There can be little doubt that the classic Harley chop is a hardtail: derived in the forties and fifties from the available material of the time - flatheads, Knuckles and Pans - and realistically, to be absolutely true to the tradition, with a pair of Springers up front. It had to be a hardtail because the swing-arm hadn't been utilised on the Harley and Indian were only experimenting with sprung frames. The style created a cult or genre or whatever you want to call it, but it very definitely created a mould that is still the base of many custom bikes today

As Harley-Davidson moved in towards producing Streetbikes with their early '70s FXs, the design department, and not least Willie G Davidson himself, started to play with a variety of alternatives. The straight streetbike was joined by the more stylised and truly wonderful FXS Low Rider in 1977/78 to produce what is arguably the first factory custom, but the big news was the first full blown factory chop with the FXWG Wide Glide in 1980. It wasn't a classic chop because it didn't have a hardtail, but Harley were facing criticism for producing old-fashioned bikes already without removing the suspension, so it utilised the existing 4-speed Shovelhead frame. To bring it in line with the proper shape, it had three and a half inches extra length in the forks, and they were held in raked yokes that took the conservative 30 degrees to a positively laid back 33, and a pair of apehanger handlebars further emphasised the height of the front end. It finished the job off with a pair of flamed FatBob tanks that instantly picked it out as being something very different from the rest of the range, which it truly was in terms of both concept and image.

In many ways the Wide Glide was the logical progression for a modern chop: swing-arms were now plentiful so why not use one? Though while the 4-speed frame has good lines, there weren't the pure lines inherited from the original motorised bicycle and the traditionalists weren't convinced.

With the passing of the 4-speed to be replaced by the FXR 5-speed frame, and with the replacement frame being less suitable cosmetically for such treatment, the Wide Glide clung to life until 1986 retaining a reworked 4-speed frame that wrapped round an Evo motor, but it then passed into memory until being resurrected as the Dyna Wide Glide for the 1994 catalogue. But those eight years were not short of the odd factory chop: far from it.

In 1984 Harley pulled off the major feat of inventing a hard-tail frame with suspension. It had been done on the custom circuit for a while with varying degrees of success, but Harley did their sums right and put it into production. The Softail was born.

At a stroke, the traditionalist Harley custom owner could see a bike in the catalogue that sent all the right signals. The lines were right, albeit a little more cluttered than a stripped-down hardtail, and the motor was right. Even better than that, the motor was solidly bolted into the frame rather than the rubber-mounting system that the FXR had brought in, to give real engine feedback. It was an overnight sensation and allowed The Motor Company to stake its claim on a custom bike world that it had always trodden warily around. The two models ran side-by-side for two years before the Wide Glide ran out of components.

When the rubber-mount Dyna frame was introduced in '91 with the Sturgis, the similarity of its lines to the old 4-speed was not only noted, but actively pointed out and it was almost inevitable that the when the new frame hit the mainstream, the Wide Glide would breathe again. It did, and it still does.

Once again you could pick between two distinctly different bikes, and up until 1998 the differences were marked: you had a solid mount Evo engine in a classic shaped frame, or the more sophisticated rubber mounted, but otherwise almost identical Evo in the seventies-style frame and there was a real argument to be had. Vibration versus smooth-running. The Evo vibrated as a big twin should and it was a matter of whether that comprised a part of your preferred experience or not: it wasn't especially unpleasant but it was noticeable, while the Wide Glide had a pleasant vibration at low revs when you wanted the gentle massaging, and smoothed out at highway speeds to give long distance comfort.

Then in 1999 the Twin Cam 88 arrived. A bigger, better engine with a shorter stroke, higher revs and more power. It was wonderful in the Tourer, it was a revelation in the Dyna … it was passed over in the Softail for 12 months. It is easy to see why. The higher revs and shorter stroke changed the nature of the vibration to the point where it became intrusive on a solid mount engine, and while the die-hards wouldn't like a rubber-mount engine, they'd probably like the change in the vibration pitch even less - not least because it made it much more obvious that the beloved bottomless torque was being sacrificed for mid-range and top-end power.

