The Softail® Family

The Harley-Davidson® Softail® is the name to consider when thinking cruiser motorcycles. Nobody else has quite the right mix of power, style, and pure attitude. With years of heritage to hold them up to, Harley Softails are one of the most prestigious around, providing riders with street-borne thrills and classic Harley style.

Here at Ol’ Red’s Motorcycles, we understand the love for these Harley cruisers. After all, we’re more than just dealers — we’re riders too! And we can’t get enough of the Softail or its old-school looks. We want to share these bikes with our customers, so we’ve put together a rundown of some reasons why a used Harley Softail might be right for you.

History

Bill Davis designed the first Softail in the mid-1970s. An avid rider and engineer from St. Louis, Missouri, Davis added a cantilever swingarm that pivoted at the bottom and sprung at the top with a shock absorber hidden under the seat. Davis built the design based off a 1972 Super Glide. After patenting his design, he sold it to the grandson of Harley-Davidson co-founder Willie G. Davidson, who was Chief Styling Officer at the time. Though interested, Davidson passed on the design.

Davis began to make a few adjustments, like switching the pivot and the springing points around so that the springs and shock absorber were under the frame and the pivot point was at the top of the triangular swingarm. Davis attempted to produce the design independently, but his efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. He was then contacted by Harley-Davidson executive Jeffrey Bleustein. Davis sold his patents and prototype to Harley-Davidson in 1982, and by June of the next year, Harley had released its first Softail, the 1984 Harley-Davidson FXST.

There have been many Harley-Davidson models with the Softail frame, including the Softail Standard, Custom, Heritage, Deluxe, Fat Boy®, and others. These motorcycles have the same engine, transmission, and frame, and they differ mainly in the choice of fork, wheels, and accessories.

Engines

The first Softail models don’t have rubber-mounted engines, which led to more vibration in their Evolution engines than in rubber-mounted touring models with Evolution engines. To compensate for this, later models used a counterbalanced version of the Twin Cam engine instead of the regular Twin Cam engine used in the Touring and Dyna® models. The newest models now use a Milwaukee-Eight® V-Twin.

Front Forks

The Softail family has included a number of choices in front fork configurations. Historically, they’ve also offered the Springer leading link forks reminiscent of the sprung front-ends used prior to the introduction of the Hydra-Glide in 1949. The FXST designation is used for 21" Front Wheel Bikes or when the Springer fork is used with a 21" wheel, while the FLST designation is used for 16" Front Wheel Bikes or when the Springer fork is used with a 16" wheel.

The Harley-Davidson Softail family is full of great cruisers that fit a wide range of specific styles. Whether you’re into true classics or modern incarnations, Harley has what you’re looking for. Head to Ol’ Red’s Motorcycles of Simpsonville, South Carolina, near Greenville, Columbia, and Spartanburg. Come in today to talk with our knowledgeable and courteous staff!