Harley 2010 FXDWG Dyna Wide...
Harley 2010 FXDWG Dyna Wide Glide
First Look
Harley-Davidson unveiled its 2010 model line at its annual dealer show in Denver, Colorado. And despite a depressed economy, slumping sales and layoffs, there are no fewer than nine new models.
"I expected to hear some 'stuff' from the dealers, but all I heard was enthusiasm and dedication," reported Bill Davidson, VP of Core Customer Marketing and great grandson of company co-founder William A. Davidson. "We expect business to go through the roof once this recession is over."
According to Davidson, Harley is in the top 5 percent of recognizable brands worldwide, alongside such iconic names as Ferrari. Going forward, The Motor Company has a three-phased plan: 1) Invest in the brand, creating more for buyers to do; 2) Adopt a multi-generational approach to reach beyond the traditional "core" audience; and 3) Tap into the "dreamer pool" of some 15 million people who are interested in Harleys, but don't yet own one.
Your basic urbane bagger:...
Your basic urbane bagger: the FLTRX Road Glide Custom, resplendent in Vivid Black.
"Every customer a custom" is the motto for 2010. And at the top of the lineup is the Electra Glide Ultra Limited; Harley's best-selling model '09 (in spite of its $25K price tag) equipped with a longer list of standard equipment bits previously offered in the accessory catalog. Taking it from the top, there's a Twin Cam 103 engine said to produce 10 percent more torque than the standard TC96, along with anti-lock brakes, heated handgrips, security system, luggage rack, bag liners and a 12-volt accessory outlet. It comes in three base and two custom colors starting at $24,699.
Baggers fans will lust after the $18,999 Road Glide Custom, looking lean and mean with a cut-down windshield, slammed suspension, an 18-inch front wheel and 2-into-1 exhaust.
Heading up the Dyna line is the return of the $14,499 Wide Glide, with a fistful of nicely executed old-skool chopper touches including black laced wheels, a chopped rear fender, black "wire" sissy bar, 2-1-2 Tommy Gun exhaust and a limited-edition flame paint scheme.
Shown here in Opal Blue with...
Shown here in Opal Blue with Hellfire flames, the CVO Fat Bob is dressed up for 2010.
The $16,299 Fat Boy Lo is just what it sounds like: a Fat Boy with a super-low, 24.25-inch-high seat, shiny or matte-black paint, black exhaust with satin chrome mufflers and black 25-hole cast-aluminum disc wheels.
Last of the new regular Harley models is the Street Glide Trike, which joins the existing Tri Glide Ultra Classic in an all-new three-wheeled family for 2010. Boasting the racy model designation FLHXXX, it will sell for $26,999.
The $27,999 Softail Convertible (see First Ride, page 34) is the big draw in Harley's marvelously immoderate CVO lineup. The $30,999 Street Glide rolls into Milwaukee's Custom Vehicle Ops rotation with pinstripe flames and real gold-leaf graphics and 110 cubic inches of Screamin' Eagle muscle.
Moving up to the top of the bling-touring food chain, the CVO Ultra Classic Electra Glide comes with, well, everything: turn-by-turn GPS navigation system, 40-watt-per-channel Harmon/Kardon audio, heated handgrips and a heated leather seat. There's more capacious hard luggage to schlep your stuff, along with predictably extroverted flame graphics for $36,599.
Harley's top-drawer dresser:...
Harley's top-drawer dresser: the Ultra Classic Electra Glide is a transcontinental accessory catalog.
The CVO Fat Bob is back for an encore with new paint and Hellfire Flame graphics, LED taillight, slotted Fang wheels and a brown leather seat that looks like you've been sitting on it for years right off the showroom floor. Ante up $25,299 and you get the full custom treatment and the same warranty as Harley's more proletarian twins.
Also new, but not counted in the nine new U.S- models, is the international-market XR1200X, a matte-black and blacked-out XR with fully adjustable Showa suspension including a Big Piston fork. Though the X won't be sold stateside (yet?), its suspension will be offered to XR1200 owners as an accessory for $1500.