It’s an uncomplicated motorcycle that’s ready to roll or ready to be customized. Your call.
The bike is essentially a handsome and simple-looking bobber. It has a solo seat, chopped rear fender, a burly Milwaukee-Eight engine, and two shotgun exhaust pipes. The wheels are a 19-inch up front and a 16-inch in the rear. The rear mono-shock has preload adjustment and the bike gets front and rear brakes with ABS. The fuel tank is a 3.5 gallon and has a handsome shape to it.
The bike is pretty stripped down when it comes to features, though it does have a low oil pressure indicator, engine diagnostics, a security system, and a 2.14-inch LCD display The price? $13,599. That’s more than I was hoping for. I was looking for $12,000 starting price or even $10,000, but HD’s bikes are expensive, and $13,559 is less than any other Softail model. It comes in black only.
Harley also sells packages you can add to the bike for a slightly different flavor (at an up-charge of course). They include Performance, Costal, Day Tripper, and Touring. The performance one adds some minor performance-minded upgrades, and the others go closer and closer towards turning the bike into a nice touring machine. Honestly, I think the bike looks best with the Touring package, but then you’re looking at adding $1,699 to the price.
Overall, I think this is a good move by Harley, but I would like to see the price drop lower. While Harley will without a doubt sell some of these bikes, at $10,000 I think they would fly right off the lots, but HD probably can’t do that and make it profitable.
