Harley-Davidson FLSTC 1340 Heritage Softail Classic
Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail | |
Manufacturer | |
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Also called | FLSTC 1340 Heritage Softail Classic (reduced effect), FLST 1340 Heritage Softail (reduced effect), FIST 1340 Heritage Softail, FLST 1340 Heritage Softail, FLSTC 1340 Heritage Softail Classic, 1340 Heritage Softail Spesial, 1340 Heritage Softail Custom, 1340 Heritage Softail Special, 1340 Heritage Softail Classic, Heritage Softail Special, Heritage Softail Classic Injection, FLSTCI Heritage Softail Classic, FLSTI Heritage Softail, FLSTC Heritage Softail Classic Peace Officer, FLSTC Heritage Softail Classic Firefighter, FLSTC Softail, Heritage Softail Classic 110th Anniversary, Heritage Softail Classic, FLSTC Heritage Softail Classic, FLST Heritage Softail |
Production | 1984 - 85 |
Engine | Four stroke, 45° V-Twin, OHV, 2 valves per cylinder. |
Compression ratio | 8.5:1 |
Ignition | Analogue CDI |
Transmission | 4 Speed |
Frame | Steel, Double cradle frame |
Suspension | Front: Telescopic forks Rear: Dual shocks |
Brakes | Front: Single 292mm disc Rear: Single 292mm disc |
Front Tire | 140/90-16 |
Rear Tire | 140/90-16 |
Seat Height | 673 mm / 26.5 lbs |
Weight | 295 kg / 650 lbs (dry), |
Fuel Capacity | 16 Liters / 4.2 US gal |
Manuals | Service Manual |
Engine[edit | edit source]
The engine was a Air cooled cooled Four stroke, 45° V-Twin, OHV, 2 valves per cylinder.. The engine featured a 8.5:1 compression ratio.
Drive[edit | edit source]
Power was moderated via the Dry, multiple discs, cable operated.
Chassis[edit | edit source]
It came with a 140/90-16 front tire and a 140/90-16 rear tire. Stopping was achieved via Single 292mm disc in the front and a Single 292mm disc in the rear. The front suspension was a Telescopic forks while the rear was equipped with a Dual shocks. The FLSTC 1340 Heritage Softail Classic was fitted with a 16 Liters / 4.2 US gal fuel tank. The bike weighed just 295 kg / 650 lbs.
Photos[edit | edit source]
Overview[edit | edit source]
Harley Davidson
FLSTC 1340 Heritage Softail Classic
Only Harley-Davidson could get away with this. The Heritage Classic says that
nothing's really ever new, a concept of particular appeal to those companies
counting their days since the dawn of motorcycling. According to Milwaukee, we
are in Harley-Davidson's 82nd year, the year of our Lord 1986, about 35 years
from the first hardtail Hydra-Glide, the bike which introduced Harley riders to
the telescopic hydraulic front fork.
Ah, the Hydra-Glide. A chrome headlamp sat like a shining crown atop a
polished alloy altar, the chrome pillars of which covered the telescopic legs.
In the days of springer forks with friction dampers, headlamps sat high and
awkWardly above the exposed springs. The front-end assembly had the exposed
mechanical busyness of a coal-burning locomotive. The Hydra-Glide was
ultracontemporary by comparison, as sleek and curvaceous as the seamless shell
of a diesel-electric streamliner.
Any resemblance to Santa Fe's finest came to an abrupt end right behind the
Hydra-Glide's steering neck, where the bike showed the orchestration of an oil
refinerybrutal, direct, industrial, and intricate in a way that mechanical
contrivances become when much of their insides are on the outside.
Time across 35 years has pulled out of a linear plane, bending toward full
circle. The Heritage Softail echoes the first Hydra-Glide, but in this case the
echo is vastly superior to the original voice. First, the look: the Softail,
with its hidden rear suspension, was the natural base the Hydra-Glide was a
hardtail (no rear suspension whatsoever). For a long time the increasing
complexity (some would argue clutter) of the FL Big Twin series has obscured the
powerfully simple forms of the motorcycles, a full chord of shapes played by the
tank, wheels, fenders, nacelles and silhouettes. Fairings and bags and travel
trunks, and all the accessories and gadgets that buyers bought buried the basic
bike. By taking the base FL forms off the "Rubber Glides," and adding a
Hydra-Glide-style front end, Milwaukee re-created on the Softail platform a
machine of arresting simplicity. The FLST is the most elegant Harley-Davidson of
its generation.
