2018 FatBob 114ci Unbiased review - I really wanted to hate this bike..... but it's good!
#21
09-30-2017, 10:40 AM
Seasoned HDF Member
So I had a nice long test ride on a 114" Fat Bob today. I have one on order, but there is a long wait to get the Industrial Grey denim colour in the UK, and basically all of the 2018 Fat Bobs over here are already sold, whatever colour you choose.
Anyway, the bike was a blast to ride. There's plenty of power there stock, but I will go Stage 2 on my bike right off the bat with the Torque cam just because I can. One thing that made me laugh was kicking it into third from second at high revs as i was passing a line of cars. The bike kicked me in the *** and briefly spun the back tire. Nice.
In terms of handling, it's a definite upgrade over my Dyna and over all the pre 2018 Softails I have ridden. The bike feels very light, beautifully balanced and is eminently "flickable". I didn't feel my Dyna was lacking in the suspension department, but this frame is just better. Hands down. No fuzziness through tight turns or fast sweepers, that I hadn't even realised was there with the Dyna until I rode the new frame. It holds lines perfectly and carves corners beautifully. It inspires confidence. The mono shock suspension and inverted front forks are excellent and swallow bumps really well. I'd need to play with the preload a bit to get it perfect, but well....I can do that in seconds with the adjuster on the side.
Around town and in slow traffic it was an absolute joy to ride. Light and very responsive to all control inputs. In fast turns and on the highway it was superb as well. Stable and planted.
Passing is effortless even up to high highway speeds and the gearbox is nicely matched to the torque of the motor. It feels like you need to shift less often than on my Dyna.
The seating position is excellent. The seat is super comfy, but also grips your *** very well. I am 5'8" and the bike is absolutely perfect for me. I really like the "not so forward" forward controls as they are more like mids compared to my Dyna's forwards. You can easily put more control input into the bike through the pegs. I won't be changing to proper mids.
I was a bit worried about the footpegs, because they look really small, but they are actually super comfortable and at high speed I didn't get the wind pressure on my boots that I used to on the Dyna. The back brake pedal position is much lower than on the Dyna and I was a bit put off at first - but because my legs come down more vertically on to the pegs, it's actually OK. Will take a bit of getting used to, or I may adjust it up a little bit.
The instrument cluster is very good too. Visible and clear and with a permanent gear indicator as well. I like having the tacho as the main dial rather than a speedo on the Dyna.
The bar position was good for me. I won't need higher risers or different bars.
The mirrors sucked. I will need mirror extenders because I couldn't really see much behind my shoulders, no matter how I adjusted them.
The bike had SE Street Cannon mufflers, and although it sounded good at higher speeds, it was too quiet for me anywhere below 2.5K RPM. So there's a set of S&S slip ons in my future. I also really like the look of the stock exhaust system, so hopefully someone will make a catless header pipe in the future that will keep the stock exhaust shields. I might get the shields ceramic coated black at some point.
The Dunlop tires felt good for a change! Much better than the stock Dunlops on my Dyna Fat Bob and maybe close to Avon Cobras. No need to change those until they wear out.
The styling is controversial to some people, but I actually love it - including the headlight. It's very muscle car to me. I got a lot of people complimenting me on the bike when I stopped at a local biker gathering spot - including from the sports bike crowd. Interestingly, there were a lot of sport bikes parked up at the dealership today and a lot of the riders were signed up for test rides on the new Softails.
I was a bit suspicious of the new small tank until I rode the bike. The size means you can really tuck in close to the bike and helps you to really chuck it around. Downside is the range, but c'est la vie.
I will tour on this bike next year. A clip on windshield and rack with a rolling tour bag and I should be set. I think it will be just fine for long highway rides with stops every 130 miles or so for gas.
All in all, I think Harley actually hit a home run with this bike. The pipes need fixed in terms of sound, but that's been the same with all new Harleys for years. Some mirror extenders or different mirrors are needed and for some reason, the entire bike is blacked out already apart from the clutch and front brake levers - so I'll need to replace those.
Anyway - it's a super bike and a major, major upgrade from the older Dyna and Softail lines. I just wish my one would get delivered quicker....
Anyway, the bike was a blast to ride. There's plenty of power there stock, but I will go Stage 2 on my bike right off the bat with the Torque cam just because I can. One thing that made me laugh was kicking it into third from second at high revs as i was passing a line of cars. The bike kicked me in the *** and briefly spun the back tire. Nice.
In terms of handling, it's a definite upgrade over my Dyna and over all the pre 2018 Softails I have ridden. The bike feels very light, beautifully balanced and is eminently "flickable". I didn't feel my Dyna was lacking in the suspension department, but this frame is just better. Hands down. No fuzziness through tight turns or fast sweepers, that I hadn't even realised was there with the Dyna until I rode the new frame. It holds lines perfectly and carves corners beautifully. It inspires confidence. The mono shock suspension and inverted front forks are excellent and swallow bumps really well. I'd need to play with the preload a bit to get it perfect, but well....I can do that in seconds with the adjuster on the side.
Around town and in slow traffic it was an absolute joy to ride. Light and very responsive to all control inputs. In fast turns and on the highway it was superb as well. Stable and planted.
Passing is effortless even up to high highway speeds and the gearbox is nicely matched to the torque of the motor. It feels like you need to shift less often than on my Dyna.
The seating position is excellent. The seat is super comfy, but also grips your *** very well. I am 5'8" and the bike is absolutely perfect for me. I really like the "not so forward" forward controls as they are more like mids compared to my Dyna's forwards. You can easily put more control input into the bike through the pegs. I won't be changing to proper mids.
