Harley Dyna Low Rider

HARLEY DYNA LOW RIDER

QUICK RIDE

Success story in the making

CHANGE COMES SLOWLY at Harley-Davidson-for good reason. In the past decade, America’s sole remaining motorcycle manufacturer has become a bona fide success story by giving its customers just what they want: meaty, all-metal motorcycles with made-in-the-USA styling, powered by whacking great V-Twin motors.

Which brings us to one of Harley-Davidson’s newest models, the 1993 FXDL Dyna Low Rider. You are forgiven if this bike looks not much different to you than past Low Rider models. That’s an intentional strategy on Harley’s part, so as not to alienate the faithful with too radical a departure from usual H-D fare. But scratch below the Dyna’s familiar silhouette and you’ll discover many new components, chief among them the Dyna Glide chassis.

This chassis debuted in 1991 on the limited-edition Sturgis, then went into full production last year with the Dyna Glide Custom and its low-volume counterpart, the Dyna Daytona. In 1993, two production models, the Dyna Low Rider and the Dyna Wide Glide, carry this chassis, built around a frame that uses a large-section backbone made of square-steel tubing, and that hangs the engine from two rubber-isolation mounts rather than the usual four of other rubber-mount Harley-Davidsons.

For ’93, different support plates and a new compound of rubber have been used to further smooth out engine vibrations. At idle, the pistons’ beating sends shakes throughout the bike, and at low revs, there is still a fair amount of quaking; but once the tach needle sweeps past 2000 rpm, things calm down considerably. At normal freeway speeds, the Dyna Low Rider is one of the smoothest bikes around.

Another welcome change for the new year is the addition of longer rear shocks. This gives a slightly better ride and also raises the rear of the bike for increased cornering clearance, which was in short supply on previous Dyna Glide models. It’s still possible to deck hardware, especially the lower muffler, but it now takes more work. The shocks raise seat height about a half-inch, a worthwhile trade-off considering the benefits gained.

Straight-line performance provided by the FXDL’s engine, while not breathtaking, is soulstirring. Leave outright speed contests to other riders on different bikes, and just bask in the syncopated exhaust beat and the easy-revving, torquey nature of the 1340cc V-Twin. The bike’s near-50-mpg average and 4.9-gallon tank will allow you to enjoy the engine for an easy 200-plus miles between fill-ups.

The Dyna Low Rider proves two things: (1) The more things stay the same at HarleyDavidson, the more they change; and (2) the Dyna Glide models, now in their third year of production, are ready to write their own success story.

-David Edwards