2013 Harley-Davidsons

» Also see the new 2013 Harley-Davidson CVO line-up

Anniversaries are a big deal at Harley-Davidson. As they should be for any company that has survived for more than a century in a business as mercurial as motorcycling. But not only has Harley survived, it has frequently flourished, with 2013 marking the 110th year of operation for the motorcycle that made Milwaukee famous.

No surprise, then, that Harley’s biggest news for the coming year is all about its 110th anniversary. There are no new models in the lineup to commemorate the occasion, however, and two others—the XR1200X and XL1200N Nightster—have been dropped from the Sportster range due to lagging sales, according to Greg Falkner, Manager of Motorcycle Product Planning.

But all the Big Twins remain, six of which (Super Glide Custom, Fat Boy Lo, Heritage Softail Classic, Road King, Electra Glide Ultra Limited and Tri Glide Ultra Classic), along with the Sportster 1200 Custom, will be available in both standard models and limited-edition versions celebrating the company’s 110th anniversary. They all have special bronze-and-black paint and badging, and are serialized, numbered and fitted with elaborate bronze tank badges.

Production runs of the anniversary models will range from 1450 units for the Super Glide Custom and Tri Glide to 3750 for the Electra Glide Ultra Limited. Harley set those numbers to ensure a degree of exclusivity while being able to provide at least one or two of each model to every dealer.

Other news for 2013 is a restyle of the popular Street Bob, which now has a side-mounted taillight, tapered mufflers, a round air-cleaner cover and a new black battery cover. Most important, the MSRP for the base model is the same $12,999 that it was last year, allowing the Street Bob to remain the most affordable of all the Big Twins.

In addition, Harley has expanded the Hard Candy metalflake option that debuted last year on the Seventy Two. The Big Flake paint is now available in green and gold as well as the original red, and at least one Hard Candy Custom color will be offered on the Seventy-Two, Street Bob, Blackline, Softail Deluxe and Forty-Eight.

Although Harley does not have any truly new models for the coming year, the company did provide an interesting way of introducing its 2013 Big Twins. As part of the Authorized Tour program it launched in 2011, H-D will begin offering a British Columbia and Pacific Northwest tour next year; and to provide a preview of that trip, Harley took more than a dozen U.S. journalists on a three-day ride that covered just a fraction of that route. A broad selection of 2013 Big Twin models was provided for the ride, allowing everyone to switch from one to another as often as they wished.

Since there is nothing mechanically new on any of those machines, very few of the attendees learned anything about the bikes they didn’t already know, but the variety of model types and styles made an already interesting trip even more entertaining.

Actually, “entertaining” may be a gross understatement. The beauty and splendor of the territory the H-D tour will cover is indescribably spectacular. The route will take the group to quaint old towns, along gorgeous lakes and rivers, past volcanoes and snow-capped mountains, through dense pine forests and woodlands, to farmlands and badlands, dude ranches and resorts. Huge amounts of the ride involve endless miles of impeccably paved winding roads that are just challenging enough to be fun for anyone but scenic enough to seem like you’re riding through living postcards.

For more information about Harley's 2013 model line, visit an H-D dealer or go to
www.harley-davidson.com.

For more information about H-D tours, log onto www.harley-davidson.com/authorizedtours.

» Also see the new 2013 Harley-Davidson CVO line-up