Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Anniversary Model
HARLEY-DAVIDSON ELECTRA GLIDE ANNIVERSARY MODEL
NEW FOR '93
SAME OLD HARLEY STYLE, SAME OLD HARLEY SUBSTANCE
THE HYMN OF THE HARLEY IS A tough one to miss. The score calls for four-part harmony, and its text praises Harley Style, Harley Tradition and Harley Reliability.
That, at least, seems to be the popular view, and actually spending time aboard a Harley-Davidson-one like this FLHTCU Anniversary model, for instance-does little to diminish those expectations.
The Harley Hymn is an easy one to grow to like. For starters, there is a full chorus of happy owners singing it, so if you decide to pick up the tune, you won’t be singing solo. Also, there are good things to sing about.
The bikes are solid and reliable, their build quality is quite good, and the finish applied is excellent.
All of this is true of the bike you see on these pages, a gorgeous gray-on-silver, top-ofthe-line touring rig-a dresser, in Harley-speak. This is one of Harley’s six 90th Anniversary models, bearing anniversary paint, cloisonné tank badges, and a suggested retail price of $16,099. The same bike, but in a solid color and without the anniversary emblems, sells for $15,349.
In spite of its breathtaking price, this new Harley is just like the old Harleys-which is to say, familiar as always, different only in detail. The fundamentals remain unchanged: The 1340cc, 45-degree, air-cooled VTwin, the non-unitized, five-speed transmission, the twin-shock, backbone frame, the cast-alloy, 16-inch wheels. As always, the engine supplies solid, if not startling, motive force. It’ll pull steady-state speeds on level ground forever, but if you’re looking for something with which to make blitz-like uphill passes while hauling a passenger and luggage, this isn’t the engine.
Sharp-eyed readers will spot two changes for ’93: the saddlebag lid locks, and the clutch and front-brake levers. The saddlebag lids themselves are essentially the same as before; but now, instead of being completely removable from their respective bags, they’re held in place by a sort of double-articulated locking hinge.
It’s a clumsy system until you learn its mannerisms. Harley claims 15 percent increased saddlebag capacity-mostly due to a relocation of the battery, which formerly intruded into the right bag’s space and is now located under the seat-but we wonder why the bags weren’t made even bigger at redesign time. The saddlebags remain thin enough that serious packing is accomplished only with the foreknowledge that any clothing so packed will be wrinkled, and that a traveling steam iron had better be part of the entourage. At least the cavernous, sideopening tour trunk remains, maybe the best piece of hard luggage in all of luxo-touring.
Kudos all around to the designers of Harley’s new “blade-type” clutch and brake levers. These have a more acute dog-leg in them, and are very nicely contoured to fit the hand. A good deal.
A change less easy to see concerns the relocation of the bike’s remote oil reservoir-the engine retains the traditional H-D dry-sump design-to a large, flat pan under and behind the transmission. This is arranged so that oil level is checked with a sturdy, articulated dipstick mounted to the Oringed filler cap, with oil level markings separately indexed to measure hot or cold oil.
One important element that separates Harley’s touring bikes from the rest of the company’s line is the use of air-assisted suspension on the dressers. It’s a good idea, but poorly executed. Pressure is adjusted via a Schraeder valve awkwardly placed between the left passenger footrest and the left saddlebag. Since air pressure must be checked with the machine on its sidestand-it has no centerstand-you really have to reach down to access the valve. And the air system has so little overall capacity that to merely check the pressure is to reduce it by at least a little. Likewise, just a touch with a typical gas-station air hose-there is no onboard compressor-rockets the pressure into the stratosphere.
That isn’t where it needs to be. Traveling two-up, with all three hard bags loaded, we settled on about 12 psi-2 psi over what’s recommended-to split the difference between uncomfortable rear-suspension harshness and crashing into the suspension stops as we rode over chuckholes. Up front, we rode with the fork pressurized to 6 psi-15 psi is the recommended figure-and were satisfied with the result.
Satisfied: That’s precisely the correct description of what you are as you cruise along America’s interstates on this piece of two-wheeled Americana. The bike will cruise solidly and securely, even close to its 94-mph top speed, with nary a waver or a wobble.
But clearly it’s much more comfortable down at Mom-and-Pop speeds, where its massive, undersquare engine isn’t straining.
Cruising along in sight-seeing mode, you’ll notice, in addition to the passing countryside, the Harley’s rich paint and its rich chrome plate. You’ll also see a dash that is as much 1965 Peterbilt as it is anything else, complete with acorn nuts holding the windscreen to the fairing, and, from left to right, voltmeter, speedometer, fuel gauge, tach and oil-pressure gauge read from big, round, white-onblack dials. Also present is a large chromed-and-knurled knob that makes turning back the trip odometer a snap.
Less a snap is use of Harley-Davidson’s handlebar switchgear. It’s large, unwieldy and clumsy, perhaps the least ergonomically suitable switchgear found on any contemporary motorcycle. Sure, after a while, you learn to use it, but why should you have to, when the activation of every other manufacturer’s switchgear-horn button, high-beam switch, etc-is virtually automatic, a no-brainer?
No such problems for the Harleymounted passenger, who gets a comfortable seat complete with backand armrests, and separate radio controls.
In large measure, touring with a passenger is what this bike is about, in spite of its less-than-wonderful luggage accommodations. Its character and comfort levels invite you to take your time, and its engine and suspension demand that you do, which is not such a bad thing. In fact, slowing down and drinking in the scenery is one of the things that make this bike, complete with its flaws, so endearing. One thing Harley-Davidsons are rich in is character, and that’s very much true of this latest Electra Glide. It’s the kind of thing that fuels the chorus that sings Harley’s praises.
Still, you’re forced to wonder how rich and full the Harley Hymn would sound if the few remaining flaws that mar this bike were engineered out of existence.
H-D ELECTRA GLIDE
$16,099
HORSEPOWER/ TORQUE
