When the Harley-Davidson semi rolled through town recently, it unloaded the 2010 line up of motorcycles in Kane’s parking lot for the annual Test Our Metal demo event. From entry level sportsters to fully loaded touring models, there was a ride for every rider to experience.
New this year in the Harley-Davidson line-up are the lowered versions of their most popular bikes. Lowering the models is intended to open up the selection of bikes smaller riders.
Popular among the demo-riders was the 2010 Crossbones with its eye-catching vintage look and easy-rider style.
The 2010 Crossbones stood out from the pack as a solo ride packing attitude. Available in four colours, vivid black (glossy), black demin (flat), brilliant silver pearl and the demo model’s Black Ice Denim. The colour of the bike changes its tones in the sunlight with a range between blue and purple.
The 2010 Crossbones features a 1584cc Twin Cam 96B counter-balanced engine, deluxe exhaust, a springer front end, mini ape-hanger handlebars, a gloss black headlamp, horseshoe oil tank, solo springer seat and a new helical-cut 5th gear.
The solo springer seat offers a comfortable straight up ride with a 29-inch drop to the pavement based on a 180 lb rider. While the seat absorbs any bumps in the road making it easy on the tail bone for a lengthy highway trek, it has an unusual seated angle that takes some getting used to.
The gear shifter and brake lever are both complimented by running boards. The running boards are nice to rest your feet on. The brake lever is more like a brake pad so you can easily judge pressure being applied. The gear shifter on the left has a rear down shifter lever as well. If you are not used to the space, you may find that initial feet placement may be on top of the levers as opposed to on the running boards. The distance between levers is somewhat limited and riders with larger feet could find they do not have enough space.
The mini ape-hanger handlebars give the bike a classic or vintage Harley look. While they visually appear intimidating, the handle-bars pleasantly surprise the rider by the comfort and ease of steering that they provide. Wrists and elbow joints are straight eliminating any shoulder pressure with this style steering. The turning radius makes this bike almost effortless to control.
The twin cam engine boasts at 1584 cc ride with plenty of torque. The electronic sequential port fuel injection system provides a city fuel economy of 6.72 ltr/100 km and 4.36 ltr/100 km of highway travel.
Engine instruments are tank mounted with electronic speedometer with odometer and dual tripmeter. The fuel guage is equipped with a low fuel warning light with countdown feature. Low oil pressure indicator light, engine diagnostics read out and 6-speed indicator light.
If you are looking at buying a Crossbones the base price for black is about $20,189 while the colour models start at $20,629.
