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Harley Softail Slim cruiser

The Slim is intended to be a direct interpretation of home-built customs of the 1940s.

The US-based company owns this section of the bike market with seven of the ten best-selling cruisers so far this year and the Softail Slim will only improve that. 

The $26,995 machine is officially launched on September 1 but Harley dealers should already have a test bike on their showrooms. The Softail Slim fuses Harley's latest twin-cam engine in a classic, stripped down bobber frame styled from the 1940s.

The styling includes a horseshoe oil tank, retro half moon footboards, retro speedo face, Hollywood handlebars and black steel-laced wheels. "It's time to make the engine the focal point of the motorcycle," Harley-Davidson senior designer Casey Ketterhagen says, "so we put a Softail on a diet to get the proportions back in check." 

"I'd personally like to strip the bike down even further but this is as far as we can go on a production model. The Slim is intended to be a direct interpretation of home-built customs of the 1940/50s, and we used a number of components that evoke that era."

The beast is powered by the 1690cc TwinCam 103B V-twin engine cranking out 134Nm through a six-speed gearbox. To keep the rear of the motorcycle clean, the Slim has combination stop/turn/tail lights and a side-mounted license plate.

The powertrain is finished with polished covers instead of chrome, and the black cylinders are left unhighlighted. The FL front fender is trimmed to expose the tire and give it the pared-down look Ketterhagen was chasing.

"The bars are nice and low, too, so when you're riding you have an unobstructed view forward, which reinforces the idea that this is a very elemental motorcycle, a real back-to-basics ride," he says. An optional security package will add a proximity-based keyless start system and ABS brakes.

First quarter cruiser market

Yamaha XVS650: 223
Harley-Davidson Fat Boy: 167
Harley-Davidson Fat Bob: 151
Harley-Davidson Wide Glide: 146
Harley Davidson Softail standard: 144
Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight: 142
Harley-Davidson Night Rod Special: 129
Ducati Diavel: 118
Harley-Davidson Iron: 883 117
Triumph Thunderbird: 111