Deep inside the urban jungle of Milwaukee, WI there is a small motorcycle company that you probably never heard of called Harley Davidson. Started in 1903 by two magicians, Harley and Davidson, this small company would go on to become a small blip in the history of motorcycling.
Wait, that’s not how it went. Unless you’ve been living under a rock in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, you have heard and seen at least 70,920.1 Harley Davidson’s out on the roads; and that’s just in the past 30 days.
So how did this company that makes its living producing bikes that are in large part not on the cutting edge of technology? Simple really – by building exactly the kinds of bikes its customers want (except for a short period when they built the bikes their stockholders wanted).
Take the Harley Davidson Sportster Forty-Eight for example. The Forty-Eight combines the latest 1200cc Sportster running gear with looks that harken back to the days when men left for work and women didn’t (hate mail?).
Whereas sportbikes need to be recreated and upgraded every 37 days, cruisers are different. I’ve said it before (and I’ll say it again) cruisers are less about the how the bike works and more about how the bike makes you feel; something that dedicated sportbike riders don’t understand at all – and something I think they are, quite frankly, missing out on.
Since there have been hundreds of thousands of words written by more technically minded people than myself on what makes a 1200cc Sportster tick, I’m not going to go into all the details about the mechanics. What I’ll talk about is looks, ride, and feel; those things that 95% of the Forty-Eight’s target audience actually care about.
So first up is looks.
I personally find the Forty-Eight to be a stunning looking bike; from the slammed look to the fat tires, the Forty-Eight speaks to me. The fatter front tire necessitated a wider triple clamp which just adds to the bulldog look of the Forty-Eight. I’m sorry but unless you are some minimalist, drug-addled, idiot who thinks all bikes should be built looking like a plain-jane motorcycle just so you can customize it to your heart’s content, you’ve got at least agree that the Forty-Eight is a looker.
Maybe not your exact style (may I interest you in a 1200 Custom or Nightster?) but a looker nonetheless. Between Victory and its new High Ball and the factory “customs” that Harley Davidson is putting out, it’s a good time for cruiser buyers who want some old-school “flash”.
The Forty-Eight is part of Harley Davidson’s “Dark Custom” line-up. With its mostly blacked-out motor (although I would like to have seen it ALL blacked out including the covers) the Forty-Eight starts to look the part of a street brawler. Add in 16” front and rear wheels (with MT90B16 tire up front and 150/80B16 tire in the rear) and a few more blacked out bits and the look is complete.
Right then, so looking at the pictures will tell you all you need to know about the looks of the bike but how is it to ride? I would say that the Forty-Eight is Ninety-Nine percent incredible and One Percent horrible. And no, horrible, isn’t too strong a word.
The 99% part encompasses everything that we’ve come to love about Harley Davidsons and the 1% part is something that can be changed quite easily – however, I think I’ll leave you in the dark about it for a bit longer.
One of the things I have always loved about the Sportsters is how narrow they feel when you are sitting on them; well the “regular” Sportsters, not the Customs. That is due mostly to the peanut tank and no tank is more peanut than the one fitted to the Forty-Eight. With a total capacity of 2.1 gallons the fuel tank has enough fuel to get you between gas stations; as long as gas stations in your neck of the woods aren’t more than 80 miles apart (and I’d guess 60 to be on the safe side).
If filling up every 60-80 miles sounds like a hassle to you then have no fear….(here’s the 1% horrible part)….the seat fitted to the Forty-Eight will have your ass hurting so much that stopping for gas every 60 miles will feel like the best idea in the world. Of course running out of fuel would be good too as then you’d get to take a break from riding and walk for a bit.
I jumped on the Forty-Eight, roared (actually whispered with the stock pipes fitted) out of the hotel parking lot, through a handful of lights, over a bridge, and WHAM!, my ass was already hurting. Three miles into the day and I was already squirming around like a 5 year old on a 6 hour road trip. Not good. I actually took some time off to sit on a concrete wall just to take a break from the seat.
I stopped at the Ponce Inlet lighthouse to take some pics and two guys on Harley’s rode in. One of them came over to me and, without me saying anything about it, asked if I thought the seat was lousy. Seems a buddy of his had just bought a Forty-Eight a month ago and was also having issues.
Luckily, the seat can be changed (I’ll take a sprung seat please) and it wouldn’t stop me from buying a Forty-Eight; it wouldn’t even give me a moment’s pause.
