There is more than a hint of Sons of Anarchy styling in the new Harley-Davidson Low Rider S fitted with the 110-cube Screamin’ Eagle engine.
It has the Sons of Anarchy bikini fairing, the all-black colour scheme, solo seat, mid-mount controls and raised drag bars that have the rider punching their bare knuckles aggressively into the wind.
All this turns the 1970s-style FXS Dyna into a more modern machine.
The FXDLS Low Rider S is the third Harley to get the Screamin’ Eagle 110 cube engine from the CVO range after the 2016 Fat Boy S and Slim S.
It has the same price margin of $2500, making it $25,995 on the road, which is a bargain given the 110 engine would normally cost about $6000 to fit as an aftermarket upgrade.
But there is more than just some styling updates and a thumping engine in the S model.
The suspension has been upgraded with “premium ride” nitrogen gas-charged emulsion rear shocks; it has the smart key fob so you just hit the “kill switch” and thumb the ignition; because it has fly-by-wire throttle it comes with cruise control; and it now has ABS fitted as standard.
So the bike goes, stops and rides a little better than the standard Low Rider.
As far as styling goes, we love the look.
However, there are some small glitches:
- the back of the front cowl has been filled in with a blank piece of black plastic that looks fairly ugly and an after-thought;
- the white bump stops on the black shocks look out of place; and
- the Magnum Gold mag wheels look like dull undercoat paint.
They say the wheels pay homage to 1960s race cars and match the gold tank badge from the 1977 XLCR Café Racer model, but it just looks a little unfinished against the gloss black paintwork.
The Low Rider S is an aggressive around-town charger with 156Nm of torque which is 1Nm more than a Hayabsa and, for a cruiser, it’s in a relatively svelte read-to-rock frame.
And with the massive Screamin’ Eagle Heavy Breather air filter sucking vast amounts of air and the Fat Bob side-mounted wrinkle black powdercoated exhaust, it’s a symphony of growling aggression. Not enough to upset the neighbours, but enough to let them know you’re on the prowl.
Highway cruising is possible, but with the gorilla riding position, it’s not very comfortable and the small bikini fairing doesn’t really provide any wind protection.
Thankfully, it’s one of the most comfortable cruiser seats around.
You can have the Low Rider S in any colour you like so long as it’s Vivid Black. And no SOA prospect would want it any other way.
Harley-Davidson Dyna Low Rider S FXDLS
- Price: $25,995 (ride away)
- Warranty: 2 years, unlimited mileage
- Service: 1600/8000km
- Engine: Air-cooled, 1801cc, 4-valve, pushrod Twin Cam 110
- Power: Not available
- Torque: 156Nm (115ft lb) @ 3500rpm
- Bore x Stroke: 101.6 x 111.1mm
- Compression: 9.2:1
- Transmission: 6-Speed Cruise Drive, belt drive
- Suspension: 49mm forks, Premium ride emulsion shocks
- Length: 2390mm (94.1in)
- Width: 900mm (35.4in)
- Height: 1170mm (46.1in)
- Seat: 685mm (27in)
- Clearance: 125mm (4.9in)
- Lean angle: 30.5 degrees (left), 29.5 degrees (right)
- Rake/angle: 30.5°, 32°
- Trail: 128.3mm (5.1in)
- Wheelbase: 1630mm (64.2in)
- Tyres: 100/90B19 57H; 160/70B17 73V; Michelin Scorcher
- Fuel tank: 17.8L (4.7gal)
- Wet weight: 305kg (672lbs)
- Brakes: 300m twin discs, 4-piston fixed caliper; 292mm rear disc, 2-piston caliper, ABS
