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Bikesales Staff20 Jun 2003
REVIEW

Harley-Davidson Night Train

To the continual frustration of many other perfectly capable manufacturers, Harley-Davidson still effectively 'owns' the cruiser market. In fact the power of the USA brand is such that any other machine that looks vaguely cruiser-like is regularly mista

Regardless of what you think of the technical merits of the product, the company's marketing has been a bench-mark for years and there's little doubt that super-strong model names like Night Train help their cause.

Wot is it?
Essentially the Night Train is a one of a string of 'factory customs' that have included kit like the Bad Boy, Fat Boy - the list goes on.

This one first made it to Australia in 1998 as an Evolution-engine model, and the same styling themes have stuck through to this one, which has the later Twin Cam 88B powerplant.

The powerplant is easily H-D's best big twin series, with less vibration than the Evo, more power, and access to a range of factory-backed hot-up bits. Ours was in near-stock form, running conventional carburetion and a mild breathing tweak in the form of Screamin Eagle pipes. Transmission is a five-speeder, with belt final drive.

Holding all this off the ground is a version of the Softail chassis - which means it has the rear shock hidden under the transmission to give it the hardtail look. Wheels are laced 19-inch front and 16-inch disc rear, while there's a single hydraulic disc with four-piston caliper doing the stopping duties at each end.

All up you're looking at a 287 kilo (dry) lump, the just shy of 19 litres of fuel on board, and with basic instrumentation that includes speedo, fuel gauge, warning lights, but no tacho.

Wot's it like?
Anyone who rode an Evolution Softail in anger will be familiar with the bone-jarring vibration they suffered at high revs, and might be pleased to learn the twin-cam versions are a much nicer thing to ride.

H-D is typically coy about power output, but we're guessing somewhere in the 80ps range in this form, with substantially more on hand if you decide to bump out the already substantial 1450cc capacity and go for goodies like cams, air filters and so-on. As delivered, it had adequate performance, with good urge off the line and enough everywhere else to get you into strife with the law.

Frankly the biggest limiter on performance is the feet-forward seating position, which is okay for cruising along, but less than ideal for either sports riding or long distance work. Still, you buy a custom for its looks rather than practicality.

Speaking of looks, they're terrific. Ours had the gunmetal paint, which costs a $250 premium over the stock black - while there was a deep wrinkle coating on the engine. All very nicely done, and of course you score the all-important 100th anniversary tank badge and engine emblems.

Braking is okay. The four-pot calipers work well enough, but you're dealing with pretty limited grip on that skinny front tyre, so working the back brake effectively is important.

Steering is much as you'd expect, which means on the slow side, with a tendency to wander wide if you're not on the case. There's no tendency to flop into corners, despite the substantial rake on the front end, and it is about as good as custom steering gets.

The Night Train isn't exactly a performance hotrod, though that was never the intention. It packages up well as a custom-style cruiser and ultimately makes the rider feel pretty good when they're in the saddle. Which is what it's all about, isn't it?

Pricing is around $28,000 depending on the spec you order.

(Australian Motorcycle Trader magazine, July 2003)

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Written byBikesales Staff
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