2016 Harley-Davidson Softail Slim S Review – MotoUSA
We throw Harley’s 2016 Softail Slim S on the dyno, track mileage, do performance runs and ride it like we stole it for 1600 miles to bring you this cruiser motorcycle review. Check out our 2016 Harley-Davidson Softail Slim S Review article for more information: http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/2015/10/article/2016-harley-softail-slim-s-review/
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Dear The Motor Company,
I used to be a big fan of your bikes so steeped in history and nostalgia. Then, you kept making the same thing. Sure, you threw some fancy paint and chrome and called it CVO. you even increased the size of your engines to improve power. Your bikes got heavy and aren't any good to ride fast and hard through corners. That's ok for touring bikes, but not stripped down models.
If you could maybe find a way to build a free revving, high output engine and put that in a sporty chassis. Surely somebody out there has the technical expertise to do this. If you do find someone to built such bikes, make sure your dealers know how to sell them.
Sincerely,
Someone with disposable income who isn't at the end of their riding career.
Scraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaape
LOL you could beat me in a straight line, but goodbye in the twisties… and thats where all the fun is
It's a cruiser guys, don't be so harsh. It's not a sportsbike and Harley is its own thing, you don't like it, then it shouldn't matter how it performs if you aren't the one riding it.
Your supposed to move your body weight in high speed cornering on a bike like that.
thats ugly…
Haters
This bike seriously needs a bigger diameter front tire
First of all, around 80bhp for a bike that size and weight is really not good. But what I'm really concerned about is that lack of lean angle! that is borderline dangerous. The chap could barely get around those corners at average functional speed.
I do like HD's but not this one!
I rode one. the front of the seat is so narrow, the cylinder head fried my balls if I wasn't moving. Every traffic light was torture.
why doesn't Harley- Davidson just make a reclining chair, put a loud slow engine that shakes a lot on it, and slap a 50,000$ price tag on it? They would sell so many more sofas.
Typical metric magazine scraping the pegs or floorboards on purpose. Over leaning the bike on purpose or they don't know how to ride a cruiser. Its one or the other because if you scrape this bike this much it would cost you a hell of a lot of money. I've never seen anyone with all scraped up floor boards or pegs on a Harley or metric cruiser. Because you do not have to lean the bike that far to go around the turn. Because it has a lower center of gravity. They just try to do it to be cool. Another words there trying to appeal to metric riders that don't know better. It's so cheesy.
I was really hoping for some info on the hydraulic clutch and throttle-by-wire with these models, any thoughts?
In my opinion, this is a great looking bike, and great styling and low, mean profile, but, with a the FATALLY FLAWED, TWIN CAM ENGINE, that has been produced from 1999 to the present, and HARLEY has had many years to fix the flaws, but, has chosen, not in it's best financial interest to do so. Too much money to be made with repairs and parts for the TWINKIES. There are a lot of inherent ways to crater this engine. Start with the flywheel………..only pressed together, with a 400 ton press, at the factory, whereas, HARLEY for decade after decade on their single cam engines, used to use a crank pin bolt and nut, torqued to hold both halves of the flywheel together and in true……….they chose to not do that on the TWINKIES. As a result, nothing is holding the flywheel in true, and it will quickly begin, to come out of true, with each mile and each revolution of the motor. The sprocket and pinion shafts will begin to exceed the initially stock run out, of 0.001" or less, and when the "wobble" on the shafts hit 0.003", damage to all the bushings and bearings in the engine begins, and as it just accelerates, eventually, sooner, rather than later, will cause, CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE. The only solution, unfortunately, is to tear the engine apart………..take the flywheel assembly to a performance, specialty shop, when new, and have them dynamically true, balance, plug the WELCH plugs and weld both haves together, will maintaining a run out on the shafts of 0.001" or less. Another flaw in this engine, is that HARLEY chose to do away with a METAL GEAR DRIVE for both the oil pump and to operate the cams, like all previous HARLEY, single cam engines used to have………..and instead, chose to use PLASTIC components in their place. TWIN CAMS ENGINES, use two silent chain drives, one to operate the oil pump and the other to operate the two camshafts. Both use a PLASTIC tensioner, which rubs against a METAL chain………see where this is going? HARLEY meant for the PLASTIC tensioners to be periodically inspected and replaced as wear reaches, 3/32" of wear, and is a costly and timely procedure to change them out.Most HARLEY buyers are not even aware