You might figure Harley designers rushed out to the warehouse, tossed bins of
Softail and FL parts into the air, and assembled a bike from the fallout. Not
quite. While the basic Softail frame remains unchanged, the FL-style front end,
with its 16-inch wheel, required altering the triple-clamps, essentially pulling
in the fork. In length, the fork falls halfway between those of the standard
Softail and the basic FL, about an inch and a half longer than the FL and about that much shorter than the Softail
Custom. Were some inventive fellow to graft the standard 16-inch FL
rolling-stock to the basic Softail with its clamps and fork, he might later scab
himself for his trouble. His project bike would likely have an unacceptable
level of weave decay; translated from engineer speak, that means his backyard parts-bin special might be a real wobbler.
Maybe the tank and fenders and the hardtail look will fool you into thinking
this is 1949, but the split-level saddle has 1980s written all over it. Indeed,
it shares the same seat pan as the regular Softail, but the seat's architecture
is special to the Heritage, placing the rider back farther away from the
handlebar than on the FL-series bikes. The bar is a 40s/80s blend: it looks like
a postwar tiller, but the '86 seat makes for a long reach, and the generous
pullback in the bar gets the grips in the right place.
A '49 Hydra didn't have footpegs eitherat least not for the rider. Neither
does the FLST: its boards allow the pilot to shuffle his feet around, and this,
together with the bar/seat/floorboard relationships, makes the Heritage a more
ergonomically sound machine than the standard FXST and FXSTC.
Milwaukee's current 80-cubic-inch engine is the centerpiece of the Heritage
Softail. While this engine has what designers call a lot of surface development,
the new-80 avoids the oil-refinery look of the 1949 74 V-twin. The Heritage is clean enough for the eye to read
in a single sweep, but retains enough surface development to remain interesting
and mechanical.
In a fundamental way, Cycle editors can't test the machine's appearance; it's not quantifiable like performance
data. We can tell you about three things that make the Heritage
remarkable. First, the basic Harley mechanicals are familiar; the interesting
story lies in the bike's appearance. Second, the Heritage is an adaptation and amplification of
a Fifties streamlined theme on the original V-twin pattern by the original
V-twin patternmaker. Third, the Heritage represents an extraordinary metamorphosis: here's a motorcycle rooted mechanically in the way-far-out,
custom-end of the Harley spectrumyet this adaptation of parts and themes has
created a wonderfully clean, pure standard Big Twin. Think about itfrom
"Custom" back to "Standard." It's as if Honda Magnas, in an effort to be at the
cutting edge of style, turned back into Sabres.
Don't forget, though, where the 1980s have led usthe Heritage frame and
suspension are miles away from the cutting edge. The FLST is a serious,
straight-up motorcycle limited by its floorboards. They scrape alarmingly when
the motorcycle banks at what seems like two degrees from vertical. The rear
suspension works acceptably on the freeway, but severe bumps on secondary roads
can jolt the rider out of the saddle. Likewise, the front end can top and bottom
on bumpy roads at elevated speeds.
The curb-feeler floorboards and limited suspension tie logically to the Softail frame and its solid engine
mounts. How so? At elevated power-plant speeds, the engine shakes the motorcycle
sternly enough to discourage any high-speed prancing, the likes of which would
underline the Softail's suspension shortcomings and reduce the floorboards to
jagged metal and smoking rubber. In fact, the engine vibration, isolated in
Harley-Davidson's Rubber-Glide series, makes the full range of the 80-cubic-inch
engine far less usable in the Softail than it is in the FXR. Isolated, the big
V-twin feels eager and willing; mounted solid, the same unit feels eager only to
its vibrating point.
Tales of someone's old wife say that vintage Harley-Davidsons were really
smooth-runningfor the Fifties; during break-in, vibration would gradually
dissolve into a murmur, and a certain stillness would settle over the bike. Most
motorcycle editors are too young to have many old wives, but the Heritage
Softail serves as an introduction to this concept. In the case of the 1986
Softail, madam knew whereof she spoke. The falloff in vibration between 200
miles and 500 miles was remarkable; between 500 and 900 the falloff was
dramatic.
