Harley-Davidson Softail Breakout 114: Drag Racer in Disguise?
British GQ praises the dominant Breakout as a solid ride, calling it the ‘two-wheeled equivalent of a top-fuel drag car.’
The Softail Breakout 114 is a bike that means business. It’s got power, speed, and a tough, imposing style. So why is this bike so divisive among riders? Is it phantom pain from the loss of the Dyna? British GQ took the bike out for a test run, and had some interesting thoughts.
“The Breakout is pure and simply an exercise in design and physical presence,” says Rich Taylor, motorcycle rider and writer for GQ UK. He adds that “The extremely wide rear tire and the long-and-low chassis dominate its character; it’s the two wheeled equivalent of a top-fuel drag car.”
This sort of drag car-inspired Softail is one reason why some bikers love it, and others find it isn’t their style. Like a drag car, the Breakout is built for high speed, especially performing well on the straightaway. The engine, a 114-cubic inch Milwaukee-Eight V-twin, is armed with torque and just looking to start a fight. The purposeful and streamlined body includes a rough and ready stance. All this is badass, but some say not as conducive to taking corners and turns as other H-D bikes.
‘The extremely wide rear tire and the long-and-low chassis dominate its character; it’s the two-wheeled equivalent of a top-fuel drag car.’
Taylor takes the Breakout out for a ride in a winding area of Barcelona, Spain. He finds that the “slow speed work around towns and car parks is tedious.” Taylor also has to adjust to the large turning circle. He says, “A maximum lean angle of 26 degrees is all that the Breakout can manage before pegs start scraping tarmac, meaning you’ll have to expend a lot more concentration than you might’ve been hoping for into tippy-toeing around twisty roads.”
But, when the Breakout is doing what it does best, it excels. Says Taylor, “All this talk of corners is somewhat beside the point because the Breakout’s M.O. is going fast in a straight line, and that it does with aplomb. It’s under these conditions that the chassis length and rear tire start to make sense, offering stability and mechanical grip by the bucketload. When you twist the throttle with gusto, it’s plenty quick enough. The engine produces enough torque to qualify for a tractor-pulling competition.”
‘You get the impression that the Breakout is entirely OK with a rather stubborn, pig-headed approach to life, and understandably so. It gets away with it because it doesn’t seem to have any natural competitors.’
In the end, it’s a matter of this bike being the best choice for certain riders, and the Breakout offers no apologies: “You get the impression that the Breakout is entirely OK with a rather stubborn, pig-headed approach to life, and understandably so. It gets away with its proportions and aversion to cornering because it doesn’t seem to have any natural competitors.”
The Breakout is definitely a solid bike choice for many. Like any bike, it’s about finding out what really works best for you, what handles the way you want and fits your wants and needs. We think Taylor sums it up best when he says “It’s a bike you have to accept for what it is; learning new tricks is not in its vocabulary. If you want a Breakout, it’s because you simply just want one…you either love it or you hate it, and the only way to find out which is to ride one.”
Tell us your thoughts on the Breakout.
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