The solution came through in 2000 with the Twin Cam Softails: a balanced engine. Still mounted solidly in the frame it would give engine feedback to the rider … except that there wasn't any engine feedback to give, because there were no vibes.

In 2000 the arguments stopped. Well, they did for me, anyway.

In 2000 you could have a classic Harley chop shape that didn't vibrate, or a seventies Harley shape that had damped vibration at low revs and smoothed out when cruising.

So much for the background, what of the practicalities?

I fully expect Rich will go for the former, because I sense that the classic shape is important to him. I fully expect him to expect me to go for the latter because he knows my feeling towards rubber-mounted engine. And he'd be right.

Both bikes - and we will use the FXST for comparison purposes here because it is the most practical Softail custom that you can buy off the shelf - are extremely capable motorcycles. Both bikes will take you from A to B with the minimum of fuss: as quickly as each other; as economically as each other; and with the same amount of style as each other. So what does it matter?

It matters because you wouldn't be riding a Harley at all if the experience of getting there wasn't as important as arriving. If you only needed to get there, you could use a cruiser - and there are some good-looking ones out there if we're being objective … ahh, but we're not. Sorry, I forgot.

It matters because most of us run Harleys for their soul. The living, breathing engine between our legs instils a sense that all is well with the world. You know it's working. You can feel it working. You can even see it's working if you've got a Wide Glide. The same used to be true of the Softail, but I fear it is no longer is the case.

On a Wide Glide round town, you can feel the power pulses pushing you forwards whereas on the Softail you can feel the torque pushing, but there seems to be scant indication of where it's coming from.

On a Wide Glide in the suburbs with a few more revs and moderate speeds, you are still aware of the engine's existence on the Dyna, responding to your every right-handed whim, while the Softail's smooth running provides all the motive power but only loud pipes will give you any indication of what is generating it.

On a Wide Glide at speed, the vibration goes completely, leaving you with the most pleasant aspect of riding bikes over distance: the backdrop (we'll gloss over motorways here because there are few of them that pass muster). If you want to know what the engine's doing, look at it and see the blur, or put your hand on it and realise it's still barely revving at all. Meantime on the Softail, there is the first sign of feedback from the engine, and it is the worst part of the rev range to experience it from - it is as though you're beyond the design parameters and it was never anticipated that you'd be there so didn't need the vibes countered up there, but is inevitable because you can't damp everything - which is why the V-Rod has both rubber-mounting and balance shafts. You drop your hand down to the motor and feel the same vibration as you do through the frame: it could be running at two or five thousand revs but you'd only know if you had loud pipes or a tacho.

You pays your money and you takes your choice, but I would go for the Wide Glide every single time. I have to say that I would have made the same decision faced with an Evo softail because I don't live for first hand vibration, and will happily take it secondhand once the rubber-mounts have damped out the worst of its harshness, and that's a job that I think the Dyna does particularly well.

I'm fortunate that it doesn't compromise my sense of the aesthetic because I love the lines of the 4-speed frame - probably because a 4-speed introduced me to Harleys properly, and because the only Harley I'd lusted after prior to getting my own was the 4-speed Low Rider from the 1978 catalogue, and I look upon that bike with the same affection as people look on Panhead chops.

As regards the Softail, I have to say that I'd actually be more likely to want to put big tyres and wheels and deep valanced mudguards - and a big sprung seat - back onto a Panhead chop that retains the lines of its original frame, but then I do like pre-FLH Electra Glides and their ancestors. Whether this is because I came to the periphery of the biker lifestyle via fifties Rock and Roll, and the post-Teddy Boy "Rocker" image, I can only guess at, but I'd guess there's an element of truth in there somewhere. That puts me squarely on the wrong side of the majority of Harley folk who, while watching "The Wild One" would've been rooting for Lee Marvin's "Chino", while I was wondering why Marlon Brando's "Johnny" had got "Western" bars rather than clip-ons on his Triumph.

