1992 Harley-Davidson Dyna Daytona
1992 HARLEY-DAVIDSON DYNA DAYTONA
CYCLE WORLD TEST
From Milwaukee, a bike bred for The Beach
DAYTONA, THE WORULD'S MOST FAMOUS BEACH, where the pier juts out into the Atlantic Ocean and you can legally ride along the water's edge. Daytona, the World Center of Racing, where brave men have tested their abilities on two wheels and four, first on the beach itself and, since 1961, on the 31-degree banking of Daytona International Speedway. Daytona, one hell of a vacation spot. a place where sun and sand mingle with the sound of motors. where you'll get a tan whether you’re girl-watching or race-watching.
Paying homage to this special locale, the name Daytona has adorned all manner of vehicles, from Dodge Chargers to Yamaha RD400s to Triumph motorcycles old and new.
And now, the name Daytona is also found on a HarleyDavidson—the 1992 FXDB Daytona Dyna Glide, to be precise, commemorating the 1991 running of the 50th Daytona 200.
Entirely appropriate, considering the successes that America’s sole surviving streetbike manufacturer has reaped in America's premier motorcycle race: 16 times a Flarley-Davidson has crossed the Daytona 200 finish line first. In fact, Daytona Beach is almost a required stopover
be
a
for stalwart Motor Company devotees. Every year come March, thousands of them from all over the country head south for a week of revelry in Florida. The Run to the Sun, they call it.
This new Harley, then, is perfectly named. In an age where some new streetbikes are more at home on the high banks, the Dyna Daytona is clearly meant just forgetting you there.
That shouldn't be too surprising. After all, the Daytona is, in spite of its differences from run-of-the-mill Milwaukee V-Twins, still a Harley.
What’s so special about the Daytona? Well, it’s a limited-edition bike (just 1 700 will be produced) and it’s only the second model to bear the Dyna Glide designation. The 1991 Sturgis was the first, the yet-to-be-released Custom will be the third.
DYNA DAYEONA
Considering that they share the same family name, you would expect the Daytona and the Sturgis to have much in common. And you would be right: The two are essentially the same motorcycle. The deviations are mainly cosmetic. Where the Sturgis was trimmed in black, the Daytona has chrome. And where the Sturgis' fuel tank and fenders were black, the Daytona’s are painted in what the manufacturer happily calls a “two-tone Indigo Blue Metallic/Gold Pearglo.” Its wheels and rear belt-drive sprocket are done up in a complementary shade of gold.
But not all the differences are cosmetic; there are a few mechanical dissimilarities, as well. The Daytona has one more front disc brake than the Sturgis; and the Daytona’s handlebar is taller and sweeps back more toward the rider.
In virtually every other way, the two are identical. And the Daytona is powered by the same l 340cc, ohv V-Twin found on other current Harleys, albeit with some differences unique to the Dyna Glide line. These consist of elegantly simple updates, wrought to improve reliability, to ease maintenance or to accentuate “The Look,” that ingredient so important in sustaining the Harley-Davidson mystique.
Most noteworthy of these changes is the oil reservoir, cleverly relocated beneath the transmission. Shorter, tucked-in, external oil lines run from the reservoir to the dry-sump motor, helping to clean up the powerplant’s appearance.
Relocating the oil reservoir allowed Harley to dispense with the traditional under-seat oil tank. But, in the interest of making the Daytona resemble older Low Riders, the bike’s electrical components were relocated to within a chromed dummy oil tank under the left side of the seat. The bike’s battery, covered by a chromed sheath, lives under the seat on the right.
Another subtle change that debuted on the ’91 Sturgis and that is now found on the Daytona is the exhaust crossover tube hidden behind the header pipes, another move that dresses up the engine’s exterior.
But all of these changes are minor compared to the new Dyna Glide chassis. This frame employs a single, largediameter, square-section backbone that runs from the steering head to the swingarm pivot. Forgings, rather than stampings, are used at all major frame junctions. And, where FXRand FL-series Harleys use a four-point engine-isolation mounting system, the Dyna Glide chassis uses just two.
The system is simple and effective. Thumb the starter button and the motor fires, then settles into a steady idle, the bike rocking like the world’s coolest vibra-massage machine, its fork legs and front wheel shaking noticeably. You’ll only detect this vibration at slow speeds, because once above 2500 rpm, things get eerily smooth. The engine is still buzzing away, but the rubber mounts let the bars, pegs and seat remain still, the mirrors buzz-free. The motor is happiest between 3000 and 4000 rpm, though it’ll willingly run on either side of those numbers, all the while pumping that telltale Milwaukee V-Twin exhaust note through its effective silencers.
In most around-town situations, the motor’s torquey power output lets you troll along in third gear. The shift lever has a rather long throw, but action is crisp, though we did occasionally encounter false neutrals, especially when trying to hurry the fourth-to-fifth transition.
Maneuvering at slow speeds is easy, thanks to a seat height lower than anything in recent memory, and a low center of gravity that belies the Daytona’s 61 3-pound dry weight.
We're still not enamored with Harley-Davidson’s switchgear, but at least you no longer have to hold the turnsignal button down for as long as you want the light to flash —this is the second year for Harley’s push-to-activate, self-cancelling turnsignals. We also appreciated the horn, which is as loud as most cars’—though we’d like to see a shorter reach to its button.
