A Closer Look at What's New in 2010

So the frequent question I have been getting as customers come through the door is, “What’s new with the 2010’s”. Nothing unusual, of course, for everyone to be excited about the latest changes taking place at the Harley-Davidson motor company. I decided to write a quick blog about what’s new for the 2010 model year.

There are a few new models introduced into the line up. Frankly, I would classify them as either different versions of current models or a reintroduction of past models. The Dyna Wide Glide (FXDWG) has made a come back after a one year hiatus. It has come back with some new styling upgrades as well as a flame paint job as an option to spice things up. The styling is closely related to that of the StreetBob and the FatBob. It shares the Tommy gun exhaust that is on the Fatbob and it has the blacked out drive train. The Wide Glide has always been a favorite and has stirred up some excitement with its recent arrival to our dealership.

The FatBoy is a Harley icon and has been a staple in the lineup for about 20 years now. The FatBoy Lo (FLSTFB) is the dark, evil step son of its predecessor and the newest addition to the Softail family. The Fatboy Lo does two things: it gives the rider a lowered seat height with its factory lowered suspension and low profile seat. Then it delivers a dark custom look. The bike has black wheels, upper fork sliders, fork cover kit, header pipes, and many other parts are all blackened. I predict this bike to be a hit with many customers.

The big upheaval recently in the Harley world was started with the rumor that the Road Glide was going to be discontinued and forgotten forever. Well the rumor came true unfortunately, but it’s a good thing the motor company decided to release the Road Glide custom! (FLTRX) Wow, everyone can breathe now. Basically what happened was the engineers at Harley decided that the Street Glide was getting too much of the attention in the touring family. With all its fancy, sporty styling the Street Glide has taken off since its introduction in 2006. Well, the Road Glide Custom is basically a Street Glide with the Road Glide fairing on the front. These bikes both under went a few more sleek styling touches. They both lost the tail light off the back fender and now the braking functions are all integrated into the turn signals. The other significant change can be found in the exhaust system. The Street Glide and Road Glide now come equipped with a 2 into 1 pipe. The 17 inch front wheel just wasn’t enough so an 18 inch front wheel was slapped on there this year. These bikes definitely encompass the definition of the sporty touring bike, complete with factory-lowered rear suspension.

A new Edition of Harley’s flagship touring bike has been released this year. The Ultra Limited (FLHTK) boasts the 103 Cubic Inch motor along with some other functional and aesthetic upgrades. The Limited only comes in two-tone premium paint schemes. It comes standard with all the factory options offered on the normal Ultra Classic such as ABS and security. The tour pack comes with the luggage rack on top and inside there is a power supply for you to plug in a cell phone, toaster, or whatever electronic device you might have. For colder weather you have the luxury of the stock heated grips. To finish it off, these touring machines have had their 28 spoke cast wheels chromed up a touch. Hopefully no one notices that this bike has bumped the Electra Glide Standard (FLHT) out of the lineup.

Last year for the 2009 model year, Harley introduced its first full factory Trike. This bike got a lot of people who were physically no longer able to ride back on the road; either that, or people who just wanted to have something new and different jumped on this bike. Well that same platform has undergone a chopped make-over to create a Street Glide styled Trike. The Street Glide Trike (FLHXXX) is your bare minimum, chopped, and sleek styled three-wheeler. This bike basically takes the touring stigma and touring look out of the Trike for a clean custom cruiser.

As far as the CVO line goes this year there are a couple nice surprises. The Long-awaited Screamin’ Eagle Street Glide has finally arrived. The Fatbob CVO is back for the second year in a row with some new styling points. The seat has a cool, new distressed leather look to it. Of course the Ultra Classic is in the Screamin’ Eagle lineup as always. This year it has a flame paint job with a new LED light strip on the back of the tour pack. It also comes with the power supply in the tour pack similar to that of the Ultra Limited. The newest addition to the Custom Vehicle Operation line is the Convertible (FLSTSE). It is built around the Softail chassis and has some versatility to it. The bike comes equipped with a mini fairing and saddle bags, both of which can be removed for those not-so-long trips around town. Then when you need the functionality of the added wind protection and the storage, these items easily bolt right back onto the bike.

So there are some exciting changes this year. The technology and advancement is continuous each year. As the models evolve they become more reliable and comfortable. The same simplistic, traditional lines remain while increasing performance. Till next year, happy riding and come down to check out the 2010’s!!!

- by Matt Laidlaw