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To better understand the second incarnation of this model, we should take a brief look at the original. The intent was to build something that the Japanese had not, a torquey V-twin with American styling. Or, as the Harley ads said, “One mean machine”—in any color you wanted as long as it was gunmetal gray. The FXS Low Rider’s 27-inch seat height put the rider’s nose at about the same level as an 18-wheeler’s license plate. And thank the Lord and President Nixon for that 55 mph national speed limit, otherwise the rigid-mounted 74-inch V-twin would make your chiropractor a wealthy person. The speedometer actually had the gall to go to 150 mph, though the bike was hard-pressed to reach 100, at which point the rider’s fillings would start to fall out. Cornering ability? At 20 degrees of lean it was scraping on both sides.

The Low Rider had little to do with function; it was all about image. Manly men—this being long before Harley thought of catering to women riders—understood that the primary purpose of riding a motorcycle was to roll down Main Street on Saturday evening, preferably with a pack of Camels rolled up in the T-shirt sleeve. The Low Rider soon became the best-selling Big Twin in the Harley line,