– Motorcycle News, Editorials, Product Reviews and Bike Reviews Motorcycle News, Editorials, Product Reviews and Bike Reviews Harley Unveils Softail Cross Bones in Hollywood Hollywood’s world famous Viper Room was the scene of the unveiling by Harley-Davidson of its latest creation, the Softail Cross Bones. Powered by the latest Harley engine, the Twin Cam 96B with 6-speed transmission, the Cross Bones nevertheless invokes a much earlier era of custom motorcycles. Together with the Nightster, Night Train, Night Rod Special and Street Bob, the Cross Bones joins a new family of “dark customs”. Follow this link to find out more about this group of motorcycles. Here is Harley’s press release on the Cross Bones. Willie G and Bill Davidson were on hand at the Viper Room to introduce the Cross Bones MILWAUKEE (January 21, 2008) – The new Harley-Davidson FLSTSB Softail Cross Bones cuts the aggressive profile of an authentic custom bobber, but with some dark twists that deliver a wickedly fun and emotional riding experience.

The new Softail model was announced today at the Harley-Davidson Winter Dealer Meeting in San Antonio. With the retro look of a Springer front end and other post-war era bobber styling cues like a sprung solo seat, half-round rider footboards, Gloss Black round air cleaner cover and chopped front fender, the Softail Cross Bones rides with a Black and Polished Twin Cam 96B powertrain, 6-speed Cruise Drive transmission and truly unique Softail suspension. “Only Harley-Davidson could do this bike,” said Bill Davidson, Harley-Davidson Vice President, Core Customer Marketing. “It’s a motorcycle inspired as much by our early Knuckles and Pans, as by our desire to deliver innovative technology and content to make the ride today as magical and transforming as only a Harley-Davidson can. Cross Bones is a bike that makes me want to strap a blanket across the handle bar, hit the campgrounds on my next road trip and get totally in touch with what’s right about this land.” As the latest of several Harley-Davidson Dark Customs, Cross Bones melds stripped and chopped custom creativity with rough and raw finishes.

Soul mates of the Cross Bones include the Nightster, Night Train, Night Rod Special and Street Bob. As each Harley-Davidson Softail motorcycle declares its styling independence with exclusive components and inspired craftsmanship, the Cross Bones is a bold addition to an already free-spirited family. Many features of the Cross Bones and other Softails are reminiscent of restless riders of the past, whose defiant attitude resonates with those who march to their own beat in any generation.air purifier sharp murah The Softail name originates from its rear suspension design, with a swingarm section that honors the lines of a vintage rigid frame, while delivering a smooth, comfortable ride. sharp air purifier and ozoneHidden horizontal coil-over rear shock absorbers are strategically mounted out-of-sight below the powertrain. ceiling mounted air purifier philippines

counter-balanced Twin Cam 96B powertrain is rigid-mounted in the Softail frame to give the rider a core connection to the motorcycle. Harley-Davidson Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI) is standard on all Softail models, as is the 6-speed Cruise Drive transmission with its accommodating clutch lever effort. The Softail Cross Bones takes on the road with a rebellious expression accentuated by a Gloss Black painted Springer front end with chrome springs, black bucket headlamp and black mini ape-hanger style handlebar. While the chopped front fender exposes more of the front wheel, a Bobtail fender does the same for the wide 200 mm rear tire. Tires with matching treads ride on Steel Laced wheels with Gloss Black painted rims. The sprung solo seat, gloss black round air cleaner cover and old-style half-round rider footboards form a nostalgic focal point of the Cross Bones, recalling images of a classic era on this contemporary motorcycle. With two coiled springs underneath, the adjustable two-position Cross Bones seat rides in modern comfort at a height of 26.6 inches.

A distinctive Softail horseshoe-shaped oil tank with the time-honored Harley-Davidson patent badge is located below the seat. An authentically designed five-gallon fuel tank sports a gloss black “cat-eye” styled console with accessible ignition switch and a new speedometer face. A hand-laced leather tank panel on the console compliments the sprung solo seat. A straight shot exhaust system with chrome slash-cut mufflers provides optimum performance and stands out in contrast to the Cross Bones’ many darker components. The FLSTSB Cross Bones is available in premium custom graphics with wicked striping and paint featuring new Dark Blue Pearl, Dark Blue Denim, as well as Vivid Black, Black Denim, Olive Pearl and Pewter Denim. Distinctive five-gallon fuel tank with hand-laced leather tank panel and striping Optional Smart Security System Aggressive throwback styling taken to a place altogether new. No need to shine this machine. Just get on and tear up the nearest street.

