Harley Davidson Celebrated 105 Years At The Top with Brakes In Their Hubs!
The year 2008 was Harley Davidson’s 105th anniversary which isn’t a particularly well recognised milestone I’ll admit but that didn’t stop them celebrating it with style as they have done every 5 years since God Knows when. It also happened to be the 25th Anniversary of H.O.G. – the Harley Owners Club – which was arguably more significant.
Several events were planned by Harley Davidson to mark the occasion. Kicking off a full four days of partying was an organised State-Wide ride-out. Beginning at 105 separate dealers across the country the run was planned to culminate at the Milwaukee lakefront and follow naturally through to a non-stop festival of activities and music. They also opened a museum dedicated to the history of the brand and produced a limited edition styling pack for 14 separate models in their range.
The 105th Anniversary models all featured exclusive two-tone paint schemes in copper and black with copper vinyl inserts tastefully inlaid into the saddles and copper shield decoration on the tanks and air cleaners. Some of the top models also featured something new. Something which made me stop and think when I heard it. Harley Davidson factory fitted Brembo disk brakes with advanced ABS! For a minute I even thought I was going to faint.
Not content with implementing an existing system the image-conscious brand felt it necessary to design the system from the bottom up, hiding many of the elements completely from sight within the wheel hubs themselves. The result also ended up being rather lighter than the existing methods would have allowed.
Top of the Harley Davidson range in 2008 was the CVO Ultra Classic Electra Glide. This is a bike with more features than an American sitcom. It has a 160 Watt stereo system, Satellite Navigation, Cruise Control and even heated leather seats! With the addition of ABS that doesn’t even lock up when applied on gravel it becomes something truly magnificent.
Then there’s its positively huge Twin Cam 110 engine to consider. There’s a full 1803 cubic centimetres of V-Twin power under the tank of these monsters. And it’s fully rubber mounted to allow the traditional Harley Shake to continue unhindered without affecting rider comfort over whatever distance you care to ride. It hardly rattles the bike at all but still sounds so beautifully ‘Harley’ and looks the part as well.
So who would ride a bike like this? Maybe the same kind or person who would ride a Honda Goldwing? No, I doubt it. This bike might fit into the same category as the ubiquitous ‘wing’ but it has infinitely more style. After all, it’s a Harley Davidson and they know a thing or two about image don’t you think? Oh, and did I mention that the brakes work on this one?
