Harley-Davidson FXR4
FXR + EVO = Head Turner
By the Motorcycle Online Staff
LOS ANGELES, October 13, 1999 -- Cruisers are huge right now, accounting for the largest-selling segment of new motorcycle sales. And with new bikes flying off the showroom floors one right after the other, it's no surprise that aftermarket accessory suppliers are thriving as well. After all, when you've just plunked down a few month's worth of take-home pay, you don't want to look like everyone else on the road.
Harley-Davidson, leading the cruiser charge, decided that since their bikes were often the magnets for many aftermarket goodies they'd do a little customization in-house. The guys responsible for these changes are part of Harley's Custom Vehicle Operations (CVO) program, and it's their goal to build low-volume, highly-customized cruisers better than anyone in the aftermarket. CVO has tried this approach before with their FXR2 and FXR3 and the result was a bike that dealers had more demand for than they knew what to do with.
With their newest exercise in customization, the FXR4 goes out farther on a limb than the precious versions. The chassis and 1340cc Evolution powertrain are standard fare, and while most of the mods that were made to the FXR2 and FXR3 are carried over to the newest model, the FXR4 boasts fourteen more goodies.
Most of the new add-ons are purely eye candy, such as the tear-drop-shape floating brake rotors, a laced 19-inch front wheel, chrome drag bars, a solid FLSTF rear chrome wheel, a chrome rear sprocket cover, billet mirrors, a chrome lower guard, wide-band billet footpegs, grips and shifter peg. A few of the items are performance oriented, however, like the new seat, dual four-piston calipers, P&A rear shocks, sealed wheel bearings and a sealed battery.
The production run is set for 970 units, each with a suggested retail price of $17,995, with prices in California slightly higher. The bikes are available in both Screaming Yellow Pearl and Candy Tangerine paint schemes with new Eclipse graphics.