The Daytona is most at home rolling up the miles, its engine’s loping cadence well suited to freeway cruising. At 65 mph, it’s turning just 3000 rpm in top gear. The barseat-peg relationship is pleasing, the saddle itself comfortable, if a little on the firm side, and the stock highway pegs offer an alternate foot position that is much appreciated over the long haul..
A bike needs more than a good seating position to be comfortable, and we’re happy to report that the Daytona’s suspension is plenty compliant, though the dual rear shocks need more rebound damping, tending to spring back too suddenly after bumps. And it's too bad that when redesigning the chassis, Harley didn't see fit to give the DynaGlide bikes more rear-wheel travel. As it is, the Daytona has just 3 inches of travel out back, not enough for a modern roadbike.
Exit the highway onto a twisty backroad, and you'll find things happen slowly on the Daytona. The motor simply doesn't have enough oomph to speed matters up. Our test bike's engine, a 49-state model, may have been slightly off song or may have needed more break-in miles, as its acceleration at higher speeds was noticeably down from that of our '91 Sturgis. Though quarter-mile times for the two bikes were within a tenth of a second, the Daytona took 3.2 seconds longer to get to 100 mph. As of presstime, Harley had no explanation for the disparity.
Steering is similarly slow. With its raked-out steeringhead angle and long wheelbase, turning the Dyna Daytona requires advance planning. But once it’s on line in a corner, the Daytona stays put, holding a nice, steady arc. Changing lines mid-corner, you'll find, takes a hefty push on the bar, and good luck if you want to dramatically tighten your line: The sidestand and footpeg drag on the left, the lower muffler on the right.
If the Daytona’s cornering clearance is a bit lacking, at least its brakes are impressive. Used together, they stop the bike quickly, though the rear brake was more prone to
skidding than recent Harleys we’ve tested. The front brakes, however, are the best we’ve sampled on a Harley, definitely a cut above the single-disc set-up used on the Sturgis and most other current H-D Big Twins.
We have two remaining criticisms that have nothing to do with how the Daytona performs. First, there’s no toolkit, and, second, finding the folded-up kickstand with your boot is a challenging task. Minor complaints, perhaps, but both are details that should be addressed on a motorcycle that sells for $ 1 2,120.
Other than that, though, there’s not much to fault. The 1992 FXDB Daytona Dyna Glide is very refined, and not just for a Harley-Davidson. It’s a modern bike with strong ties to the past, updated enough to bring it into the 1990s, but not so sophisticated that it loses its earthy appeal.
We can’t think of a better bike for a Run to the Sun. B3
DYNA DAYTONA
$12,120
EDITORS'NOTES
I’VE GOT TO BE HONEST: RIDING THE Harley-Davidson Dyna Daytona is, to me, about as stimulating as driving my tired old pickup truck. The Daytona’s combination of high weight, low power and lofty price just isn’t my cup of tea.
But I'll readily admit that the Daytona does have its strengths. And,
given the right passenger, rambling and rumbling around on this Harley can be a lot of fun.
Who knows, I may someday acquire a taste for the subtler side of motorcycling. Then, maybe over a pot of tea, we could sit and chat about the virtues of the Dyna Daytona.
Until then. I’d rather spend the 12 grand on an 883 Sportster Deluxe and a Kawasaki ZX-1 1. That way. I’d have a choice of mounts for taking my girl to a restaurant or the movies. Which bike we'd take would depend on how late we were running. —Don Canet, Associate Editor
THERE S AN INTANGIBLE QUALITY THAT doesn’t appear in road-test specification tables, but which is an excellent measure of a motorcycle’s appeal. It’s called pride of ownership.
Now, I don’t own our Dyna Daytona test bike, but none of the people I met while riding it knew that. And the first few times someone said,
think my chest actually puffed out an
The hard-hearted tester in me probably should have told them that the bike was heavy, that its cornering clearance was limited, and that its acceleration and top speed were embarrassingly inferior to any 600cc sportbike’s. But, somehow, none of that seemed worth mentioning.
Maybe, at 30. I’m becoming tolerant in my old age. Or maybe I like the Dyna Daytona because it’s the best Harley-Davidson yet. —Brian Catterson, Managing Editor
“Hey, nice bike,” I inch or two.
THE GUYS DOWN AT COOKS CORNER. A l°cal bar/café/Harley hangout, know their Milwaukee products, so when 1 c^u^et^ UP astride the FXDB Daytona Dyna Glide (say that three times fast), it wasn’t long before the faithful gathered'round, poking, pointing
and asking questions. The parking-
lot consensus? A big thumps-up.
I like the bike. too. Its pearlescent-beige paint, set off with blue accents, is positively imperial. Its seating position is comfy, the buckhorn handlebar reaching out like the handshake from an old friend. The engine’s new rubber-mounting system actually lets more vibration seep through below 40 mph, but I don’t mind that at all, especially since the vibes go into hiding at highway cruising speeds.
Last year's Sturgis model was a Dyna Glide in stealth mode. This year’s Dyna Daytona is out in plain view. And the view is pretty darn nice.— David Edwards, Editor