of the PLASTIC in the metal engine. HARLEY does not state in either the OWNERS MANUAL or THE SERVICE MANUAL, at what mileage interval, a visual inspection, must be made at. It's totally up to the owner to do and to guess. But, failure to inspect and change them out, will lead to the tensioners, breaking apart inside the engine, then there is METAL TO METAL contact, and the metal shavings, are inducted into the oil pump, and crankcase and cylinders and IMMEDIATE CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE OCCURS, and the engine seizes up at highways speed, locking the rear wheel and spewing hot, oil all over the rear tire, when the oil pump craters. What a fun thrill ride that will be till the crash occurs.This engine also will burn out starters and stators, in short order too, due to the bad placement of the starter and stator, critical components of the charging system. To change out a starter on this bike, which is located under the oil tank and behind the hot, rear cylinder, having nothing but, heat coming at it, it won't be long before you need a new starter/solenoid. One has to drain the oil and remove the oil tank and lines to change out the starter. The starter should have been located in front of the engine, before any heat could get to it from the engine.Same thing with the stator, it is located in the hottest possible part of the bike, inside the left side, primary housing, and is enclosed within the magnetic rotor, and against the lowest part of the crankcase right up against the hottest part of the bike, with no air to dissipate the heat. To change out the stator, one must disassemble both the outer primary housing and the inner housing and remove the primary chain drive to even get to it. HARLEY could have placed the stator at a cooler place in the bike, but, no financial incentive to do so, they sell a lot of stators and starters, that way.The only true HARLEY to buy these days is the XL1200 SPORTSTER, very reliable, bike, built with the EVOLUTION ENGINE DESIGN, and with a rubber mounted engine sine 03. much less vibration than the older SPORTYS. And it has a right side, final belt drive too, for virtual maintenance free riding. Stay away from the big twins, built since 1999.Rather, opt to buy an older model EVO single cam, big twin, built between 1984, to 1999. No PLASTIC parts, and a bolted together, flywheel.LOTS OF YOU TUBE VIDEOS POSTED BY OWNERS OF TWINKIES ON THESE PROBLEMS AND OTHERS. CAVEAT EMPTOR-LET THE BUYER BEWARE, THE TWIN CAM ENGINE..
THE EVOLUTION BIKE TWIN SINGLE CAM ENGINE WAS PRODUCED FROM 1984-1998.
what's the point of a bigger enine? If you can't push it through a corner because of the scrapping floor boards? That's a $20k design mistake right there… yes/no?
Did you just say imperceptibly?
I tested this bike for over a month , Your review is dead on. Nice job I corrected the two main small problems with air ride and takeing off the floor bords and putting on forward controls, duel Vance and Hines this bad boy screams in the turns and on the flats it is a keeper, Harley you done GOOOOOOOD.
Who is we? You drove the bike, right? Or do you speak of yourself in the third person?
It's time for the Motor Company to step up and put the 120 motor in the CVO and the 110 in their regular lineup.
Best ACTUAL review yet. Thank you very much.
Lovely bike. If you don't like Harleys, don't ride them, that simple. It's not a grinder, it's a Harley. If you don't feel it, don't buy it.
Why don't you let it go, pal? You're the only one I hear griping about someone else's free speech rights. But, you sure want your own free speech rights, though, right? Got your number, pal. Let it go, man……….he, he, LOL.
Thanks for helping me ride 🙂
https://www.gofundme.com/qjr3jdec
I'll get one of them as soon as I'm old, fat and disgusting.
There's a few 1999 fat boys with them i have one
Great bike….but is it a million dollars?
Never had a motorcycle with ABS fitted, I guess the cost and weight puts a lot of people off, And to me it makes even less sense on a cruiser, But it is good to hear that Harley Davidson have upped the power and more importantly improved the gearbox
The sad part about all of this is that I LOVE HARLEY!! However, I'm not blind to the fact that a Victory Gunner, which costs about 5g's less, will flat out run and outperform this bike. Sure, the Harley has a few more Creature comforts. What really matters to a rider is PERFORMANCE FOR THE MONEY!! Imho, Harley is losing at that task! While on the subject of competition. Indian and Victory have there sights set squarely on the Sportster with the Scout and Octane. For christ sake, a Scout 60 will out accelerate a 1200 Sporty… and they're only 9g's. Bottom line is Harley needs to kick it into high gear! Rant done
If you want a Harley to ride hard and does bends, get a FatBob.
whats the difference between slim s and reg slim?
👍
Thanks for the video………………………………… & THUMBS UP 😀
I have a softail slim and ice leaned pretty damn far and have yet to scrape the foot boards.
I love the Slim S. Low, Powerful, and Loud. I'm used to riding Super Sport Bikes so this was a pleasant surprise. It's a bad ass Harley. I'm 6',0" and am very comfortable.