It's that time: time to show off the new 2008 Harley-Davidson line-up. This year Harley-Davidson turns 105 years old, but what does that mean? Maybe 105 shares of stock for everyone, or maybe not; we will just have to wait and see. It all started with a few of the HOT BIKE staffers jumping a plane from Los Angeles to Baltimore. Why Baltimore? It's about 100 miles from York, PN, where Harley-Davidson happens to have their Softail plant. With a few new Softail models to see and ride, this would be the best place to start the trip. As we got off the plane and hitched a ride to the hotel, we got a brief rundown on what to expect over the next few days.
The next day we got up, had a great breakfast, then received a presentation on the new line up and all the goodies for the '08 bikes. Things like three new bikes-Softail Rocker, the Rocker C, and the Dyna Fat Bob, along with ABS brakes, and some new color schemes. Then we got to ride the new '08 bikes up to the York Plant. Why the York Plant? Well, the newest and biggest thing to come out of Harley-Davidson was the new Softail, the FXCW Rocker, and FXCWC Rocker C. So why not ride a few up to the plant to get a tour and see where the Softails are all built? It was a really nice ride out on the back roads to get to the plant. Once we got there we were met by some nice H-D staff members, and the tours were broken off into a few small groups. This was cool, as it allowed us to ask a lot of questions and take the time we needed to see everything. It was nice to see all the details that go into building one of these bikes from the ground-up. The tour was a little shorter than we would have liked, but we had more riding to do, so we grabbed some lunch and headed back out for some riding.
We got started with the Rockers:
FXCW RockerThe 2008 FXCW Rocker and FXCWC Rocker C models are designed to appeal to different riders. They have the look of a hardtail chopper while delivering a comfortable ride with modern rear suspension.
It's the Rockertail rear end that makes a Softail a Rocker. The Rockertail utilizes an all-new rear section with elliptical tubes and no visible fender supports. As on other Softail motorcycles, the Rockertail rear shock absorbers are hidden under the motorcycle. The rear fender is mounted to the swingarm above an 18x240 mm rear tire, and the fender's surface is fully exposed behind a solo seat. The Rockertail design gives the look of a hardtail frame, but the fender and wheel move together as the rear suspension glides through 3.4 inches of travel. The seat height of the FXCW Rocker is 24.5 inches.
The FXCW Rocker stretches out on a 36.5-degree fork rake that takes the wheelbase to 69.2 inches. A 19-inch tapered five-spoke cast-aluminum front wheel is finished in durable Satin Stainless Metallic powdercoat. The same finish is applied to the lower legs, triple clamps, headlamp, handlebar riser, tank console, swingarm, turn signal housings, hand controls, belt guard, oil tank, and engine trim. The frame is custom color-matched to the bodywork. A sculpted, two-piece five-inch curved riser supports the independent V-Bar handlebars with internal wiring.
The Rocker also has a new bullet-shaped headlamp, bullet-style turn singles featuring LED lamps, and the new Stop/Turn/Taillights incorporating the stop and tail lamp functions with the rear turn indicators, eliminating the traditional tail lamp from the rear fender. A stretched, five-gallon fuel tank holds a low-profile console with a polished aluminum insert, integrated indicator lamps, and an angled, speed shop-style speedometer housing. A machined 3-D Bar and Shield medallion is mounted in a deboss on each side of the fuel tank.