Fat Boy turns 30

One of Harley-Davidson’s most popular and successful modern models, the Fat Boy turns 30 in 2020 and Harley are marking the occasion with a special edition.

The ‘Fat Boy 30th Anniversary Limited Edition’ will feature a Vivid Black paint scheme (the only colour offered) and blackout treatments on the handlebars, forks, exhaust and other parts, with bronze-tone detailing on the Milwaukee Eight 114 engine and a special finish for the Fat Boy’s signature solid disc wheels.

Only 2,500 individually-numbered units will be released worldwide.

Fat Boy History

Released in 1990, the original Fat Boy was the work of Harley-Davidson stylists Willie G. Davidson and Louie Netz. Then, as now, the defining feature on the Softail Fat Boy was its fat tyres and solid disc wheels at each end. Those wheels were part of a metallic monochrome look that included a silver powdercoated frame and silver-painted tinware. Yellow detailing on the EVO 80ci v-twin heads was the only break in the colour palette.

Subtly flared front and rear mudguards and Harley’s first use of a shotgun exhaust were other styling features, while the winged tank logo was a subtler element that has endured on Fat Boys to this day.

Responding to allegations the ‘Fat Boy’ name was inspired by the atomic bombs used in WWII, Willie G set the record straight in 2003: “I’ve heard a lot of tales about this, nearly all of which are untrue. Here’s the real story: it’s tough to come up with names that will be popular on the street. We always have to ask ourselves, “What’s the street going to name this?” and work from there. We were looking for something unusual and maybe even a little irreverent, because there’s something sort of cool about poking fun at your products from time to time. To me, and to a lot of other insiders who’d seen it, the bike had a massive “fat” look. So, the folks in marketing came up with the name “Fat Boy” – and the street picked it up.”

For most people, their first exposure to the Fat Boy was thanks to its role in the 1991 movie, Terminator 2: Judgement Day., but it had actually been in circulation years earlier, as Willie G. had ridden prototype Fat Boys to the annual Sturgis motorcycle rallies in 1988 and 1989.

However, it was as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ride in the smash hit film that the Fat Boy’s role in pop culture history - and Harley’s catalogue - was assured.

Fat Boy changes were minimal in its first years on the market, mainly limited to colour variations. When the Twin Cam 88B was introduced for Softails in 2000, the Fat Boy received this smoother, more powerful engine, requiring some frame modifications to fit it, but not much else changed.

Being such a hit for Harley, there was reluctance to mess with the model’s success, so changes have been minimal since. Engine upgrades came in 2006 and 2012 (the latter combined with a six-speed gearbox), but the biggest changes in the Fat Boy’s recent history came with the merging of the Dyna family onto the Softail platform for 2018. A redesigned frame and new rear suspension – with a single shock instead of a pair - came with that change, along with the introduction of the Milwaukee Eight engines, which on the MY18 Fat Boy were available in 107ci and 114ci capacity.

Black Attack

To differentiate the Fat Boy 30th Anniversary Limited Edition against its volume production sibling for 2020, Harley are giving the special version a bunch of unique finishes, led by an all-over black colour scheme.

“For this 30th Anniversary Limited Edition model, we wanted to create something very special, so we leaned into the popularity of darker finishes and a limited run/serialized strategy to make the bike truly unique and exclusive,” said Brad Richards, Harley-Davidson Vice President of Styling and Design.

That colour – Vivid Black – will be the only one available for the limited edition, with the blackout treatment extending from nose to tail.

On the Milwaukee Eight 114 powertrain, the black continues and is only broken up by bronze detailing on the rocker covers in an homage to the original Fat Boy. Subtler bronze detailing on the pushrods and script for the air cleaner and timing cover also feature.

The latest version of the Fat Boy’s shotgun exhaust includes a Black Onyx finish that Harley describes as “a vapour deposition paint finish that reveals the underlying chrome in bright light”.

Solid disc wheels remain, finished in Satin Black with machined highlights on the outer rim that further accentuate these oversized ‘Lakester’ wheels and their 160-section front and 240-section rear tyres.

The headlight nacelle has been redesigned for 2020 and, like the handlebars, grips, levers and switchgear, is also finished in Vivid Black on the limited edition.

The winged tank decal remains and carries ‘30th’ identification, while the waterslide tank logo also identifies the limited edition and adds each unit’s individual serial number in a bronze accented panel.

Familiar Force

Drivetrain for the 30th Anniversary Limited Edition is a stock Milwaukee Eight 114 - the most powerful engine option for Softails – producing 161Nm and matched to a six-speed transmission and belt drive.

Suspension is the familiar combination of 49mm forks with dual bending valves and the free-piston coil-over monoshock introduced in 2018 that comes with remote rear preload adjustment. Travel of 130mm front and 86mm rear is standard.

Brakes are made up of twin 300mm front discs with 4-piston fixed calipers and a 292mm rear disc with a 2-piston floating caliper.

Essential numbers include a 675mm seat height, 1655mm wheelbase, 18.9-litre fuel tank and 317kg wet weight.

Aussie Availability

Announced in February, the Fat Boy 30th Anniversary Limited Edition is priced at $35,995 ride away ($38,495 NZ). Australian delivery times and local allocation numbers of the global 2,500-unit total were still to be confirmed at time of writing.