Info on the New Heritage Softail... NEED!!!
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09-08-2005 | 01:00 PM
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#5
09-11-2005 | 11:14 AM
RE: Info on the New Heritage Softail... NEED!!!
Well, looky here; The very first website that Google pulls; seems to have lots on information...Not to mention the other 1000's of pages it queried. Maybe we could help you more if you post the requirements of your paper and we could just write it for you.
First Impression: 1997 Harley-Davidson
Heritage Softail Classic
The Definitive Study in Nostalgia
By Don Crafts, Chicago Desk
It might not be your father's Oldsmobile, but this is definitely his Harley. From its five-inch running lamps to the fishtail exhaust pipes, Harley's Heritage Softail Classic is the definitive study in nostalgia. The lines are intimately familiar. Anyone who looks at a Heritage knows this is classic styling. Even if they never saw an original 1950's motorcycle, they know this is what one looked like.
NUMBER ONE
NOSTALGIC
FEATURE The inelegant on/off switch controlling the running lamps, located on the back of the triple clamp shroud. This is pure retro.
Harley's Heritage (or FLSTC as the factory likes to call it) is responsible for starting the whole retro-bike thang. With fat forks straight off a 1949 Harley-Davidson Hydra Glide, old-fashioned studded-leather saddlebags, chrome-studded seat, full windshield, floorboards, huge chrome headlamp and Fat Bob tank, the Heritage is a rolling blast from the past. Before there were Royal this, and American Classic that, fake air-cooling fins or chopped Gold Wings, there was the Heritage. A motorcycle produced by a company that made the real thing over forty years ago.
There's something about a bike made to recreate the 50's that you just can't get from a more "modern" ride. It's the feeling of never being in a hurry. Never feeling like you have to push the bike to its limits. It's a liberating feeling. Sit down in the spacious saddle, reach out for those wide comfortable bars and fire the motor. That's all the effort this bike will ever demand of you. The Heritage is a simple pleasure. You don't have to be told how to enjoy it. It comes naturally.
Before we get any further into this, let me run over some basics for the uninitiated. Believe it or not, there was a time when motorcycles had no rear suspension. As you can imagine, the ride was pretty... well, hard. It isn't difficult to figure out the derivation of the term hardtail. Secondly, before the advent of modern rubber compounds, motorcycles had their engines mounted rigidly to the frame. This made for bikes that shook like paint-mixers.
Therefore, if you want to re-create a bike from the 50's you need to mount its engine directly to the frame and give an appearance of no rear suspension. To accomplish this visual slight of hand, suspensions were designed with a set of twin shocks hidden under the bike. This arrangement allows for the look of a hardtail with the benefits of quasi-modern suspension. Hence, the term Softail.
"It's hard to cop an attitude when you're stuck smiling and waving."
I may be the only person in the world to ever say this, but the Heritage Softail reminds me of the little Piaggio scooters I rode around the Greek Islands on my honeymoon. Not because this Harley is almost as quiet, and certainly not because it is light and nimble, but because it is so easy to jump on and bop around town. People may not usually associate Harley's with "bobbing around," but that's what this one says to me. It doesn't fill me with the urge to head for a far-off coast or to carve up any mountain sides. This bike has a different purpose.
NUMBER ONE
MODERN
FEATURE Reliability. Sit down, poke the start button, and go. Sounds simple, but it wasn't that long ago when things didn't work so well.
Perhaps the main reason the Heritage gives one the urge to "take it easy," is its riding position. There's only one way to sit on this bike, and it's the same way your piano teacher made you sit. Back straight, feet directly below your knees and arms slightly bent, reaching comfortably
First Impression: 1997 Harley-Davidson
Heritage Softail Classic
The Definitive Study in Nostalgia
By Don Crafts, Chicago Desk
It might not be your father's Oldsmobile, but this is definitely his Harley. From its five-inch running lamps to the fishtail exhaust pipes, Harley's Heritage Softail Classic is the definitive study in nostalgia. The lines are intimately familiar. Anyone who looks at a Heritage knows this is classic styling. Even if they never saw an original 1950's motorcycle, they know this is what one looked like.
NUMBER ONE
NOSTALGIC
FEATURE The inelegant on/off switch controlling the running lamps, located on the back of the triple clamp shroud. This is pure retro.
Harley's Heritage (or FLSTC as the factory likes to call it) is responsible for starting the whole retro-bike thang. With fat forks straight off a 1949 Harley-Davidson Hydra Glide, old-fashioned studded-leather saddlebags, chrome-studded seat, full windshield, floorboards, huge chrome headlamp and Fat Bob tank, the Heritage is a rolling blast from the past. Before there were Royal this, and American Classic that, fake air-cooling fins or chopped Gold Wings, there was the Heritage. A motorcycle produced by a company that made the real thing over forty years ago.
There's something about a bike made to recreate the 50's that you just can't get from a more "modern" ride. It's the feeling of never being in a hurry. Never feeling like you have to push the bike to its limits. It's a liberating feeling. Sit down in the spacious saddle, reach out for those wide comfortable bars and fire the motor. That's all the effort this bike will ever demand of you. The Heritage is a simple pleasure. You don't have to be told how to enjoy it. It comes naturally.
Before we get any further into this, let me run over some basics for the uninitiated. Believe it or not, there was a time when motorcycles had no rear suspension. As you can imagine, the ride was pretty... well, hard. It isn't difficult to figure out the derivation of the term hardtail. Secondly, before the advent of modern rubber compounds, motorcycles had their engines mounted rigidly to the frame. This made for bikes that shook like paint-mixers.
Therefore, if you want to re-create a bike from the 50's you need to mount its engine directly to the frame and give an appearance of no rear suspension. To accomplish this visual slight of hand, suspensions were designed with a set of twin shocks hidden under the bike. This arrangement allows for the look of a hardtail with the benefits of quasi-modern suspension. Hence, the term Softail.
"It's hard to cop an attitude when you're stuck smiling and waving."
I may be the only person in the world to ever say this, but the Heritage Softail reminds me of the little Piaggio scooters I rode around the Greek Islands on my honeymoon. Not because this Harley is almost as quiet, and certainly not because it is light and nimble, but because it is so easy to jump on and bop around town. People may not usually associate Harley's with "bobbing around," but that's what this one says to me. It doesn't fill me with the urge to head for a far-off coast or to carve up any mountain sides. This bike has a different purpose.
NUMBER ONE
MODERN
FEATURE Reliability. Sit down, poke the start button, and go. Sounds simple, but it wasn't that long ago when things didn't work so well.
Perhaps the main reason the Heritage gives one the urge to "take it easy," is its riding position. There's only one way to sit on this bike, and it's the same way your piano teacher made you sit. Back straight, feet directly below your knees and arms slightly bent, reaching comfortably
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