Besides the seat, the rest of the Forty-Eight is just as good as I remember the Sportster being. With its light (by cruiser standards) weight of 567 pounds wet, the Sportster feels nimble and maneuverable while still being heavy enough not to get blown around by a passing Ultra Classic.
Not that an Ultra is going to be passing you very often unless you are on the highway thanks to the 79 ft lbs of torque the “little” 1200cc motor cranks out. Sportsters have always been the hot-rods of the air-cooled Harley Davidson line-up and nothing has been done to change that; just ask the guy on the Street Glide 103 that thought he could take me – guess not.
I found the Forty-Eight to fit my 6’ tall frame perfectly. From the forward controls which sit just about the perfect distance compared to the reach for the low bars, to the 26.8” seat height, I immediately felt comfortable and in control.
One of the things Harley Davidson did in the name of style was to flip the mirrors upside down on the bars. I like the look of the mirrors being below the bars, and guys with ape-hangers have been doing that for ages, I’m just not wild about it from a functional standpoint. Since the bars are so low, I found myself feeling like I was looking way, way, down just to see what was around me.
Now I’m sure that I would get used to the arrangement pretty quickly, and I can’t think of any place to put the mirrors that would look as good, but I still wasn’t a big fan of the arrangement by the end of my day with the bike. Ascetically pleasing – yes, functional – not so much.
Harley Davidson has some of the highest build quality in the industry and the tradition continues with the Forty-Eight. From paint to powdercoat the Forty-Eight looks and feels great. Harley Davidson has the nicest switch housings with a smooth feel when you touch the switches and a smooth feel when you press them.
Harley Davidson puts each turn signal switch on the side of the handlebar that correlates with that turn signal; left signal switch on the left side and right switch on the right side.
If you’re used to the standard L-R toggle found on just about every other bike, then it takes a bit to get used to but once you do it becomes second nature. The Forty-Eight, like all Harley Davidsons, comes with self canceling turn signals as well – this should be mandatory on every bike made.
I think the thing I was most taken by about the Forty-Eight, possibly even more than the looks, was the handling. With the fatter front tire the Forty-Eight handled like no other Sportster I have ever ridden. Sure there was a bit of fork flex when pushed hard but the extra tire width up front gave me a great feeling of confidence and control.
The suspension on both ends was well damped and sprung for its intended purposes. This isn’t a sportbike or even a sporty cruiser so outright ride and handling take a backseat to pothole, bump, and manhole cover compliance.
Even though my ass hurt, my back never felt like it was being punished on anything except the largest, sharpest edged bumps. Were I to own a Forty-Eight I’d most likely leave the suspension alone as it works just fine.
The transmission is a 5 speed unit which you may think is a gear short in this age of 6 speed (or more) transmissions but with the broad powerband of the 1200cc motor you never feel like you need that extra cog. Shifts are accomplished with very little clunking and clanking and both upshifts and downshifts are accomplished smoothly.
The cable operated clutch is easy to squeeze and provides good feel and feedback. Not much to say about the transmission or clutch as they work like they should and therefore become pretty much invisible while riding.
If you ride a sportbike or a modern high-performance standard, the brakes will feel weak to you. They’re not – they just aren’t 2-finger strong. With a single rotor and dual piston caliper up front and a single piston caliper in the rear, stopping the 700+/- pounds of motorcycle (with you on it) requires a strong squeeze on the brake lever.
Not that the brakes don’t work, they do, it’s just a lot of weight being stopped by a small amount of braking surface. Not a big deal at the speeds you’ll be riding the Forty-Eight at though.
To sum all this up:
The Harley Davidson Forty-Eight takes the best parts of the Sportster line, adds in a fatter front-end and tire, wraps it all in a great looking package and ships it to your local Harley Davidson dealer with an MSRP of $10,499 (black) or $10,789 (Silver or Orange).
For this price you get, in my opinion, one of the best looking Harley Davidsons made today combined with the traditional Sportster 1200 power and rideability. Really, how can you go wrong? I’d buy one……and immediately change the seat.
Oh and if you were wondering about the name of the bike “Forty-Eight”, it is my understanding that was the first year Harley Davidson put a peanut tank on one of their motorcycles. So now you can stump your friends during games of motorcycle trivia – you’re welcome.
Pros:
- Great looks
- Confidence inspiring handling
- Harley Davidson’s build quality
Cons:
- The seat
- The thing your ass sits on that is covered in vinyl
- Did I mention the seat?
