Harley-Davidson FLSTF Fat Boy

Few bikes command such a presence on the road as a Fat Boy. Everything about it is solid, chunky and loud - if an escaped hippo ran down the middle of the high street it might have less impact.

The solid spokeless wheels sum up the philosophy of the Fat Boy better than any other part of this gleaming metallic hulk. It's a philosophy that is the very antithesis to every other bike designer in existence - if we can make it heavier we will.

At 313kg the Fat Boy lives up to its name. On the move, it feels lighter than it ought to because the weight is carried so low. In fact, the seat height of just 645mm is one of the lowest in the world of motorcycling. However, just wait until you have to push it or manoeuvre the bike at a standstill and your back will creak under the strain and your knees beg for mercy.

Gallery: Harley-Davidson FLSTF Fat Boy

The latest model Fat Boy is treated to an extra gear - that's six now in total. It might sound a strange addition to a bike that will rarely see the naughty side of 70mph and with an engine so torquey it could pull a plough but, strangely enough, it works. If you're cruising along the motorway simply stick it in sixth and you'll have a gear that drives from 30 to 80mph. Lazy, laid-back cruising at its very best.

The riding position of the Fat Boy wasn't designed for people as tall as myself and the low slung saddle will benefit the shorter legged. Despite this, the padded seat, swept back bars, and footboards help make the Fat Boy a comfortable machine for short distances. If you're planning on touring then a windshield will be essential; the rider sits like a sail on top of the bike and speeds of over 60mph will become a neck/arm/back strain after only an hour in the saddle.

Harley's new generation of fuel-injected 1,584cc engines are a real pleasure. Retaining the characteristics of a classic Harley motor, nothing is lost with the necessary introduction of fuel-injection. Power, despite the thumping delivery, is smooth and can be wound on without any flat-spots or lags.

It's hard not to pretend you're Arnie in Terminator

The Fat Boy makes absolutely no sense in the city. Firstly, the engine gets very hot very quickly and starts toasting the rider (a pleasure on a cold day, utterly unbearable in summer). Secondly, hit any sort of traffic and you'll be wishing you'd swapped the Hog for a Honda Cub. Its weight and size make filtering not quite an impossibility, more of an exhausting inconvenience.

Of course, there is one bonus to riding a Fat Boy through the city; lots of people to pose for and lots of shop windows to cast admiring glances at yourself. It's a bit hard not to pretend you're Arnie in Terminator when you're riding a Fat Boy - I know, it's sad but just see if you can help yourself. Invest in a set of Screamin' Eagle exhausts and some aviator shades to complete the look.

The Harley certainly draws admiring glances and attention wherever it goes. Stopping for a late-night photo shoot at Canary Wharf in east London a crowd soon gathered around the bike. It even attracted the unwanted (and persistent) admiration of a pair of drunken tramps who saluted me with victory signs as I rode away and bade me the rather quaint farewell of "ride free, Brother!"

Harley-Davidsons continue to divide bikers

But drunkards and members of the public who don't know any better aside, Harley-Davidsons continue to divide bikers. In fact it's impossible for a biker not to have a passionate opinion about them one way or another.

Personally, I think they are anachronistic and such a bold statement of Americana that it's a breath of fresh air in this day and age of transient, fashions and bandwagon-jumpers. Most products, before they even hit the shelves, have been through so many boardrooms and pre-launch consumer surveys that they end up trying to appeal to everybody - the result is blandness.

The Fat Boy is not bland. Even its name sounds politically incorrect - I can see Jamie Oliver hanging around my garage trying to feed the bike celery. But this is a cheeseburger munching, oil drinking, red neck dripping in big, fat gold jewellery and (for good measure) a cigar hanging from its bottom lip. Rev up a Fat Boy and things like global warming, your wife and kids and the credit crunch fly right out of your head.

At £13,375 it's certainly not cheap

However, if you're thinking about buying a Fat Boy then you'd better get the credit crunch flying right back into your head. At £13,375 it's certainly not cheap. Japanese imitations, like the Honda VTX13000S (£8,200) or Yamaha's XV1900 (£9,999), might offer very sensible financial alternatives. But buying one of these is like going on holiday to Weston-super-Mare when you wanted to go to Waikiki - yes there's a beach, and Weston's very nice, but it just ain't the same.

But don't even think about buying a Fat Boy if you have any ambitions to rely on this bike 'whatever the weather'. There should be a sticker on the tank next to the 'Unleaded only' warning to say 'Sunny days only'. On the way to the photo shoot the heavens opened, it can't have rained for more than five minutes but when I arrived at the location the once gleaming show bike looked like a swamp donkey. My photographer, perhaps wiping a tear from his artistic eye, put it more tenderly when he said: "Chrome is such an unforgiving medium."

If you're in the market for the most outrageous road-ready custom on the market then the Fat Boy sits at the top of the food chain. It's about time somebody had a pop at the champ but the Fat Boy has been around for nearly two decades and shows no signs of mellowing out just yet.

More pictures of the Harley-Davidson FLSTF Fat Boy from Live Search
Moto Guzzi V7 Classic
Harley-Davidson Nightster
Victory Hammer S
Suzuki M1800R
Harley Road King