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Harley Davidson FXRS 1340 Low Rider Sport

Road Test Cycle Guide 1986

There's something missing in the current crop of Japanese cruiservees, something that's slowly but surely vanishing as each new generation hits the streets.

Many of today's city-slick cruisers place a premium on low seat heights and ever more radical seating positions, often at the expense of cornering clearance and long-term comfort. Consequently, as these bikes get more specialized and streetwise, they arguably become better cruisers, but practically drop to their knees at the city limits. What's missing in today's cruiser class is versatility.

Meanwhile, though, Harley-Davidson, the company whose motorcycles play role model to nearly every Japanese cruiservee, offers a cruiser that's as unexpected as seeing Eddie Murphy open for Oral Roberts. That motorcycle is the Low Rider FXRS Sport Edition—now its own discrete model after a successful year as the standard FXRS outfitted with the Optional Performance Sport Suspension. What makes the Sport Edition so unexpected—and what made the suspension package sell well—is the RS's uncommon versatility. Thanks to compliant suspension, a moderate riding position and a motor as agreeable as a Cadillac salesman during a fuel crunch, the FXRS-SE is more comfortable and more versatile than many Japanese vee-twin cruisers. In that Milwaukee-replica context, then, the RS-SE stands out as a shining overachiever.

Part of the Sport Edition's wide-band appeal lies under the polished aluminum of the bike's massive 80-cubic-inch engine. The rumbling 45 degree vee-twin delivers copious amounts of low-end punch with superb tractability, pulling hard from basement-level rpm and pouring out an unbroken stream of power right up to the 5200-rpm redline. Forays into the upper part of the tach aren't necessary, though, because there's plenty low-end and midrange for an instant thrust of acceleration anytime you snap the throttle open. What's more, the 34mm Keihin carburetor enhances the motor's agreeable nature by providing excellent throttle response and precise fuel metering.

And as an added inducement, the Sport Edition's motor produces its power while transmitting remarkably little vibration to the rider. True, if you let the revs drop below about 1800 rpm, the 1338cc veetwin quakes and shudders like a California fault line. But at boulevard trolling speeds, the SE's engine produces only a slight throbbing through the footpegs and grips, and as road speeds rise the Harley keeps its composure, clear until it begins to feel out of breath—and buzzy—at 85 mph. Overall, what little vibration that does get through to the rider amounts to little more than a subtle reminder that there's a pair of enormous pistons at work under the 4.2-gallon tank.

More compelling, perhaps, is that the Sport Edition's engine makes good with no radical changes compared to the '85 RS. Some minor alterations were made to the airbox and exhaust system in order to meet the new, stricter noise emissions standards, but otherwise the RS's Evolution engine remains a virtual carryover from last year's. As such, it also shares updates made to the V2 driveline since its introduction in 1984. During that period, Harley fitted a wet, diaphragm-spring clutch into the primary case, a change that both reduced the lever effort and broadened the clutch's engagement band. Then, in 1985, H-D replaced the RS's chain final drive with a Kevlar-reinforced belt. That change makes for a clean, quiet final drive system, and on the SE the belt didn't require an adjustment in more than 2000 miles of testing. In fact, the SE's final drive is virtually maintenance-free, putting the bike on par—in that respect—with shaft-drive Japanese cruisers.

It's the SE's chassis, though, that places it head and shoulders over most other cruiservees, and much of that superiority stems from the Sport Edition's plush suspension. In front, Harley mounts a Showa fork with 0.4-inch more travel than the standard FXRS's fork, and with 2-inch longer stanchion tubes and slightly softer springs. At the same time, the RS's twin Showa shocks have been lengthened by 0.8 inch—also providing 0.4-inch more travel than the base FXRS's—and come equipped with softer springs. As a result, the longer, more softly sprung suspension provides the bike with better compliance and more cornering clearance than before, in addition to lengthening the wheelbase slightly, and increasing rake and trail (31 degrees, 122mm for the SE, compared to 29 degrees, 107mm). The Performance Suspension also contributes to a 0.9-inch taller seat height than is the case with the standard FXRS, but most riders will be happy to sit fractionally higher in exchange for the SE's improvements in ride and handling.

Still, the suspension package comprises only two-thirds of the Sport Edition chassis' differences from the garden variety FXRS; an additional front disc brake completes the picture. Harley essentially doubled the stock FXRS's single-action disc brake setup, though for '86 the firm also juggled the hydraulic ratio for the front brake to provide slightly reduced lever effort. The results show that Harley's efforts were well spent, too, because lever effort is respectably light, and there's sufficient stopping power to lock the front tire at will.

There's nothing about any of those pieces themselves, though, that tips you off to how well this Harley works. Laid-back city-street cruising, especially, best exploits the Sport Edition's virtues. In that environment, the SE works extraordinarily well, with the bike's broad powerband again coming to the fore, offering near-effortless low-speed riding; you practically have to hit the kill switch to run out of low-end torque. At those speeds, the RS feels remarkably light on its feet, too, with the wide handlebar providing sufficient leverage to make the Sport Edition feel considerably lighter than its 592 pounds. And completing the Harley's cruising package is the Barcalounger-plush suspension. Admittedly, the Sport Edition's ride isn't quite touring-bike smooth, but few harsh jolts ever get to the rider, and the bike's suspension dispenses with large, rolling bumps with a soft, hydraulic squish.