I dare say I've changed significantly from the clean-cut, fresh faced idealist whose white scarf had to be white, and quiff needed to be coiffured on a weekly basis, but some things run deeper so there really is no contest for me.

Now a true contest for me would be a Low Rider versus a Wide Glide: that'd have me thinking.

Second Opinion:
Words: Rich

This head to head is a real toughie; a few months back, I wouldn't have had a problem plumping straight for the Softail Standard over the Dyna Wide Glide. I hadn't ridden either, but I'd ridden Softails before, quite a lot as it happens, and while they were never quite as comfortable as they promised, they sure looked the part. However I'd never really rated the Softail Standard, intellectually I knew it was the sensible first move, the ideal base for anyone considering Softail customisation, but in itself the Standard seemed rather a plain Jane, lacking the cudos and celebrity status that its more attractive (and expensive) stablemates enjoyed.

Actually riding and living with the Standard completely changed my mind. The first massive surprise was just how comfortable long distance this stock Softail is - nearly as supremely comfortable as the Softail Deuce in fact. It handled as well as any other Softail (except the Deuce of course), that is competently, and I didn't find it to be underbraked either. So it passed muster as a real motorcycle.

But while its utilitarian grey painted motor did nothing for me, I warmed wholeheartedly to the rest of the machine. The clean lines, minimal front end and wide, low bars set on high risers when looked at properly and more importantly, actually experienced on the road, began triggering my correct 'proper bike' responses and the rest of the Softail range, (except the Deuce of course, oh, and perhaps the Night Train, so that doesn't actuallly leave much ... er, sorry) began to look like absurdly expensive design exercises. Mmm. Well, hang on, hang on, before anyone starts howling, just look at it logically: Why buy a Fat boy say, when you could buy the Standard and turn it into your very own, very personal, in fact unique version of a Fat Boy ... for less money? Eh? See?

... suit yourself.

But I ended up liking the Standard so much I didn't find myself thinking too hard about serious changes. I'd make one or two modifications, naturally, but essentially, at least for the first couple of years I'd just let the machine become part of me and let it tell me what needed to be changed rather than the other way round.

However, this is a head to head and there are two bikes to consider and choices to be made:

Unfortunately, for me that is, the Dyna Wide Glide threw a hand grenade into my malicious preconceptions. I'd accused it of all sorts, while managing successfully to never ride one. As soon as I had to though, I was won over quicker and more comprensively than with any other motorcycle I've ever ridden. And it was the ride that did it - the Dyna Wide Glide is a glorious motorcycle to ride.

It's a standing joke amongst bikers who don't have Harleys, that Harleys don't get ridden. Yeah, while it is certainly true that some indeed don't (just like any other marque - and especially prestigeous marques at that) an awful lot of Harleys are ridden, ridden hard and ridden often - any Winter trip down a motorway will prove that point, a much higher percentage of Harleys than their market share will be blatting somewhere or other in all weather.

And while again it is true that the riders are proud of the way their Harleys look, the profile they cut, either moving or parked up, the one very special thing that Harleys offer that oh so many other motorcycles don't, is the ride; the way that motorcycle feels and responds to its rider.

What blew me away with the Dyna was it's ride and while I never really rated the look of the machine, thinking it too tarty for my somewhat conservative, stripped-down tastes, my experience of the machine on the road modified that view too. How a motorcycle looks, and how other people react to it is in some ways an act of vanity - although the machine is a thing of beauty perhaps, you never really grow to love it unless you live with it and do with it what it's been designed to do - ride it. In riding it, I understood more about why it looked the way it did and in doing so liked the way it looked more and more. Bonkers heh? No, not really.

