Motorcycle specifications Harley-Davidson1340 NIGHT TRAIN FXSTB 1998 A rebel in the night
a headlight has just come on, moments after a howl that ripped through the night. It's John, re-starting his new Harley after smashing his voice - he had to shout out loud. He, the biker, the tough guy, the bouncer at Macumba Night in Puy-du-fou, can't get over the fact that he left the twin in its legal French configuration. Tomorrow, he swears, he'll set American mechanics free. John likes mills that speak loudly and have muscle; a bit like him. And when he saw the new Night Train at his buddy Alphonse's H-D dealership, he immediately fell for it. Simple, unadorned, deep, as black as its leather and as intimidating as its smile, the FXSTB won John over: "With it, I'll immediately command respect in front of the box". It's bad enough we didn't give John a hard time when he was staring at you from his 2-meter height, but with his new machine, we're going to look down on him. So we'll sneak a peek at the big 1340 twin, covered in black right down to the fin tips.
Introduced in '98, the Night Train is the most affordable of the Softail models, but that's not what appealed to John. The Milwaukee machine seduced him with its stripped-down look. Once in the saddle, our bouncer, who talks like Darth Vader, looks really mean. With his feet in front of the engine, his ass on the sturdy saddle, the rider reaches for the mini handlebars that bring his arms together. When he's riding, with this uncompromising riding position, John looks like a Bad Boy and doesn't miss a chance to get noticed. His machine has a taste for it.
What's really annoying is the 1340's suffocating homologation. The gaseous mixture that passes through the single Keihin carburetor means you can't ride quietly with the handle barely turned. You'll have to unclog the exhausts and adjust the carburetion to get the strength and temperament of the mill. After that, you'll have to deal with the bends. The front end isn't a model of precision, and braking isn't anything extraordinary either. In any case, John doesn't drive like his GSX-R buddy. He cruises at 120-130 km/h; beyond that, wind turbulence is no laughing matter.
After the visit to Alphonse's, our biker plans to show off in front of the club's parking lot, where people are starting to arrive. It's not certain that people will be flocking to the door this evening...
M.B - manufacturer's photos
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1998
1999
