Hot Harleys, Cool Buells
HOT HARLEYS, COOL BUELLS
HARLEY-DAVIDSON AND Buell announced their 1997 model lineups in early July, and once again, it was the smaller company with the bigger news.
The only “new” Harley model is the FSLTS Heritage Springer Softail (see test, page 40). Other H-D motorcycles received refinements, though, and none more than the FL series. The Tour Glide, with its frame-mounted fairing, was dropped from the line, while the FL Electra Glide and Road King models were modified to drop their seat heights by roughly an inch; the saddles were also narrowed at the front, effectively shortening the leg path to the ground. The FLs’ alternators now come with rare-earth magnets to boost capacity, battery sizes were increased by almost half, and fuel-injected models now come with their injection maps stored on flash memory. (This latter development allows them to be reprogrammed in conjunction with planned factory performance kits.) For the Sportster line, the 3.3-gallon fuel tank fitted to the 1200 models last year now comes standard on 883s. DynaGlides and Softails are largely unchanged.
Buell, however, has been busier, introducing three new motorcycles. The least expensive is the $9395 M2 Cyclone, a “civilian” version of last year’s SI Lightning. The Cyclone offers a conventionaland wider—tail section with true two-up seating capability, and uses the high-compression, light-flywheeled SI engine fitted with shorterduration cams. Buell claims 83 horsepower at the crank for the Cyclone, 8 bhp less than the SI, but with substantially more bottom-end and midrange torque.
Announced but not shown were the S3 Thunderbolt and its S3T touring derivative, which won’t arrive in dealerships until late ’96 or early ’97. While recognizably Thunderbolts, these share almost no components
with their S2 predecessors, and use frames derived from the SI design. The S3 engines are slightly retuned versions of the Lightning powerplant, with noticeably more midrange and comparable claimed peak power in the 90plus range. (This engine will also be used in the ’97 Lightning.) The S3s’ bodywork is all new, including a large-over 5gallon-rotomolded fuel tank that is much narrower between the knees than the S2’s tank cover. Saddlebags for the S3T are also all new, and are designed to answer criticisms of the S2T’s clumsy latches. The S3 will carry a price tag of $l 1,999, while the S3T will sell for $12,799. -Steve Anderson
