The latest motorcycle magazine reviews brought to you by motorbikin.com. Based on reviews by Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Sport and Leisure magazine and Ride magazine.

In all of the reviews of the new Harley Davidson Crossbones there’s no doubt that you can’t fault its looks, it definitely has kerb appeal. Having seen Harley’s chopped Softail at the local dealership, I can’t disagree with that.

As the looks are the one positive about this motorcycle that all the reviewers agree on I’ll start with that.
There’s a lot to like about the looks of this motorcycle:

• Chopped hardtail styling
• Black Springer forks
• Black Apehanger handlebars
• Black laced wheels
• Leather tank trim
• Leather laced-trim seat
• Blue denim paint job
• 200-section rear tyre

There are also some positives to be found elsewhere:
The heel-toe change was a winner with the testers, as was the tight turning circle, however with a weight of 333kg, wet, you would need that manoeuvrability.

Make no mistake this is a heavy bike and all of the testers reported that it is a big old beast when it comes to moving it around without engine power.

All of the testers agreed that the Harley Crossbones has a fair turn of speed, not in the sports bike league obviously, but a comfortable 60-85 mph is easily achieved, with over 100mph achievable if you can stand the windblast on this naked bike.

The Harley Crossbones has running boards and whilst these do nothing to diminish it’s good looks they are apparently a bit of a nightmare when doing any kind of riding that requires being off vertical, so this will be a bit of a challenge when riding in the UK then surely?
Ride Magazine says “Clearly, this is not a bike that thrives on twisty roads”
It seems its OK if you can ride on straighter A roads.

The comfort of the bike the testers could not agree on and this may be down to the individual and what you are already used to riding.

Motorcycle News called it a “pared-down, back to basics custom with the emphasis on comfort”
Ride’s tester said the riding position is uncomfortable and said “…All my weight on the base of my spine, giving me a numb arse and a sore lower back”

Motorcycle Sport and Leisure said “….the mono shock rear and springer forks jolting and jarring the rider on anything other than the smoothest of surfaces”

For some riders the looks will be enough to forgive the Harley Davidson Crossbones what are considered to be it’s faults and that’s fair enough if that is your bag. The comfort side of things I suspect is one of those things that you won’t know if it suits you or not unless you take it out for a test ride.

All of the testers thought the Harley Crossbones is overpriced and I have to agree, at £12,875 for black paint and £13,025 for colour it is a good £4000 dearer than the Street Bob which is a very similar motorcycle in style and power.

As is typical of new Harleys if you want the louder ‘potato, potato’ sound you will need to fit aftermarket pipes and please tell me where’s the pillion seat?

So be prepared to not only to take a wallet bashing over the initial price but also those essential add-ons could add £1000+ to the price – ouch!

So, to conclude, the Harley Davidson Crossbones is a great looking bike and if you can accept its limitations and the price then it could be the bike for you, but make sure you take it for a test ride first!