HARLEY-DAVIDSON CROSSBONES (2008 - 2012) Review

Harley's Cross Bones is the perfect antidote to a tough week at work. It’s so comfortable, thanks to its wide, beautifully padded, hand-stitched sprung seat and rubber-topped footboards that you could almost fall asleep on it; something the whisper-quiet exhausts would unfortunately let you do, if you weren’t careful.

It looks the part and the ‘Springer’ front end adds to the coolness of this Harley-Davidson. It doesn’t have as much grunt as you’d expect from such a big (1584cc) motor, but it’s happy just to plod along all day in the sunshine at 50mph; it’s ideal cruising speed with an open-faced helmet. You can’t help but smile when you ride the Harley-Davidson Softail Cross Bones and it makes you feel special.

All this loveliness comes at a price, though and costing close to thirteen grand, it’s certainly not cheap, especially when you consider it’s a single-seater. Try selling that to your missus.

Weighing an elephant-like 317.5kg (what the hell do they make these things out of, it’s 7.5kg more than two Honda CBR600RRs?), the Harley-Davidson Cross Bones simply squashes any bumps it goes over, so ride quality is actually very good. The soft suspension and sprung seat serves to make things even more comfortable on bumpy roads. But the sheer weight of the thing means that braking has to be done very early to avoid obstacles. The stronger of the two brakes is the rear. Corners need to be caressed and not attacked, and in a perfect world (like in the US) avoided altogether. A low seat makes the job of paddling the Harley around easier and helps the low-speed handling. This is a cruiser, pure and simple, so low-speed riding is what the Cross Bones is all about.

It’s a big shock to experience the motor for the first time. The big V-twin looks huge, it has a gargantuan 1584cc capacity and it’s no doubt responsible for most of the galactic all-up weight, but despite all of its massiveness, it’s whisper quiet and lacking any real get up and go. Adding some loud pipes to bring the Harley-Davidson Cross Bones alive is a must for this machine. As well as being quiet, the motor is unbelievably smooth for a Harley, although the gearbox is a clunky affair, like the gear selector inside the ‘trannie’ has been swapped with a sledge hammer. Cruising along in top gear at 50mph is what this engine does best.

Generally the Harley-Davidson Cross Bones is well screwed together and nicely finished, although build quality in some areas isn’t quite up to scratch, with niggly things like side panels and exhaust bolts coming loose and falling off, if you don’t keep your eye on them. With a big engine that’s barely stressed, reliability shouldn’t be a concern.

The Harley-Davidson Cross Bones costs £12,706 for a solid colour and £12,850 for pearl, which is a lot of cash for not a lot of bike. As nice as it is to ride and as cool as it is to look at, you’re paying through the nose for the Harley badge and all it stands for (its history, heritage and marketing spin) here. The engine and chassis are very low-tech and you only get one seat. When you think you can get a technology-packed Ducati 1198 for a grand less, you’ll realise that the Harley Cross Bones is terrible value for money. You can buy an equivalent Jap cruiser for a lot less, but it won’t come with the badge. Find a Harley-Davidson softail for sale.

For your hard-earned you get a maintenance-free belt drive and a hand-stitched leather seat and tank strap. Up front, conventional forks are replaced with a coll, old-school ‘springer’ front end and you can see it bobbing up and down when you cruise along, which is different. Acres of chrome, a cool paintjob and beautiful styling add to the appeal of the Harley-Davidson Cross Bones, but aside from that, the equipment level is quite low, given the price. Compare and buy products for the Harley-Davidson Cross Bones in the MCN Shop.