I was a bit worried about the footpegs, because they look really small, but they are actually super comfortable and at high speed I didn't get the wind pressure on my boots that I used to on the Dyna. The back brake pedal position is much lower than on the Dyna and I was a bit put off at first - but because my legs come down more vertically on to the pegs, it's actually OK. Will take a bit of getting used to, or I may adjust it up a little bit.
The instrument cluster is very good too. Visible and clear and with a permanent gear indicator as well. I like having the tacho as the main dial rather than a speedo on the Dyna.
The bar position was good for me. I won't need higher risers or different bars.
The mirrors sucked. I will need mirror extenders because I couldn't really see much behind my shoulders, no matter how I adjusted them.
The bike had SE Street Cannon mufflers, and although it sounded good at higher speeds, it was too quiet for me anywhere below 2.5K RPM. So there's a set of S&S slip ons in my future. I also really like the look of the stock exhaust system, so hopefully someone will make a catless header pipe in the future that will keep the stock exhaust shields. I might get the shields ceramic coated black at some point.
The Dunlop tires felt good for a change! Much better than the stock Dunlops on my Dyna Fat Bob and maybe close to Avon Cobras. No need to change those until they wear out.
The styling is controversial to some people, but I actually love it - including the headlight. It's very muscle car to me. I got a lot of people complimenting me on the bike when I stopped at a local biker gathering spot - including from the sports bike crowd. Interestingly, there were a lot of sport bikes parked up at the dealership today and a lot of the riders were signed up for test rides on the new Softails.
I was a bit suspicious of the new small tank until I rode the bike. The size means you can really tuck in close to the bike and helps you to really chuck it around. Downside is the range, but c'est la vie.
I will tour on this bike next year. A clip on windshield and rack with a rolling tour bag and I should be set. I think it will be just fine for long highway rides with stops every 130 miles or so for gas.
All in all, I think Harley actually hit a home run with this bike. The pipes need fixed in terms of sound, but that's been the same with all new Harleys for years. Some mirror extenders or different mirrors are needed and for some reason, the entire bike is blacked out already apart from the clutch and front brake levers - so I'll need to replace those.
Anyway - it's a super bike and a major, major upgrade from the older Dyna and Softail lines. I just wish my one would get delivered quicker....
Last edited by adm; 09-30-2017 at 10:43 AM.
#23
09-30-2017, 12:59 PM
Seasoned HDF Member
Also, I forgot to mention that the clutch feel is really good. Much better than the hydraulic clutch M8s I have ridden. Pull is light and it's dead easy to keep in the friction zone when doing slow speed manoeuvres. I found the hydraulic clutch to be more "binary" while this one is definitely analog.
The gear box action was good as well. Smooth, but with a firm "click" between each gear. Very positive and the bike didn't have the typical CLUNK on shifting from neutral to first.
#24
09-30-2017, 02:32 PM
Grand HDF Member
I think I will enjoy it for sure!
Also, I forgot to mention that the clutch feel is really good. Much better than the hydraulic clutch M8s I have ridden. Pull is light and it's dead easy to keep in the friction zone when doing slow speed manoeuvres. I found the hydraulic clutch to be more "binary" while this one is definitely analog.
The gear box action was good as well. Smooth, but with a firm "click" between each gear. Very positive and the bike didn't have the typical CLUNK on shifting from neutral to first.
Also, I forgot to mention that the clutch feel is really good. Much better than the hydraulic clutch M8s I have ridden. Pull is light and it's dead easy to keep in the friction zone when doing slow speed manoeuvres. I found the hydraulic clutch to be more "binary" while this one is definitely analog.
The gear box action was good as well. Smooth, but with a firm "click" between each gear. Very positive and the bike didn't have the typical CLUNK on shifting from neutral to first.
#25
09-30-2017, 05:18 PM
I occasionally hammer it in 4th gear from 50-to75 mph to get a good feel for the motor before the torque cam goes in. That will be my “feel” check to see if I can tell the difference. Of course it will be upgraded with both I & II at once so I won’t be able to attribute any difference I notice to only the cam.
#26
10-05-2017, 12:51 PM
Intermediate
Put the TBR stainless pipe on yesterday
Finished adding a couple things to my 18 FXFBS - TBR stainless pipe with carbon fiber tip. SE Pro Street Tuner along with the Smart Tune Pro Wide Band auto tuner. Wow what a difference. It seems to me that Harley designed the stock exhaust as a heavy anchor to keep the bike situated within our earthly atmosphere. The TBR pipe weighs in at about 14lbs while the stock exhaust is about 48lbs.
Now Harley had claimed to lighten the 2018 Fat Bob up by 32 lbs. from the previous Dyna Fat Bob however if they had gone with a lighter 2 into 1 pipe that number would be an amazing 64lbs lighter. Just the 32lbs removed from the exhaust equals aprox 4.57 HP increase.
The following 4 users liked this post by Hacksaw580:
#29
10-05-2017, 05:43 PM
That Two Bros pipe looks great on it.
#30
10-06-2017, 09:44 AM
Finished adding a couple things to my 18 FXFBS - TBR stainless pipe with carbon fiber tip. SE Pro Street Tuner along with the Smart Tune Pro Wide Band auto tuner. Wow what a difference. It seems to me that Harley designed the stock exhaust as a heavy anchor to keep the bike situated within our earthly atmosphere. The TBR pipe weighs in at about 14lbs while the stock exhaust is about 48lbs.
Now Harley had claimed to lighten the 2018 Fat Bob up by 32 lbs. from the previous Dyna Fat Bob however if they had gone with a lighter 2 into 1 pipe that number would be an amazing 64lbs lighter. Just the 32lbs removed from the exhaust equals aprox 4.57 HP increase.
Sounds clip please...