Harley-Davidson Fat Bob

All the cruisers from Harley-Davidson are well-known to possess immaculate bling, muscle and road presence, which have been taken to an altogether new level by the Fat Bob. It is one of the beefiest-looking cruisers in its price range, and the presence of a few modern features doesn’t make it feel old-school and dated, as it used to be an issue with Harley-Davidson cruisers once upon a time.

The Harley-Davidson Fat Bob greets you with a rounded rectangular all-LED headlamp at the front, which incorporates daytime running LEDs between it. This entire headlamp unit sits within a gloss black cowl which is in the shape of the headlamp, and also accommodates the heads of the upside-down front forks. The chunky-looking bobber-like front tyre has a chopped-style fender above it, while the rounded amber halogen turn indicators are mounted on the far stretches of the handlebar, below the palm grips.

The Harley-Davidson Fat Bob showcases its wholesome muscularity in its best form in its side profile. The peanut-themed fuel tank, which has become a trademark element of all the Harley-Davidson motorcycles, is larger here, while the humped dual seat has minimalist gloss black side panels below it. The pillion perch is small, which might not feel too comfortable for the pillion rider over long-distance riding.

More visual mass is visible in the engine area, where the Fat Bob houses the large blacked-out V-twin with copper-coloured exhaust pipes flowing towards the twin exhaust end cans stacked vertically on the right side. At the back, the Fat Bob has a chopped-off look for the rounded rear fender, which has dual-functioning rounded tail lamps mounted on its either side.

The Harley-Davidson Fat Bob has an interesting placement of the rounded instrument console – on an inclined panel above the fuel tank. This rounded unit gets an analogue tachometer and an LCD panel for the speedometer, odometer, trip meters and fuel gauge. The handlebar here is almost flat and comes with silver-finished levers for the front brake and clutch engaging and disengaging.

Harley-Davidson has played safe with the mechanical setup of the Fat Bob, with the muscular cruiser having 43mm upside-down telescopic forks at the front and a hidden mono-shock with preload adjustment at the rear. The motorcycle rides on a chunky-looking set of tyres – 150/80-16 front and 180/70 B16 rear over the 16-inch alloy wheels.

While this suspension and tyre setup gives the Fat Bob an amazing composure and comfort over long-distance riding, the Fat Bob can be strenuous to handle at lower city speeds and while making U-turns. The Fat Bob comes with a dual disc brake setup at the front and a single disc brake at the rear.

The mammoth stance of the Harley-Davidson Fat Bob is well-complemented by the huge four-stroke, Milwaukee-Eight 114 V-twin engine. As the name suggests, this engine displaces 1868cc (114 cu in) and produces a maximum power output of 95 PS and a peak torque output of 160 Nm. Much of the torque is available lower down the rev range and in the midrange, making the Fat Bob effortless to pull from any gear of the 6-speed transmission on offer.

The Harley-Davidson Fat Bob gets only dual-channel ABS, and nothing else, in the name of safety, which is quite surprising for a motorcycle of this stature.

The Harley-Davidson Fat Bob is all about road presence and a bossy riding experience over long distances at high speeds. While the lack of many features might make it feel overpriced, the Fat Bob compensates for that lack with its muscular persona and the huge V8 which packs in a lot of character.