Harley-Davidson bikes have very distinctive designs, so it solely is smart that they’d have very distinctive names to match. It is why H-D bikes use these cryptic letter codes for every mannequin. Riders looking a Harley showroom (both in-person or nearly) can count on to see jumbles of letters like “FLH” or “ST.” However how do you decode them? In Harley-Davidson communicate, “ST” historically refers back to the Softail body: a hidden-rear-suspension design that mixes classic Harley styling with extra fashionable consolation requirements. Most bikes with “ST” of their identify will include one among these Softail frames. Nonetheless, in fashionable advertising and marketing, you would possibly see the ST used to seek advice from Sport Touring.
The Softail body has been round for the reason that engineer and rider Invoice Davis first started engaged on a design again within the Nineteen Seventies. He wished one thing that will mix the clear, inflexible look of a hardtail with the consolation of a contemporary suspension. On the time, conventional hardtail bikes had a minimalist, low-slung body however punished riders with severe discomfort on longer journeys. By hiding the rear shocks beneath the seat and throughout the body, Davis managed to create a motorcycle that rode easily with out sacrificing the fashion riders beloved. He referred to as it the Softail.
Decoding Harley-Davidson abbreviations
Davis ultimately offered his design to the bike model and, in 1984, the corporate debuted the very first Harley-Davidson Softail. This ultimately gave strategy to a complete household of Softail fashions, starting from the retro-styled Heritage Softail to the now-iconic Fats Boy (famously ridden by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2: Judgment Day). Throughout their lineup, seeing “ST” in a Harley mannequin code lets riders know they’re getting one among these Softail frames.
However what in regards to the different letters within the identify? For example, the Harley-Davidson FXST? In Harley’s mannequin code system, the primary letter often signifies the engine kind, whereas the second often refers back to the fork or entrance finish dimension. The third a part of the abbreviation, the place “ST” would seem, tells you the body kind. Touring fashions would possibly function a “T,” Freeway fashions an “H,” whereas Dyna fashions used a “D” earlier than being merged with the Softail line on the finish of the 2010s. So, within the case of the FXST, that bike would provide you with a Softail body with a Massive Twin engine (“F”) and a lighter, sportier entrance finish (“X”).
