New 2020 Softail Standard is Begging to be Customized

Visually, there’s not a lot going on with the newest addition to the Harley-Davidson Softail family — and that’s exactly the point.

In our opinion, one of Harley-Davidson’s greatest successes is how well it understands its core customer base. One of the best examples of this is the Iron 883 and Iron 1200 Sportsters.

Harley-Davidson knows that its customers like to modify their bikes right off the showroom floor. Folks waste no time personalizing their machines. It makes great business sense to offer stripped-down, bargain-priced basic bikes that can be customized right away.

Until now, we haven’t really had that option with Softails, though. The Softail Slim came pretty close, but it still had that “factory custom” look. In this video, Harley-Davidson shows off their brand-new Softail Standard.

The video is narrated by Dan Barnes, a design engineer at Harley-Davidson. As he explains, “Off the showroom floor, it’s got that quintessential Harley cruiser silhouette. Everybody will know that it’s a Harley-Davidson, but everything from there is up to your imagination.”

It’s a good looking bike, but compared to the flashier 2020 Softail models, it doesn’t look like much. That’s exactly the point.

Any Way You Want It

It’s designed with the customizer in mind, and its features are reminiscent of classic Softail Standard models from the 1980s and late 1990s. Barnes is happy to state that “We’re bringing it back again as a minimalist, back-to-basics bike.”

Barnes calls it a blank canvas that can be transformed easily into whatever the customer wants. He says, “I’m really excited to see where our customers are going to take this bike.”

The comparison to an artist’s blank canvas is apt. Everything about this bike is very basic. Sure, the frame, engine, forks, and swingarm of the new Softail is all there, but you’re not paying for anything extra. Like the Iron 883 and Iron 1200, you won’t find yourself paying for extra chrome trim and flash that you’ll just end up removing or changing later.

We’re excited to see what kind of customs the 2020 Softail Standard inspires. Don’t get us wrong, the bike looks just fine stock — but it’s just begging to be modified.

Photos: Harley-Davidson

Cameron Vanderhorst

Cam VanDerHorst has been a contributor to Internet Brands' Auto Group sites for over three years, with his byline appearing on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Corvette Forum, JK Forum, and Harley-Davidson Forums, among others. In that time, he's also contributed to Autoweek, The Drive, and Scale Auto Magazine.

He bought his first car at age 14 -- a 1978 Ford Mustang II -- and since then he’s amassed an impressive and diverse collection of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, including a 1996 Ford Mustang SVT Mystic Cobra (#683) and a classic air-cooled Porsche 911.

In addition to writing about cars and wrenching on them in his spare time, he enjoys playing music (drums and ukulele), building model cars, and tending to his chickens.

You can follow Cam, his cars, his bikes, and his chickens at @camvanderhorst on Instagram.

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