Since no engine in a production series is exactly like any other, units vary
in smoothness. Because most motorcycle engines are basically smooth multis, or
counterbalanced twins or fours, and/or rubber-mounted, most contemporary
motorcycle riders have forgotten that motorcycle engines are very much individuals. Our test Softail proved,
we think, quite smooth given our experience with past Harley twins bolted
directly in their frames. Specifically, the Softail we sampled in May 1984 was a
grim shaker next to the'86 Heritage Softail. Granted, the present model has belt
drive whereas the '84 was chain-driven, and this might explain some small
variance, as might the difference in front-end specification or any other
changes in spec. Still, the major differences in the '84/86 shake-levels lie in
the engine, perhaps less in the design, which is essentially unchanged, than in
quality control and production consistency in manufacturing.
As the engine ran in, speeds at which vibration diminished to a low rumble
broadened. First, 55 to 58 miles per hour in fifth defined the calm spot. Later,
the spot stretched to become a band, 55 to 70 mph. The bar and seat, interestingly, are better isolated from vibration in The Band than are the
rubber-mounted floorboards.
The bike's hardware puts the rider in a comfortably upright position and
provides for shift-around movement. The Heritage has its basic foot controls
better located, more to the rear and lower, than the normal Softails, though the
basic FXR has its pegs and foot controls in an even more-aft location than does
the Heritage. In short, the Heritage controls fall about where you'll find them
on FL twins. The rider must reach, a bit awkWardly, for the rear brake with his
right foot; consequently, our staff used the rear brake very little. Likewise,
to use the toe lever to downshift involves a slight lift-and-reach motion;
upshifts, done with a more natural lift-and-de-press heel motion, come easier.
Incidentally, our Heritage had its two-piece toe-and-heel levers switched from
their standard positions on the shift shaft so that the toe lever was outboard
of the heel lever. This arrangement, we think, is a bit more comfortable.
Riding the Softail back to back with the FXR leaves no doubt which motorcycle
is the more contemporary piece: the Rubber-Glide FXR in every area save one.
Only the Softail's front brake outperforms the FXR's, taking less hand pressure
to make a stop. No functional argument can explain a preference for the Softail,
which costs about $1600 more than the FXR. In its sweet zone, 55 to 70 mph on a
smooth straight road, the Softail Heritage is roughly comparable to the FXR.
Clearly, since the Softail is the premium-priced bike, something else is going
on here.
In the mid-1980s motorcycling has entered an era of novelty. Since nine out
of ten buyers of new motorcycles already own or have owned a motorcycle and have
long experience with the machine, they tend to be drawn toward novelty.
Motorcycling, in turn, has more expressions of novelty than ever before. Even
the latest high-tech street bikesmotorcycles like Suzuki's GSX-R750show a
willingness to dally with dysfunction for the street: witness the racetrack
rider position. Harley-David-son develops novelty elsewhere, creating a
regenerate, 1950s-looking motorcycle on an engineering platform that's less
functional overall than Milwaukee's mainliners. The most powerful elements of
the Heritage Softail are the novelty of the thing and its elegant, handsome
lines. The novelty would be diminished were Harley to make Heritage editions by
the thousandsproduction is limited to about 1700. We suspect, however, that
those numbers do not even begin to match the size of the real clientele for the
Heritage Softail.
The Heritage looks, we think, might fit well on the basic FXR chassis. That would unite the clean, classic Heritage
shape with contemporary Harley engineering. As much as we like the way the
Heritage Softail looks, we still consider vibration a nuisance rather than a
novelty.
Source Cycle 1986
Make Model | Harley Davidson FLSTC 1340 Heritage Softail Classic |
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Year | 1984 - 85 |
Engine Type | Four stroke, 45° V-Twin, OHV, 2 valves per cylinder. |
Displacement | 1337 cc / 81.5 cu-in |
Bore X Stroke | 88.8 x 108 mm |
Cooling System | Air cooled |
Compression | 8.5:1 |
Lubrication | Dry sump |
Induction | 38mm Keihin carburetor |
Ignition | Analogue CDI |
Starting | Electric |
Max Power | 58 hp / 42.3 kW @ 5000 rpm |
Max Torque | 97 Nm / 71.5 lb-ft @ 2350 rpm |
Clutch | Dry, multiple discs, cable operated |
Transmission | 4 Speed |
Final Drive | Chain |
Frame | Steel, Double cradle frame |
Front Suspension | Telescopic forks |
Rear Suspension | Dual shocks |
Front Brakes | Single 292mm disc |
Rear Brakes | Single 292mm disc |
Front Tire | 140/90-16 |
Rear Tire | 140/90-16 |
Seat Height | 673 mm / 26.5 lbs |
Dry Weight | 295 kg / 650 lbs |
Fuel Capacity | 16 Liters / 4.2 US gal |