This Fat Boy Turns Heads - Harley-Davidson Fat Boy 114 Review

What we like:

Looks that never go old. Engine is a good old big displacement muscular beast. Classy controls and dial. Touring ability is brilliant.    

What we dislike:

Doesn’t quite like to go around corners. Is heavy and feels it.  

The Harley-Davidson (H-D) Fat Boy is most recognised for being Arnold Schwarzenegger’s choice of carriage in the Terminator 2 movie.

That’s enough for some to make it a cult classic. Certainly, even without Arnie endorsing it, the bike is an absolute stunner in itself whether parked or on the road.

H-D calls it a ‘steamroller stance’, which does make sense when you look at its long wheelbase and huge tyres (160 mm front, 240 mm rear) wrapped around chunky, solid single-piece aluminium wheels.

There is an abundance of chrome, even more so on the 2021 model tested here where brilliant chrome replaced the satin chrome finish on the powertrain and exhaust, the front end, the rear fender struts and the console. A LED headlamp adds a touch of modernity to the otherwise classic design, which is itself mounted in a bold nacelle that is a unique Fat Boy look.

The seat is very low so the Fat Boy is always inviting, no matter the occasion. It is very comfortable although the forward controls really take getting used to - your feet seem to extend almost completely forward in order to access the gear pegs and rear brake. It’s probably more comfortable for a long cruise, but not quite the case in start-stop traffic.

Controls are simple compared to what we find in bikes these days (even compared to H-D’s own Pan America), but it is a good thing. There is a single gauge to tell you your speed, but it is set rather low so you need to consciously look down in order to have a look. A simple trip computer within the gauge also has a RPM readout, among other things. That is pretty much it though. This bike is all about riding in style and taking your time to soak it all in, not getting distracted by electronics.

The Fat Boy feels very happy doing one thing - going fast in a straight line. That’s where it feels on point, with tree-wrecking power at a twist of the throttle for easy overtakes, while the wide tyres give incredible stability.

The Milwaukee-Eight 114 engine feels very modern, yet retains a fairly characterful sound that reverbates off the 2-into-2 offset shotgun exhaust. It redlines very early, giving about the peak of 160 Nm at 3,000rpm, so upshifting early and quickly is how it likes it. For such a heavy and large bike, the Fat Boy is plenty quick.

Where things start to unravel a little is when you ask more questions of it in the corners. Because of the wide tyres particularly in the rear, there is an unusual handling quirk where the bike will give a little wiggle when you corner at a certain angle. It isn’t dangerous, but the bike just wants to do something else rather than what you wish it did - sometimes. Because of this sensation I didn’t really feel very confident riding it fast into turns, and it didn’t help that the steering felt fairly detached too.

The Fat Boy in its latest update still looks as stunning as ever. It’s a classic design that, I think, will never go out of style, already being entrenched in the history books as an icon. The way it rides is a little old school and unsurprising - I wished for more agility but it would be tough given the design parameters of the bike. Still, it’s an experience that should be cherished and enjoyed by all - one of the feelings we will surely miss when electric bikes become the norm.

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Credits: Text by James Wong; Photos by Clifford Chow