Eric Ellis, Editor, Hot Bikebr/>Height: 5 feet, 10 inches
Weight: Yeah, I'm overweight
I really enjoyed this bike. It had a great mix of everything: looks, performance, and handling. At first wasn't too sure about the mid controls; I thought I was going to be too cramped. I know I'm not a giant, but I spend a lot of time on bikes with forward controls, and felt confined when I first got on. But after the first ten miles, I realized the ergonomics of the bike made me feel very relaxed and comfortable, especially when lane splitting. A good portion of my 45-mile commute is spent cutting between lines of cars. One of my critiques on any of the test bikes we get is how safe and confident I feel taking a bike between the lanes, knowing that I may have to react to someone trying to jump in or out of a lane at the last minute. The Fat Bob passed (pun) with ease. It was agile and steady on its beefed-up tires. And despite its moniker's reference to someone's heavyset Uncle Robert, the FXDF was quick to respond to dodging and weaving and was easy to punch and tuck into the corners. In fact, it was a little scary sometimes because I felt so confident on the bike I felt indestructible. The 96ci TC power plant propelled the 700 pounder with some pep in its step, smoothly accelerating to freeway speed with ease. I really dug the looks of the fattened up drag-style bars, black lower legs, and dual headlights, a mix between minimalist and industrial-seems to be more of an adopted theme with H-D these days.- Eric
Courtney Halowell, Editorial Director,
American Motorcycle Group
Height: 6 feet
Weight: I am fat, too!
At first glance I thought to myself "I am going to look like I am riding a mini-bike on this thing." Usually when I see a bike with mid-controls and a "sitting up straight" riding position it is a little bit intimidating. It looks like it is going to be cramped, but surprisingly enough, the Fat Bob doesn't feel that way at all. The new Fat Bob kind of feels similar to riding a very heavy motard bike-like a KTM Duke or some street/dirt hybrid with a couple hundred pounds strapped to it. I found myself throwing this bike into corners, jumping curbs, and splitting lanes like a madman. The bike has confidence-inspiring handling in spades, and when you combine that with the 96ci Twin Cam and the sixspeed transmission it can be very bad for your driving record! Not that I got pulled over a couple of times on this bike...it is just something to keep in the back of your mind if you're going to ride the bike to its full potential. And as far as the looks of the bike go, I dig the fat front tire and the dual headlights. But I think that Harley-Davidson has treated too many models to the semigloss paint already.-Courtney