If the name
Softail Bad Boy seems a contradiction in terms, just call it the FXSTSB for
short. Whatever the designation, the latest Springer is a stylistic nod to
the Knucklehead and the black-and-white movies of the 1940s. jimmy Cagney
would have ridden a Bad Boy.
Introduced in
1995, the Softail Springer with-an-attitude traded chrome for the black
outfit of the boulevard bandito. The Bad Boy wore the slotted disc rear
wheel of the
Custom and the
smaller 4.2-gallon 0 5.9lit) fuel tank of the Springer.The studded,
deeply-stepped saddle and forward-mount foot controls put the rider in the
classic sit-up-and-beg posture. With seat height an inch (2.54cm) less than
the Sportster Hugger, the rider sits more in than on the bike.
The price was
$13,850, available in any color so long as it was black.
The Bad Boy
carried over to 1996 with only moderate revisions. More chrome had turned
black, seat height dropped still lower to 25.75 inches (65.4cm) and the
machine lost five pounds (2.27kg). The electronic speedometer arrived and
the price went up by $575. The Black Bart color scheme remained the only
option, but the tank and fender graphics were offered in choices of either
yellow, purple or turquoise.
Designer Willie G.
Davidson has shown an affinity for black motorcycles, as evidenced by the
XLCR Café Racer and the Sturgis. The classic British machines such as the
Brough Superior and Vincent Black Shadow were ebony-coated constructs with
chrome and polished aluminum highlights. Something about big motorcycles and
lustrous black finish complements both the mechanical bits and the shapes
and lines of the overall design, without colors competing for attention.
The Bad Boy
rekindles the imagery of the past framed in the hardware of the present. The
Softail chassis geometry was revised for slightly more rear wheel travel,
and the new quieter, smoother-shifting gearbox and slotted floating disc
brakes bring standards of contemporary performance. But the Bad Boy sells on
its bold profile and patent leather sheen; Milwaukee's version of the
Batmobile.
