Ghost story

Marking 35 years of an iconic Harley-Davidson^® softail cruiser

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”: it’s a turn of phrase that Harley-Davidson^® motorcycles embody when they couple heritage with reliability. Such is the evidence for the Harley-Davidson Fat Boy^®, which has remained a staple in the company’s line-up for 35 years.

Since its debut in 1990, the Fat Boy has become one of the company’s most popular models. Designed by stylists Willie G. Davidson and Louie Netz, its image has always been defined by its outright girth – a characteristic that led to its name.

The model’s popularity isn’t confined to the riding community, either. It’s appeared in several films and television shows, most famously James Cameron’s 1991 sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day. However, it can also be spotted in Sons of Anarchy, Wild Hogs and CSI: Miami.

In 1990, the Fat Boy made a statement with a silver powder-coated frame to match its monochromatic paint. Yellow accents subtly accentuated the engine, while laced leather gave it a handmade look. It was a true rolling art piece that stood boldly upon solid cast wheels in both the front and rear.

Its burly form is unmistakable and perhaps most recognisable from the two-wing badge on the fuel tank. It has been subtly refined over the years, but remains mostly unchanged thanks to Willie G.’s design efforts to evoke “patriotism and nostalgia”.

Though nostalgic in nature, the 1990 Fat Boy was the first model to feature shotgun exhaust and gently flared fenders front and rear. For two years prior to its release, the design had undergone rigorous testing and customer feedback. Willie G. rode a prototype to Daytona in 1988 and again in 1989 for customer feedback. These trips were essential to improving the bike and contributed to its eventual popularity.

As the Fat Boy rolls into its 35th year, it has matured technologically while remaining faithful to its original design. For the first 10 years of life, the Fat Boy touted an 80 cubic inch Evolution^™ engine. As we celebrated the new millennium, the model marked the beginning of its second decade with a switch to the balanced Twin Cam 88^® engine and an option for fuel injection. The 2000s popularised the Fat Boy further with a divergence from the base platform by welcoming a couple of Screamin’ Eagle^® models, Anniversary Editions, and the Fat Boy Lo in 2010. After embracing multiple powertrain upgrades during the Twin Cam era, the Fat Boy underwent its biggest change in 2018, when it received the powerful Milwaukee-Eight^® engine stuffed into a totally redesigned Softail^® chassis.

History has a way of defining the future, allowing us to study the successes of our predecessors to preserve prosperity in perfection. Nothing has been a truer example than the Harley-Davidson Fat Boy, where it remains uncontested as the icon it is.