Harley Davidson Fatboy Ride Review: FAT Couture

PERFORMANCE

Engine and Gearbox

Powered by a 1690cc Twin Cam 103 v-twin motor, the ‘power’ row in Fatboy’s spec sheet reads 61 bhp @ 5200 rpm – which seems unimposing for its engine size. But big-daddy V-twins have always been about torque rather than outright power. The Harley Davidson Fatboy cranks out a meaty torque figure of 132 nm at a super low 3250 rpm. All of that gut-wrenching twisting force is sent to that massive 200 section rear wheel via a belt drive spinning the huge pulley (sprocket) at the rear.

Thumb the starter and the Fatboy fires to life in a blink emanating the traditional Harley V-Twin rumble. Enchanting to the ears, one might just keep twisting the throttle during idle to hear the exhausts singing the potato symphony. The Fatboy’s six speed gearbox isn’t the most refined out there, but ain’t bad either. It’s only the first gear that slots with an audible clunk while the rest of the gears shift with minimum fuss.

Twist that wrist with a sense of urgency and the Fatboy surges forward. The acceleration is not urgent in sportbike fashion, but self-assured and convincing. Without even beginning to warm up, the Fatboy will take you to triple digit speeds. Before you slotted into even the third gear, the tacho needle is well past the 100 kph mark with the engine asking to shift into third gear. The Fatboy feels relaxed doing triple digit speeds in third and that v-twin laziness starts to show as you keep shifting to higher gears. The sixth gear is so tall that doing any less than 120 kph leads to some knocking from the engine.

The lazy chugging trait of the Fatboy doesn’t mean you cannot have fun. While the sixth gear is best treated as an overdrive, one can play around with the rest of the gears. There is a sudden spike of torque higher up the rev-range and can be experienced in all except the top gear. It was fun keeping the throttle pinned to the max in fifth gear and the Fatboy would suddenly kick up that wild thrust once the needle gets to the 120 mark and shows some resistance only when the 160 kph mark comes up. Though that isn’t the right way of treating the Fatboy or rather any Harley (except the V-Rod), it does add a dash of spice to an otherwise languorous set of wheels which love munching miles without even making an effort.

Next page for HANDLING, RIDE QUALITY & BRAKING