2020 SOFTAIL STANDARD

A quintessential Harley

- David Cohen

The first thing I noticed about the new Softail Standard is how much better it looks in real life than it did on screen or in the press release. Sitting on the dealer forecourt with 5km on the clock it absolutely gleamed with lustrous paint and polished finish. It might be a ‘Plain Jane’ to some people, but for me it brought a wave of nostalgia and memories of simpler times. I like its look and the nod to some classic lines.

That’s partly because the styling reminded me of the first Harley I ever rode, my pal Rusty’s 1200 Sportster. Sure, the tank is a different shape, but the overall look and style of the new Softail had me peering back through the mists of time to somewhere late in the last millennium.

Then, when I sat on it for the first time it took me straight back to the huge feel-good grin I was wearing on the first Harley I tested, a 2001 Wide Glide.

Sure, the forks aren’t as wide and the front wheel is smaller than that old FXDWG, but the mini apes, laced wheels and whole look of its minimalist, polished and clear coated front-end had me reminiscing about how fine I thought that Widey was back then.

When I clicked the 2020 gearbox into place, without a massive clunk or the cantankerousness shifting of yore, it really brought home that line about nostalgia not being what it used to be.