Dual dampers, 119.5mm
wheel travel, adjustable for preload
Front Brakes
2x 292mm discs 1 piston caliper
Rear Brakes
Single 292mm disc
Front Tyre
100/90-19
Rear Tyre
130/90 HB16
Dry Weight
281 kg / 619 lbs
Fuel Capacity
18.5 Litres / 4.9 US gal
SCYTHING THROUGH TRAFFIC takes on a whole new meaning on a Harley. Mayhem
engulfed a marled up M25. The Rover's left front wing, wheel ind tyre were
write-offs. But the Harley, after T-Doning the lane-jumping mutha square-on at
25mph, was virtually unmarked. No bent forks, no buckled wheel and not even a
puncture. "Hasta la vista, baby,"
I smiled to myself behind my Texaco wraparound shades and genuine Harley
neckerchief. These things are tough.
And the soon-to-be superceded Low Rider Convertible remains (while stocks
last) one of the most rugged, yet practical, of them all. Even if mine was a
girly purple.
Harley-D label the Convertible as the versatile, functional machine of the
Low Rider series. With a squat, deep seat, leather-trimmed panniers and
detachable (hence the Convertible moniker) plexi-glass screen, this is the most
cosetted, well-equipped and long-distance comfortable Harley there is short of
an Electra-Barge.
Like all Low Riders, the short-assed, buttoned seat and supplementary highway
pegs up front give you two ways to cruise. Around town it's feet on the stock
pegs for gearchange and rear brake, a straight back, bent knees and the slight
feeling that something's not quite right. But leant back out on the open road,
with your legs stretched out up front it's time to relaaaax and where this, like
any big bore Harley, comes into its own.
Kick the floppy, heavy lever into fifth and it's like turning a record player
down from 45rpm to 33. Everything goes into a soft, lazy slow motion and you
enter your own little dream world: Northamptonshire's desolate wastes transform
into North Dakota, the A605 becomes the Adirondack turnpike and blazing summer
sun is an absolutely vital ingredient. It all sounds a little bit wanky, but as
surely as my cat craps on the carpet, it happens. And, being a Convertible, on
this Harley it happens all day long.
Weather conditions permitting, three hours and 200 miles in the saddle are
downright piddly on the Convertible. The deep seat is a sofa; the riding
position a roomy and relaxed sun-lounger and all the vitals for that weekend
with The Boyz stow easily in the plastic-backed, leather-fronted panniers
(although they won't quite take a full-face lid... maybe Harley doesn't realise
they've been invented yet).
For six-footers, the huge screen is just the right height for choosing
between either peering over or sheltering behind. Smaller bods, however, don't
get the same choice, and quite a few would have preferred to lob the thing
straight in a skip simply for looking so ungainly. But as a weather and wind
beater, it works well. After 150miles of 85mph motorway I didn't have an ache or
pain worthy of the name. Not 'normal' Harley behaviour maybe. But it makes the
Convertible a true long-distance tool.
There's also no denying that like most Harleys the Convertible exudes an
inimitable stylish class. (I say 'most' because the 883s, and 'Glides in
particular, can look disappointingly shoddy in some areas.) The paint and chrome
is superb; the gleaming, chunky, carved-from-solid metalwork is virtually
inde-structable (as a certain Rover driver from Wellingborough will testify) and
even the plastic switchgear, seat and leather panniers have a well-made,
'last-a-lifetime' feel to them.
And that, essentially, is what you get with a Convertible. Style, legendary
status and a few comforting frills. Performance, of course, isn't relevent
because Harley has never tried to deliver it. Instead you get softly thundering,
off the throttle pull... but just 90-odd mph; wooden brakes that'd be slated on
anything made by anyone else and shopping trolley handling.
All of these things are not, of course, what a Harley is all about — and
probably never will be. If you find yourself asking whether the Harley mystique,
warts and all, is worth what they want you to pay, it's unlikely you'll ever end
up buying one. In rational terms, there £10,000 anyone? Erm, yes, well...
is absolutely nothing the Convertible delivers that a Moto Guzzi California
won't at over £3000 less.
Except, that is, for kudos. A Harley is a Harley. It remains a unique
proposition, if you want one, that's what it costs. And the Convertible remains,
for my money, the most versatile Harley there is -there's no other Hog on which
I'd have happily done 200 miles yet still had the style and pose to impress.
Harley-Davidson obviously think so too as the '94 Convertible due in February
will get the smoother-still Dynaglide chassis, sharper steering and longer
travel suspension with improved damping. The Dyna Low Rider Convertible, will
still, in all likelihood, handle like a shopping trolley and it'll still be an
extremely desireable bike: the Harley that's as comfortable and practical as it
is stylish. Now isn't THAT an attractive proposition? □
Source Bike 1994
Any corrections or more information on these motorcycles will be kindly appreciated.