De Facto Immortality: Why Harley Will Never Kill the Softail
Beating heart of Harley-Davidson is still the Softail.
I may be biased – I’m definitely biased – and I don’t mean any disrespect to the other model families of Harley Davidson, but to me the Softail class represents the true heart of Harley Davidson motorcycles.
The touring bikes are wonderful, the sportsters are sporty and I hated when the Motor Company eliminated the cool Dynaglides. But, if HD ever announced it was eliminating all their families but one, it had better be the Softail.
Why do I bring this up? Well, HD did eliminate the Dyna class for money reasons, and financial analysts point out when the company shows profits, it is mainly because they are selling the premium models at a premium price.
Jack of All Trades
In my opinion, HD would never eliminate the softail family. It is the most versatile motorcycle they have ever made.
The touring bikes are much better for long distance trips. But try riding one at the Tail of the Dragon. The sportsters are lighter and better handling.
But the softails do it all. They may not be able to do one thing better than the other classes, but across the board they are far superior. In my opinion, the Milwaukee 8 Heritage is the best all-around motorcycle HD has ever made.
Competition Breeds Success
One reason for the success of the Softails is that HD has been forced to work hard to make improvements on them, to keep them up to date, because of more intense competition from other bike makers.
We Harley owners owe a great deal of thanks to Indian, who has made some very nice cruisers to compete with Harley. With Polaris financial backing and engineering behind them, Indian has come a long way.
I would never buy one over a Harley, but that’s just me; the company is coming off a year when they broke all-time sales records, so Harley is obviously aware that they have a serious competitor.
Elvis Rode One
Another reason softail lovers keep buying the bikes involves looks. Specifically, they haven’t changed much in decades.
They look like motorcycles should, like the bikes Elvis, James Dean, Marlon Brando and more recently Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper rode. HD touring bikes don’t look like that. Sportsters don’t, especially the new sportsters.
It speaks to heritage, consistency over generations. Softails look like the old hardtails.
Looks and Finesse
The Motor Company has also done a good job, especially lately, of keeping up with new technology and high performance while not changing the softail look much.
That hardtail look, for example. They simply hid the rear shocks. I’m betting those old-timers who rode their bikes with no rear suspension would have never believed these new softails have cruise control. Or anti-lock braking systems. Or tuning systems that adjust the engine parameters while you ride it.
The biggest change of course is the new Milwaukee 8 motor. Combined with a new frame, softails are now lighter, cooler, faster and more comfortable.
So, no worries. Softails are bound to be showcased in HD lineups for years to come.
Photos: Harley Davidson
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