H-D Street Bob
- Paul
- Jun 30
- 3 min read
Recently I found myself listening to Tom Waits ‘gravelling’ his way through one of the greatest modern ghost stories written, Phantom 309. As a song it’s like the sonic version of sitting outside in the most comfortable chair on the most perfect evening and smoking the best of cigars. In a word the sound of the mans voice and his ability to tell a story could be described as ‘luxuriant’.
As the main characters in the songs narrative, that’s so well told in what passes for ‘singing’ in the revered Mr Waits world, tell their stories a wonderful scene of a timeless place in America is perfectly set and hearing it the first time I found that I couldn’t close my eyes and picture the scene being painted with words without adding a lone Harley-Davidson passing the ‘rig’ as the sun was just about to slide below the horizon on a perfectly straight road somewhere as empty and huge as only the landscape in the southern US can be.
The rider wears the marques ‘uniform’. A worn leather jacket, a pair of work boots, short gloves and the obligatory open face helmet married to a pair of mirrored shades. The bike is simple, no luggage, not as much as a pillion seat. No windscreen, just a stripped down bike and an empty landscape accept for the other occasional ‘warriors’ of the open, endless roads. The big trucks airhorn blows its greeting as it’s passed and is rewarded with the salute of the bikes open exhaust as the rider opens the throttle.
The bike is the Street Bob and is entirely appropriate to the scene.
While the Street Bob has been around for a number of years, it’s been updated several times. Now the newest one is powered by the latest Milwaukee Eight, a 117ci classic or 1,923cc v-twin that puts an impressive 168Nm of very usable torque. The electronics are well hidden but work all the more cleverly for it. The liquid cooling system employs the supplementary services of the air as the H-D tradition demands, but with such utterly modern rider aids as traction control and ABS. Both of these are of the cornering variety.
Its' styling hides all of this. Instead, it presents itself as a simple cut back bobber. The handlebars are a set off mini ape ones. Having a more ‘urgent’ outlook on motorcycling I prefer my American machinery with mid-mounted foot controls. The Street Bob obliges.
Harleys slim motorcycle sits the rider low with a seat height of only 655mm. The 19” front wheel and the 16” rear are the perfect duet when it comes to the bikes styling and being shod on Dunlops as standard offer enough grip to allow me to get on with enjoying the experience of riding the bike.
The six speed gearbox delivers a shade over 100bhp to the back wheel via a belt. Greatly adding to the control of the bikes power is its cornering drag slip control system. This manages the power delivery on down shifts and prevents rear wheel lock. Rather it operates in a way that makes travelling back through the gears a comfortable, and much safer, experience.
Riding the with the enthusiasm that I sometimes do requires that I sometimes have to reluctantly ‘socialise’ by visiting the local Circle K a little more than I’d like to top up the 13 litre tank. Here I’ll occasionally, and completely accidently, meet fellow riders. Both branded chocolate emporiums that sell petrol and people who know everything about my bike without having ridden it tend to suck some of the oxygen out of the riding experience. It’s always a relief, when I’m in this kind mood, to thumb the starter.
The bike weighs in at 282 kilos dry, but it hides it very well thanks to the cleverness of the chassis. The presence of a C Type USB plug confirms that no matter how much solitude we seek, or how far we ride we’re always going to be tied to those romance killing iPhones!
The Street Bob starts at €19,995 and Mo is on 051844200. Call in to the store and tell him Big Joe sent you…
