1996 Harley-Davidson FXDL Dyna Low Rider
The shop near work looked after me. One of their customers liked my Sportster and wanted to trade his Low Rider. I had been wanting to try a big twin, so we swapped.
The bike was already modified: bars, exhaust, air cleaner, seat.
First impression
I had ridden a friend's Softail. This was not that. It is rubber-mounted, so there is almost no vibration. It also did not accelerate the way I expected.
The paired speedometer and tachometer standing on the tank, the Low Rider detail I had wanted for years, still lifted the mood.
Kyushu
I went to Fukuoka to meet someone I knew from a chat room. Looking back, I moved easily. The longest ride before that was Takamatsu, and this was about another 500 km. The Sanyo Expressway was new to me. I was nervous, and I kept going.
Shimonoseki. Dannoura, the last parking area on Honshu. The Kanmon Bridge in front of me, and the distance I had come.
Fukuoka, and an izakaya the locals liked. I had never got on with shochu. They insisted this sweet-potato one would be fine. It was good. Kanto was not selling imo shochu then. I drank until I was unsteady, and closed the night with ramen from a street stall, another first.
At Karatsu Castle
No hangover. The plan was Aso, then Yufuin. First, Dazaifu Tenmangu, and a prayer to Sugawara no Michizane. Then south.
The road and the view at Aso
Aso overwhelmed me. It is in the best three roads I have ridden. I want to go back.
After that, Beppu. A straight hill running down to the sea, the town below it, and steam rising from a lot of houses.
Yufuin station. A vertical panorama, for reasons I no longer remember
Along the coast to Yufuin, a photograph at the small station, and back to Fukuoka. The road home felt shorter than the road there. It usually does.
Home, and a breath
Kanto came up quickly. A rubber-mounted engine does not vibrate, and a long distance is easy.
Goodbye, Low Rider
I never settled with the rubber-mounted engine. Another customer at the shop wanted the Low Rider at the right moment, and I moved to a Twin Cam Fat Boy that had just come out.
Specifications
| Grade | Harley-Davidson FXDL Dyna Low Rider |
|---|---|
| Overall length | 2330mm |
| Wheelbase | 1662mm |
| Seat height | 673mm |
| Curb weight | 271kg |
| Seating capacity | 2 |
| Engine type | Four-stroke |
| Cylinders | 2 |
| Cylinder layout | 45-degree V |
| Cooling | Air-cooled |
| Displacement | 1338cc |
| Valve gear | OHV |
| Bore | 88.8mm |
| Stroke | 108.0mm |
| Compression ratio | 8.5:1 |
| Peak power | 58HP |
| Power rpm | 5000rpm |
| Peak torque | 9.9kgf-m |
| Torque rpm | 2350rpm |
| Fuel system | Carburetor |
| Fuel tank | 18.5L |
| Starting | Electric start |
| Gearbox | 5-speed return |
| Shift | Foot shift |
| Final drive | Belt |
| Front brake | Hydraulic disc |
| Rear brake | Hydraulic disc |
| Front suspension | Telescopic fork |
| Rear suspension | Swingarm |
| Front tire | 100/90-19 |
| Rear tire | 130/90-16 |