2013 Harley-Davidson New Model Preview | Here’s To 110 More

110th Anniversary Edition Road King ($20,999). Serialized, exclusive paint, and commemorative badging, there will only be 1,750 bikes built. These bikes will also include factory-installed options: Smart Security system, ABS brakes, cruise control, and Contrast Chrome 28-spoke cast aluminum wheels. Non Anniversary models are also available in Vivid Black ($17,699), Ember Red Sunglo ($18,124), Midnight Pearl ($18,124), and two-tone Candy Orange/Beer Bottle ($18,504).

110th Anniversary Edition Road King ($20,999). Serialized, exclusive paint, and commemorative badging, there will only be 1,750 bikes built. These bikes will also include factory-installed options: Smart Security system, ABS brakes, cruise control, and Contrast Chrome 28-spoke cast aluminum wheels. Non Anniversary models are also available in Vivid Black ($17,699), Ember Red Sunglo ($18,124), Midnight Pearl ($18,124), and two-tone Candy Orange/Beer Bottle ($18,504).

What’s a good gift to celebrate 110 years? Socks? Silverware? Super Polygrip? A gold watch? How about cash? Everyone likes cash right? Incredible as it may seem, 2013 marks Harley-Davidson’s 110th anniversary making motorcycles. It seems like just 109 years ago the company was just a little shack in Milwaukee with a few dudes tinkering away. Man how time flies!

Just like last year, the eight offerings in the OE Touring Family are the Road King, Road King Classic, Electra Glide Classic, Ultra Classic Electra Glide, Electra Glide Ultra Limited, Street Glide, Road Glide Custom, and Road Glide Ultra. Of course there is also the Tri Glide Ultra Classic for those who are into the three-wheel motion. To help celebrate the remarkable 110-year milestone, the supercentenarian recently announced it will produce a limited number of select 110th Anniversary Touring models for 2013. The serialized anniversary models will feature exclusive paint, and commemorative badging. The Road King, Electra Glide Ultra Limited, and Tri Glide Ultra Classic will all receive an Anniversary Vintage Bronze/Anniversary Vintage Black paint scheme. The tanks of these models will receive solid bronze fuel tank badges plated in black nickel then distressed to highlight the bronze. For those that like their bikes more on the rare side, there will be very limited numbers of 110th Anniversary CVO Ultra Classic Electra Glide, CVO Road King, and CVO Road Glide Custom models featuring a Diamond Dust and Obsidian paint scheme as well as special badging and tank medallions.

All of the OE touring and anniversary models (except the CVOs) come standard with the 103ci engine and six-speed Cruise Drive transmission package. And while still not standard equipment across the OE touring line, ABS brakes, the Smart Security System, and electronic cruise control are offered as upgrade options. There are a few items of interest outside the OE Touring family though, such as the restyled Dyna Street Bob, which got a blacked-out powertrain, new risers, and a side-mount license plate and stop/turn/taillights on the chopped rear fender. The only truly new model for 2013 is the CVO Breakout Softail with fenders trimmed to the legal limit to show off the meaty 240mm rear and 130mm front tires. Overall appearance is a stocky street machine with a wide frontend, low-profile console, and new Turbine wheels. Another notable model is the CVO Road King which not only got the royal anniversary treatment, but this model also marks the fist time a Road King platform comes equipped with a factory-installed audio system. The Rockin’ King sports a 200-watt amp, two 5x7-inch speakers with bridged tweeters in the saddlebag lids, two 5-1/4-inch speakers with bridged tweeters in the fairing lowers, and an interface module for an included 8GB iPod controlled by handlebar buttons. For more on this and the other CVO Touring models, check out our December 2012 issue or visit baggersmag.com.

Another big announcement for 2013 is the Hard Candy Custom paint. Big, shiny, bold, and flaky, the Hard Candy takes metalflake back to the custom paint days of the ’60s and ’70s when being a big flake wasn’t a bad thing. Loud and proud, we first laid eyes on the Hard Candy paint initiative with the intro of the Big Red Flake found on the 2012 Seventy-Two Sporty. It seems the paint department over at H-D got a taste of the rainbow and expanded the line to include 16 new big-flake finishes. Three solid Hard Candy finishes—Big Red Flake, Lucky Green Flake, and Candy Coloma Flake—will be offered as OE paint for Seventy-Two, Street Bob, Blackline, Forty-Eight, and Deluxe models. At least one of those three solid flake colors will be offered for the aforementioned bikes. No Hard Candy for any of the touring models? Don’t fret, if you like your paint as loud as the music on your bagger, H-D will offer a mix of two-tone Hard Candy Custom Flake Core Series paint sets and fuel tanks from the H-D Accessories Color Shop. Oh, and to continue the glittery look from your bike to your body, H-D MotorClothes will offer a host of T-shirts and helmets influenced by the Hard Candy line.

Up close with the bike flakes of the Hard Candy Custom paint. As of now, no solid colors options are offered for Touring models, but two-tone paint schemes will be available for Touring models through the H-D Accessories Color Shop.

Up close with the bike flakes of the Hard Candy Custom paint. As of now, no solid colors options are offered for Touring models, but two-tone paint schemes will be available for Touring models through the H-D Accessories Color Shop.

What it comes down to so far for the 2013 OE Touring lineup is new paint finishes and limited edition paint and special badging for the anniversary editions. I say “so far,” because as has been the case with Harley over the past few years, the company likes to release mid-year models which have pretty much been all-new models, i.e. the Cross Bones, the Black Line, the Forty-Eight, and most recently the Softail Slim and Seventy-Two. You may have noticed that amongst the aforementioned models, none fell into the Touring family so let’s keep our fingers crossed that if there is a new mid-year model announced down the road, that it’s a bagger.

Oh and by the way, everyone is invited to the 110th Anniversary celebration August 29-Septermber 1, 2013 at Harley’s home base in Milwaukee. Remember to bring a gift, preferably cash.