The Harley's soft suspension doesn't hinder it on a twisty road, though. Set up for sport riding—which means setting the shock springs to their middle preload position—the Sport Edition can be hustled along a mountain road at a surprising clip. You can throw the Sport Edition into turns easily, thanks mostly to the handlebar's leverage and the bike's low cg, while the 19-inch front wheel, raked-out steering head angle, lengthy trail and wheelbase contribute to stability at speed, something the Sport Edition possesses in spades. And with the RS-SE's taller suspension, there's more cornering clearance to work with, too: You have to be right out to the edges of the sticky Dunlop Touring Elite tires before anything touches down. The engine doesn't have to be wound out to the edge during those backroad romps, though. Because of the Harley's wide powerband, there's torque aplenty to propel you out of corners with booming authority.

That style of tractable power delivery helps make the FXRS suitable for long-distance use, too. Top-gear acceleration from 60 mph is immediate and impressive: A twist of the throttle has the Sport Edition lunging down the road with amazing dispatch. And when you combine the SE's plentiful torque, almost negligible vibration at highway speeds, and soft suspension, you've got a remarkably long-legged cruiservee. What distances the Sport Edition from other cruiserbikes in that respect, though, is its riding position. The comfortable handlebar complements the bike's three sets of footpegs to allow riders to shift about easily, rather than being relegated to the single, laid-back position most other boulevardiers affect. Still, the Harley's long-haul aspirations are undermined somewhat by its saddle, because its soft padding sacks out quickly, making you want to press those three sets of footpegs into use.

What few rough edges the Sport Edition might have, however, simply cannot take away from the wall-to-wall grin the FXRS fosters after only a short time in the saddle. Here is a Harley-Davidson with its seams ironed nearly flat. More important, however, the corporate steam iron accomplished that successful marriage of components using tried-and-true Harley parts; the Sport Edition's difference is how the parts work together.

But there's more to the Sport Edition than its simply being a better Harley. The RS-SE not only represents the archetypal cruiser, it also affords its rider an unprecedented range of uses, and flies in the face of the notion that cruiservees need be narrow-focus, single-purpose motorcycles just to succeed in their own field. Quite simply, the FXRS is a versatile, multi-role player, one that bridges the gap between style and function with a straightforward kind of honesty. The Sport Edition is what every cruiser could be, and an example from which every cruiser manufacturer could stand to learn.

Nits:

•           No fork lock.

•           No centerstand.

•           No toolkit.

•           Large, bulky hand controls awkward to use.

Picks:

•           Highway pegs are adjustable.

•           Thumb-operated throttle lock is convenient.

RIDE REVIEW

Characteristically, cruiserbikes force me to make an unpleasant decision: Do I want to look good, or feel good? Ideally, I'd be able to do both, but it's impossible for me to do either on most cruisers, whose makers insist I contort my 6-foot frame into positions not anticipated by my Maker in order to ride their motorcycles. And it's hard for me to appreciate a cruiser's virtues—or any motorcycle's—with my knees jammed up into my armpits.

But the FXRS imposes no such ergonomic concerns on me. Its roomy accommodations make me feel pampered instead of pretzeled, a welcome guest instead of an add-on accessory. Harley engineers know that a cruiser should not only look good, but feel good, too, and for my money—more than $8500 of it, in this case—that's why the FXRS is my favorite cruiservee, regardless of make, model, or country of origin.—Jerry Smith

Even the uninitiated know there's a certain mystique associated with HarleyDavidsons. They appeal with a bad-boy, hey-look-at-me showiness that anyone, anywhere, notices and many envy. I had always been mesmerized by that H-D quality. And now that I was actually going to ride one, I anticipated being caught up in the spell.

I wasn't disappointed, either; the FXRS is everything I imagined a Harley to be and more. True to form, the bike's unmistakable styling attracts plenty of attention. Yet in cruise mode, the FXRS is seductive, with its surprising comfort and smoothness, and none of the notorious vibration I'd heard about. Here is tangible proof Harley-Davidsons offer more than just their image. But the discovery doesn't break any spell; it just increases the potency.—Tim Brodd

We get letters; lordy, do we get letters. If we complain about so much as the turn-signal switches on a Harley-Davidson, we hear about it from the faithful. No other motorcycle, it seems, moves its devotees to such impassioned defenses as the machines from Milwaukee. So it might surprise them that we like the FXRS. It's no surprise to us, though; we've liked the FXRS for years. In fact, it's become our yardstick of comparison for other cruiservees, and it's arguably the best motorcycle in Harley's entire line.

All of which makes us wonder why all Harleys aren't this good. We know H-D can make smooth, comfortable bikes with compliant suspensions; we know how good they can be from the FXRS. But until they are, we'll just brace ourselves for the next salvo. Incoming!—Charles Everitt

Source Cycle Guide 1986