2008 Harley-Davidsons

Harley-Davidson is celebrating its 105th birthday with 14 serialized, limited edition motorcycles with Anniversary copper and Vivid Black paint, special copper air cleaner covers, and exclusive badging.

Lost. Not only lost, but 2500 miles from home. I felt my heart pounding in my chest, my palms sweated, and my breath came in quick gasps. What to do? One simple solution. Roll on the throttle, let out the light and manageable clutch, and unleash a little more of the Twin Cam 96B's power. My worries faded like the blast from the exhaust coming out of the sporty shorty dual exhausts.

So why was I so excited about this particular bike when Harley-Davidson has 37 other 2008 models to choose from? Because the Rocker isn't your typical Harley. Stretched-out, slammed, with a fat back tire, wide rear fender and a look that pays homage to the hard tails of old, Harley-Davidson has moved away from its bread-and-butter style and rolls the dice with a motorcycle unlike any other in its vast stable.

A twist in fortune has taken me beyond the city limits of Baltimore, Maryland, and I've finally found some decent twisties to test the chassis of Harley-Davidson's 2008 Rocker. I was concerned that its 36.5-degree rake angle and 240mm rear tire would translate to sluggish performance in the turns. My worries were assuaged as the stretched out custom-styled bike with a 69.2-inch wheelbase stuck fast as I rode with rhythm, sweeping right, banking left, and giving it more gas. Getting separated from the pack of motojournalists ahead of me heading towards Harley-Davidson's York plant wasn't deliberate, but it gave me more time on the newest member of H-D's Softail family.

The 2008 Harley-Davidson Rocker has a fat backside like no other bike rolling off the York assembly line. H-D's intention with the Rockers was to create a bike with a slammed, hard tail custom look without the spine-jarring ride. Their first goal has been achieved. The wide sheetmetal rear-fender sits one inch off the 18-inch rear tire, so close that you can't stick a finger between the two. You'd think that the fender would scrape the tire if you hit a good bump, but it is attached directly to the swingarm, eliminating the need for frame supports. The fender is synchronized with the rear tire so that they "rock" together. And though they move in unison, it's still up to the hidden horizontal coil-over belly shocks mounted below the powertrain to soak up bumps in the road in typical Softail fashion.

And though Harley claims that it's supposed to deliver a smooth, comfortable ride, the shocks are stiff, making the ride taxing on the tail bone. I hopped up and down on the springs with my 215 lbs while the bike was in motion, but the rear suspension's 3.4 inches of travel barely budged. Because the angle of the seat is sloped more than other Harleys, it left me riding on the back of the saddle. The end of the leather seat is curved up to form a pocket for riders, but it also forms a lip that pushed against the base of my spine. By the time I completed the 60 mile trek to York, my backside tingled like it had fallen asleep. But long-distance hauls isn't what the Rocker has been made for. Cruising down the avenue and turning heads while you're doing it is more its style.

How do I know it's a head turner? Because both times I stopped, the guys I asked directions from couldn't take their eyes off of it. The questions came out me fast. "That's a Harley?" "How's it ride with that big back tire?" "What year is that?" The guys asking the questions were from vastly different demographics. One was early twenties, almost certainly single since I didn't notice him wearing a wedding ring, and the other was a man approximately 60-years-old driving a pick-up. But their big-eyed reactions were equally enthusiastic.

The 26.2-inch seat height gives the Rocker a low center of gravity. That low altitude sacrifices a bit of lean angle and it doesn't take much to scrape a peg. The forward foot controls felt ideally placed for my 6' frame, but reaching for the hand controls left me without much bend at the elbow. The independent V-Bar handlebars sitting on five-inch curved risers place the hand controls easily within reach, but the ergos left me leaned back slightly and that required me to ride stiff-armed. First, my arms had to work a little extra to support some of the weight of my upper body. Second, I had to flex a little muscle and hold on tight because the Rocker has a strong pull on the low end of the powerband. The rigid-mounted 1584cc powerplant with H-D's ESPFI helps the bike launch off the line with a hearty growl exiting the chrome shorty dual pipes that let the cages know that I was rolling by.

Besides the hard tail look, the 2008 Rocker has other eye-catching styling cues you may not notice at first glance. The finned cast-aluminum oil tank below the seat is a modern spin on a classic look. The five-gallon fuel tank has been stretched so it is thinner and longer. Even the trademark logo looks different on the Rocker. The H-D Bar and Shield sits slightly recessed in the tank, giving the embossed logo a 3-D effect. On top of the tank sits a low-profile console with a speedo mounted on it. The housing for the speedometer is speed-shop style and was much easier for a rider to take a quick glance at while rolling down the freeway at 70 mph than flush-mounted speedos used on other Harley platforms.

On the backside, there's no center tail lamp on the rear fender. The Rocker instead has a pair of multi-purpose bullet-style LED turn signals mounted to the side of the rear fender that serve as stop, turn and taillights, a trend that follows the lead of custom show bikes I've seen before. I speculated whether the signals would be visible enough from behind until I followed another rider on our way back into Baltimore, but when they signaled or stopped, the LEDs were bright and easily seen.

H-D didn't overdo it with the chrome on the Rocker. It's a Harley, so of course it's got a fair share of the shiny stuff, like the pipes and air cleaner cover. The motorcycle has a slew of powder coated components in what Harley-Davidson calls Satin Stainless Metallic. The list is long - fork lowers, triple clamps, bullet headlamp nacelle, handlebar riser, swingarm, hand controls, belt guard, oil tank and engine trim. It's not bright and shiny like chrome, but it's not meant to be. H-D wants the bike to have a rawer finish.


By Bryan Harley
BikeTestUSA