A great leap forward in the dark arts. It was one of the early Dark Custom™ motorcycles. A dark pioneer of raw, blacked-out, stripped-down custom aggression. It's been moving forward ever since. Check out the beefy suspension. Custom details like the rolled leather seat and jaw-dropping pipes and wheels. All the details are dialed in tight. The Iron 883™ motorcycle. Welcome to the state of the Dark Custom™ motorcycle art. 2000 harley davidson roadkingYOU ARE HERE: HeraldMail HomeCollectionsHarley-davidsonNot too long ago, I reviewed Harley-Davidson's FLSTSC Softail Springer Classic in this column. I wrapped it up by stating, "Add fishtail exhaust tips, swap out the seat for the deluxe saddle and you're on your way back to the future. Now, if there were a way to add retooled heads to resemble the 1948 Panhead that served as the bike's inspiration, and a floating single seat, it would suit me even more."The bike that I tested was a fuel-injected model finished in Lava Red Sunglo over Vivid Black.

The "horseshoe" oil tank was done in black, sporting the motor company's vintage patent label for nostalgic emphasis. The bike's base sticker was $18,070 while the "out-the-door" total came to $21,356.58.Perhaps the biggest problem with reviewing Harley-Davidson motorcycles is that I tend to hang out at the dealership more frequently than most, which exposes one to some pretty cool iron on a regular basis. I was smitten with both the Softail Deluxe and the Softail Springer Classic when they made their debut in Sturgis in 2004, but I actually gravitated more toward the Springer due to its greater nostalgic flavor.I had been toying with the idea of acquiring a genuine classic bike, but given the reality of reduced dependability, higher upkeep, sacrificed comfort (face it, pushing a button is much easier and less strenuous than kick-starting an ancient ride) and puddles of oil, I decided to go in another direction - making a new bike look like an older one, while enjoying modern technology and reliability.

There just happened to be a carbureted, Softail Springer Classic finished all in black that had been sitting on my dealer's showroom floor for a couple of months. Nobody except me showed any interest. It seems that most potential buyers tend to shy away from springer front ends in general, while also preferring fuel-injected motors over carburetion.Increased exposure during repeated visits intensified my interest (make that lust). Then I received a letter from the Motor Company as a HOG member, offering $1,000 in parts and accessories for the purchase of any new Softail model before the end of the month. That did it - but how was I to justify the purchase of another Harley, since I had just gotten a Police Road King and modified it the year before? Not to worry, just use the "sale" psychology that my significant other always uses: "Honey, guess how much money I just saved?"First things first - a deal was negotiated for the neglected model that had been sitting on display for too long, then a seat swap was made with the Deluxe model, and parts were ordered to enhance the bike's "Old School" flavor and look.

I sat down with in-house custom guru "Raider" Jeff and picked his brain during more than one lengthy session, selecting parts that would blend harmoniously to give my ride that vintage, collectible look. I chose teardrop-shaped mirrors to match the front axle covers that I had picked out, nostalgic handlebar grips and floor boards for both rider and passenger, a classic derby cover and round air cleaner, a unique solid tank cap for the left side to match the right, with edge LED fuel level indicators, a lay-down license plate holder, a vintage horn and extended directional light bezels.With my first service, I opted for a Knucklehead Rocker Cover kit to replace the stock units, Flash Gordon (or Classic Fish Tail) slip-on exhausts and a carb modification kit. Shop mechanic Barry, having installed a couple of PanHead conversions, would perform the surgery. It turned out that the Knucklehead kit was nowhere near a bolt-on application, and required both internal and external grinding to fit properly, along with shimming the rear tank mount for clearance.

The exhaust necessitated shortening and adding spacers for the desired effect, and since there is no stock mount for the vintage horn, a custom bracket was fabricated courtesy of shop Service Manager Terry. Thom MacIlhattan, the dealership owner, actually surrendered his Knucklehead Rocker kit for my bike and found reproduction FL stainless front and rear fender trim pieces which will become a project for later on.The mechanicals for the bike remain essentially the same - a 1450 cc (88-cubic-inch) air-cooled, Twin Cam 88 pushrod-operated OHV, V-Twin connected to a five-speed, sequential manual transmission, driving the rear wheel via a final belt drive. There's a better throttle response with the carb mods, and the exhaust note is definitely much sweeter. At 3,000 rpm, the motor delivers a satisfying 85 lbs.-ft. of torque - further tweaking will yield even more.The nostalgic Tombstone taillight was already in place on the rear fender, adding to the bike's heritage look. Wheels are standard 16-inch chrome lace types, with fat blackwall Harley-Davidson Series tires by Dunlop.No, my ride isn't an 88-inch Knucklehead, though there are those who believe that it is, while others have mistaken it for a restored vintage bike.