The Dyna Wide Glide is one of the very best stock Harleys I've had the good fortune to ride. The feedback is pitched perfect, at mid range speeds it throws in what feels like great gobfulls of grin enducing torque - which in reality can't be very much different from any other stock 88, and at motorway speeds it does what it says on the tin and Glides effortlessly, without a hint of nasty vibrations. Sat back in the stepped seat, hands high, it really is stunningly comfortable - even at speed. You could, no, more than that, you would want to ride the Dyna Wide Glide very long distances - a lot.

I already look back on the Dyna Wide Glide I tested last year with true affection and cannot wait to try the 2002 if we get a chance.

So which for me then? Softail Standard or Wide Glide?

I like the look of the Standard: it presses all the right buttons. That it is an obvious first step for a serious Softail custom also impresses and what impresses most of all is the relatively modest price tag - you get an awful lot of motorcycle for that money.

However one of the most important considerations for me is how the mortorcycle feels and reacts to me - if that wasn't important to me I wouldn't be interested in sodding Harleys in the first place would I? And basically the Dyna Wide Glide blows the Softail, in fact any modern 88B Softail, out of the water on that one. I'd grow to love the gangly tacky looks, or spray the whole damn thing black or something, whatever, the Wide Gide wins because its more fun to be with and therefore worth saving up that little bit longer for.

Specifications        

Make & Model	Harley-Davidson FXST Softail Standard	Harley Davidson FXDWG Wide Glide
Engine:	Twin Cam 88B (balanced). Air-cooled 45° V-twin.	Twin Cam 88. Air-cooled 45° V-twin.
Displacement:	1449cc (88 ci)	1449cc (88ci)
Compression Ratio:	8.8:1	8.8:1
Bore & Stroke:	95.3 x 101.6	95.3 x 101.6
Torque:	106.0Nm @ 3200rpm	106Nm @ 2900rpm
Fuel System:	40mm Keihin Carburettor	40mm Keihin Carburettor
Exhaust System:	Staggered shorty duals	Staggered shorty duals
Oil Capacity:	3.3 litres	2.8 litres
Fuel Capacity:	18.9 litres (includes reserve)	19.7 litres (includes reserve)
Primary Drive:	Double-row (duplex) chain	Double-row (duplex) chain
Final Drive:	Kevlar belt	Kevlar belt
Overall Length:	2412mm	2381mm
Seat Height:	664mm	679mm
Ground clearance:	140.9mm	136.5mm
Rake/Trail:	34 degrees / 126.9mm	32 degrees / 129.4mm
Wheelbase:	1697.9mm	1677.6mm
Dry Weight:	305kg	300kg
Lean Angles:	30° left / 31° right	32° left / 31° right
Instruments:	Electronic speedo with odometer and resettable trip meter. Fuel gauge, oil pressure light, engine diagnostic light.	Electronic speedo with odometer and resettable trip meter. Fuel gauge, oil pressure light, engine diagnostic light.
Colour Options:	Vivid black, luxury blue pearl, diamond ice pearl, luxury rich red pearl	Vivid black, diamond ice pearl, real teal pearl, luxury rich red pearl, concord purple pearl, chrome yellow pearl, bronze pearl. Two Tone schemes: Luxury blue and diamond ice, real teal and birch white, luxury rich red and black, vivid black and chrome yellow
Price:	FXST £10,195 Prices include usual otr inc. PDI, full tank of fuel, 12-months tax, first service, 12 months membership of Harley Owners Group (HOG) including their European roadside recovery	FXDWG £11,995 single colour £12,195 two-tone Prices include usual otr inc. PDI, full tank of fuel, 12-months tax, first service, 12 months membership of Harley Owners Group (HOG) including their European roadside recovery
Test bikes kindly supplied by:	Harley-Davidson UK. Oxford Business Park, 6000 Garsington Road, Oxford, England OX4 2DQ Tel: 0870 850 1903 (UK)