A low bike with good rear damping? Yes indeed. Well, much, much more effective than past models on bumpy road, despite my 115kg pushing down on the suspension and reducing available travel. Even the engineers at the Vehicle Dynamics group in Milwaukee cannot conjure up extra wheel suspension travel when a bike is slammed like this one, but they certainly mixed and matched spring rate and preload with compression and rebound damping to make the best of this difficult conundrum.

Boy, is that seat low! Nevertheless, at 1.80m, I still found it comfortable.

Quebec roads are awful, and my back was in fine shape, after short and medium rides, where I intentionally rode right over bumps to really convince myself how much better it feels than older low bikes from Milwaukee. The LO is no dual purpose bike, but it will let you ride for hours without destroying back and neck.

Sixth gear on this bike is clearly intended only for steady speed cruising above 110 kph, with little acceleration on tap as rev drop too far down the power curve to provide safe passing power. Better to drop to fifth or even fourth to wake up the engine when instant response is required, and leave sixth for environmental issues such as low noise and emission levels, its original intent.

If the naked and slammed look is a key requirement in your ideal bike, the Fat Boy LO is the bike for you. Harley-Davidson, in the midst of the current economic thunderstorm, are remaining true to their owner base and giving them the models they want.

Priced at $20,939 and available in Canada today, the 2010 Fat Boy LO is good at what it does. Let’s hope for the Motor Company’s sake that buyers see it the same way.






Photo Credit : Philippe Champoux