Harley-Davidson Softail Blackline 2013 — Specifications

Always without a Twin Cam 103B for the Blackline, while the States have the right to this large 1690 cm3 engine. Explanation: the 2013 model is a 2011 model year carried over. It is obviously necessary to drain the stock before importing the latest version. The French customer will not yet be able to taste the 103 ci engine, nor the magnificent 'Hard Candy Coloma Gold Flake' color scheme. But that is not a reason to turn away from the FXS.

With a name that resonates like a soft rain on Los Angeles, the Blackline is designed to seduce rebels and lovers of beauty that borders on simplicity. Even if the machine lacks elegance, one cannot say that it shines with originality. Harley claims, however, without restraint, that the Blackline is a custom inspired by the foundations of motorcycling, stripped down to the extreme, with a minimalist style reminiscent of post-war Bobbers… In short, the same rhetoric as for each new model called ‘authentic’. One would almost question the usefulness of this model, so much it resembles in spirit and aesthetics the Street Bob. But here's the trick: it’s not a Dyna but a Softail. And there hadn’t been a model as clean in that range since the disappearance of the Night Train.

With its faux-rigid frame, the Blackline boasts an even cleaner rear line, especially since the minimalist fender has completely eliminated the headlight (the philosophy of the Sportster 1200 Nightster and 48). Simplistically, this HD wants to emphasize the essential: its engine. The Twin Cam 96 B, despite its deep black paint, makes no effort to be discreet, quite the contrary. Its polished finned heads, its large chrome air filter cover, and its unmistakable 'Shotgun' staggered exhaust pipes that look like torpedo launchers instantly condition the rider towards the essential: a pure style and a big attitude.

As one might expect, the Blackline joins the Dark Customs family from Milwaukee. As such, it features numerous touches of black paint: frame, headlight, fender, valve covers, engine cases, wheels, fork tubes, and fork stems, etc… The chrome accents are even more striking. To fully enjoy it, you must not mount but DESCEND onto this Softail. Extraordinarily low seat height (660 mm), this custom offers the lowest seat height in the manufacturer's range; and the Sportster SuperLow had made great efforts to become the most accessible possible. Agility should not be a problem thanks to the narrow 144 mm rear tire. Then, more than just living the road with the wind in your face, firmly gripping the SplitDrag handlebar, feet well forward and bones finely shaken by the 1584 cm3 engine mounted on silent-blocs in the ‘Hardtail’ style frame, one has a small regret, because a machine so typified would deserve to live with a little more dryness and character in the lungs, by adopting the 96 without a balance shaft and fixed rigidly.

M.B - photos constructeur

- Main characteristics of the Harley Davidson Blackline:

- The engine is entirely black. The cylinders are silver in color with machined contours. The clutch cover and distribution cases are chrome.- The engine is a Twin Cam 96™ V-Twin mounted on silent-blocs with Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI) - nominal value of 125 N.m /92 pi-lb, peak torque at 3250 rpm.- The transmission is a Cruise Drive® with six gears.- The advanced foot controls are polished.- The exhaust is a superposed chrome Shotgun style.- It is equipped with a security pack with an anti-lock braking system and Smart alarm system.

- Main new features of the Harley Davidson Blackline:

- Chrome bright oval air filter cover.- Black Denim finish frame and swingarm.- Spoke wheels with aluminum profile and steel anodized rims. 21 x 2.15 inch front wheel and 16 x 3 inch rear wheel. The reference for Dunlop® D402 tires is MH90-21 at the front and MU85B16 at the rear.- Front FX with fork tubes with black epoxy finish and painted black fork legs.- Split Drag™ handlebar with internal routing mounted directly on top of the fork stem.- Softail 18.9 liter fuel tank with lowered fuel cap located on the right. The Blackline stripe in the center of the tank is specially designed to cover the fuel pump hardware.- Speedometer fixed, as are the turn signals, on the fork stem support. Speedometer with LCD screen indicating the distance remaining until the next fill-up and warning of low fuel level.- Chopped rear fender with stop/tail light/turn signals in black enclosures, new composite material license plate, and lighting module mounted on the lower part.- Rear fender supports with Black Denim finish.- Deep two-place seat and passenger pudge. A seat height of 660 mm: the lowest two-place model offered by Harley-Davidson. The space between the fuel tank and the front of the seat exposes the top of the frame.- 146 mm diameter headlight with black bright bezel.