2009 Harley-Davidson CVO Fat Bob - Personality Transplant

Harley's Fat Bob, which debuted last year, was the anti-cruiser: a stripped-down, bare-knuckle street fighter, or at least H-D's conception of one. With a beefy 16-inch front wheel, seemingly dual-sport inspired chunky tire treads and the double headlight, it was a slam dunk to be included in Harley's edgier Dark Custom marketing plan. If the Fat Bob had a persona, it would be a thug. Or a pitbull.

Well, it looks like the pitbull put on some lipstick. Or the thug tried on a sequined dress, garish lipstick, clear heels, and glitter. It's not a stretch to say that if Liberace was alive today, he might own this motorcycle. It's fabulous and butch all at the same time. Okay, we might be overstating it, but has there ever, in the decade of Harley's CVO (Custom Vehicle Operations) project been a bike that less resembled its base model? In the past, just about all of the CVO (previously Screamin' Eagle)-branded bikes have been significantly different from the bike they derived from, but without an exception, they were enhanced versions that perhaps an average buyer of said model might have done on their own anyway. In the case of the Fat Bob, it's not enhancement, it's more like a reimagining. Raw, dark and dangerous becomes flashy, bright and brassy. We might be tempted to slam this bike and it's extra $10k worth of whistles, bells and baggage if it weren't for two things: a) Makeovers like this are what customizing is all about and b) It works so darn well.

In a world with ground-up custom machines that are easily accessible via cable TV, the CVO Fat Bob draws a crowd. Part of that is what a departure it is, both from itself and from current custom trends. While the Kool Kids are rockin' the flat paintjobs and stripped-down aesthetics, Mean Joe Average still has a big 'ol soft spot for gobs of chrome and flashy paint. There are still those in our business would be loathe to put a black motorcycle on the cover of a magazine (ahem, this issue), because nothing makes the non-rider pick up the rag like a bike painted like a beach ball.

Which is not to say the CVO 'Bob isn't tastefully done (despite our teasing). The truly twisted genius of the bike's design is that it takes what was a ride the Kool Kids might like and makes it into one that Mean Joe Average would swoon over, by doing something that a Kool Kid would never do: slapping on some flashy graphics and throwing the H-D Accessories Catalog at it.

"Throwing the catalog" might also be hyperbole, but the bike did gain 25 pounds from the more sedate standard Fat Bob. Obvious are the chrome covers, spacers, bracketry, forks, etc. Slightly more obscure are the details like braided steel lines, a custom pipe with a black painted header pipe (under the heat shields) for contrast, color matched frame and swingarm and the unique custom dash and faux suede seat. The bars are a more humane "flat track" style, low-rise bar, replacing the attitude-driven drag bar of the original, which also gained internal switch wiring and fattened to 1.25 inches.

The profile of the bike was changed with a lowered fork (compared to other Dynas), flattening the bike out, while the bike gained revised suspension spring rates and damping to do more with less travel. The result is a plush ride most of the time, with a tendency to bottom out on big dips and bumps.

Not all of the styling touches necessarily hit it out of the park: an associate compared the chin spoiler to a St. Bernard's rescue keg, while the very solid brake rotors/carriers obscure the cast aluminum black and chrome "Fang" wheels behind them. Don't worry, we know they're there.

The looks of the bike are abundantly obvious and you're going to either love them or be blinded by them, but its the overall feel of the bike with its plentiful power and crisp handling that really got our interest. The 110-inch Twin Cam motor (vs. the 95-incher found on most Big Twin Harley-Davidsons) is no fire breather, but it is perfectly matched to this 725 lb. bike to make it a real hoot to ride. In Harley's CVO ultra-heavy Ultra Classic Electra Glide, the 110 is just enough to get it out of its own way In the slightly slimmer CVO Road King, it's playful fun, while in this bike it actually feels like a worked big-bore motor. The unit itself is sprayed with a granite finish (differing from all other Harleys' black or polished-finish), and filled with H-D's own synthetic oil blend.

The 110, like any long-stroke engine, makes most of its power down low and likes to be short-shifted. H-D's Heavy Breather air cleaner and freer-flowing mufflers are reputed to help improve power as well, but if this were the case, shouldn't they come on all Harleys? The mufflers make for some soulful sounds that have to be close to the DOT-legal limit. In fact, we'd like to navely suggest that aftermarket pipes would be a waste of money on this bike, but you're probably not listening (or can't hear).

The Cruise Drive 6-Speed transmission is clunky, but positive, with a top gear made for puttin' down in the low revs for all legal highway speeds. A hydraulic clutch is employed to deploy a stiffer clutch spring than most Harleys (again, to deal with the larger motor). It has an engagement point practically on the grip, and is impossible to adjust. Perhaps the worst designed piece on the bike.

The Fat Bob's handling (mated to that sweet 110) is the crown jewel, and the key is the bobberish 16 inch front wheel and relatively light weight. The other light(ish) bike set up with a 16, the Fat Boy, is pretty fun as well, but with a 32-degree steering head angle (to the 'Bob's 29) and floorboards that like to drag, the 'Bob can hang it out a little more.

With a very neutral, relaxed riding pose, mid-length rides (at whatever speed) are easily done. The seat is slim and hard, but supportive, and the metal plate in the middle doesn't seem to screw with comfort too much. The natural-bend bars are neutral for just about anyone, while the forward controls tend to favor the tall. Plenty of comfort, in fact, to be able to rock a whole tank at 38 mpg (measured, unless you're Evan "WFO" Kay) and go for 150+ miles.

All these kind words are not to say this ride is without any warts (or surgery scars). There's one feature that's less than confidence-inspiring: when the bike gets hot, it turns off the rear cylinder at idle to keep heat under control. It's a nice thought, but it causes the bike to bounce as it plays the weird cadence of a single.

A refrain we as journalists all used to sing when it came to bikes like these, is that if you were going to buy all that stuff anyhow, it's totally worth the price of admission (in this case $25,299). However, H-D claims their market research suggests that the average CVO buyer spends an additional $10,000 on his bike, so it pretty well tosses our theory out the window. In any case, if you're down with rockin' it like Liberace, or if you like the odd dichotomy of a bobber reproduction blinged out with an extra 25 pounds of stuff, you might have to hurry to snap up one of the 2450 examples available for '09. Then again, times being what they are, you might pick one up for a steal.