Motorcycle specifications Harley-Davidson 1870 Softail Low Rider S FXLRS 2021 A rumbling story

Riding on a wave of success that continues unabated, the Low Rider is not only a machine particularly appreciated by Harley customers, but also a model that knows how to play versatile. Less so here, where it's decided to be mean instead, with an S version packed with displacement and torque thanks to a bigger engine.

Decided to be mean? Or rather, to be mean again. The Low Rider already had an S edition in 2016 / 2017. A time when its backbone was called Dyna, and housed the biggest twin in the range: the 1800 cm3 110 ci block, reserved for Custom Vehicle Operation machines.

This time, the heart is even bigger. Total cubic capacity reaches 1868 cm3, providing a torque gain of 1 mkg since the standard Low Rider. A moment of robustness, a sprinkling of vigor, an authority that every piston wants to dictate. With power and torque levels virtually identical to those of the previous-generation S. Except that the technology and character are no longer on the same level.

is this still an exceptional machine in the catalog? The first Low Rider S, certainly. Only it and its Fat Boy S and Slim S cousins could take advantage of the CVO twin. Today, a dozen models are equipped with a 114 ci. A number confidently inscribed on the ample air filter. It's easy to see that the twin needs to breathe. But on theex-110, the big horn on the side gave it much more cachet. A real live hose.

No big block for this gangster machine, but a big block all the same. The Milwaukee Eight is rich in emotion, benefiting from all the modernity of Harley and then expressing itself through a chassis that's sharper than on the Low Rider 107. With a front end as muscular as that of an FXDR 114, you can smell a fight at every turn. Whereas the Low Rider uses a conventional fork with a single brake disc, the rebel S is equipped with a 43 mm inverted fork, complete with two 4-piston shoes on two 300 mm discs. The column angle has been retracted by 2°, to 28°, for more incisive cornering. The Low Rider S wants a dose of fierceness, so it shows it: small black windscreen, higher handlebars, single-seater saddle with a kidney-hugging profile, several shades of black finish for the engine, exhausts and chassis, bronze-colored rims for show-off, and for the rest of the invective, just get started.

Is this Low Rider S a thug? No. Embellished by a big engine and improved dynamics, this custom is akin to an American baron. It doesn't transcend the attributes of theex-FXLRS 110; it just brings them up to date. It doesn't necessarily need anything more; we'd expect nothing less. Roads and parties can simper in front of this bad-boy bike... those from the nicer neighborhoods.

M.B
(manufacturer's photos)