Words & photos: @throttleandgo

 

Harley-Davidson released the all-new Fat Bob earlier this year and it has gone down a storm with its new features, style and suspension, but Maidstone Harley-Davidson, in the UK, wanted to put the new model through its paces in a completely different way and one that would really test the new Milwaukee machine. As it rocks aggressive styling, we wondered how aggressive it could be around a dirt track so we got our flat track rider Grant Martin to take it to the dirt for a one-of-a-kind test ride. Grant left no stone unturned and as he took this Fat Bob over jumps, gnarly turns, mega steep hills, several different types of terrains and even through a mud bath... well, sort of! 

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This is Grant’s Verdict: At the start of the day I was a little bit nervous about jumping on the new Fat Bob and taking it straight to the dirt. I rolled around the track a few times to get accustomed to the controls but in typical Harley fashion, they are really neat and simple so this didn't take long. With this out the way, the fun really began and to be honest, I never dreamt a bike this big would put up with what we did on it. Somehow, Harley have put together a 300kg motorcycle [that's nearly THREE 110kg Honda CRF450s] that feels nimble enough to throw around like a toy. We used the bigger 114 cubic inch model of the Fat Bob and it had super smooth power delivery and pulls like a dream. This Harley, except the awesome sounding RaceFit exhaust, was completely stock, including the tyres! This shows a real testament to the continued quality of Harley-Davidson.