First Look: 2008 Harley-Davidson FLSTSB Softail Cross Bones

Lose the hangers, put on some bags, paint it green, oops.

Seven HUNDRED and thirty seven pounds. Yeah, just like those old bobbers.

Guys, the whole point of a bobber is to lose unnecessary weight, not add it. Cut a couple hundred pounds off that turkey and I'll start paying attention.

...needs more rake & a 6" over fork. Looks like a Cushman without the front end being kicked out a bit more.

sachiwilson said:

Seven HUNDRED and thirty seven pounds. Yeah, just like those old bobbers.

Guys, the whole point of a bobber is to lose unnecessary weight, not add it. Cut a couple hundred pounds off that turkey and I'll start paying attention.

Click to expand...

Who ever thought that my old Shovelhead Fatbob at a mere 610pounds would be considered a light weight cruiser today. LOL! You need that extra hp from the 96CI engine just to make up the weight difference. double LOL!

After seeing the price of it, kinda makes my Knuck look like a downright bargain! I guess if you can't handle the real thing you go out and buy one of these.

It's amazing what those boys over at HD can do with their parts bin! Equally amazing is how they can just open the catalog from 50-60 years ago and say: "Ok, let's do this again" (note the dash panel in particular). And it works...that bike will sell; bobbers are in and the "biker" fashion slu ts will gobble them up.

It is nice to see that the springer front end gets another rendition; I know it's not that efficient but I've always dug the style. Hmm...a springer on a V-Strom; now that would be...um..ok, never mind.

(The censored word was slots with a u. Sheese.)

Motorcycles are for riding. I ride regardless of weather, time of day, or traffic conditions nine months a year. That bike is 100 pounds overweight, and the handlebars give you no leverage. The Nightster is a great bike. But this one is more garage art than something you could actually ride.

Sponsorship for UFC and WEC? What’s next, Wrestlemania? Pit bull terriers? Is it me or is this starting to get really embarrasing. Its MIT they should sponsor. For starters put another disk on that front for gossakes. Is there a single engineer left in that bunch of MBAs and fashionistas running the company?

- cruiz-euro

It's funny you say that this bike is unrideable, when many years ago people rode bikes that were exactly like this one year round and thousands and thousands of miles. I hate apes too, but some guys can't ride without them. Ask Sarnali. He has the braided armpit hair to prove it.

That is one ugly bike to my eyes. And quite expensive too.

How are these things (H-Ds) selling these days, anyway?

I went to the local bike (Tattoo and chopper) show this weekend. Don't worry, I didn't pay to get in.

The local H-D dealer saw me looking at the Fat Bob (??) he had on display, along with a bunch of other bikes. He put the "hard sell" on me. I am not at all used to this.

Maybe people are running out of quick cash from their refinanced houses.

Oh, this "Cross-Bones" does nothing for me. Looks pretty awful, IMHO, and aren't looks what it all about with these things?

Kenneth_Moore said:

It's amazing what those boys over at HD can do with their parts bin! Equally amazing is how they can just open the catalog from 50-60 years ago and say: "Ok, let's do this again" (note the dash panel in particular).

Click to expand...

That's what it looks like to me, a parts bin special. Kind of reminds me of that Johnny Cash song about building a Caddy while working at the factory, think it was called "One Part at a Time". Doesn't do a thing for me. I would love to get in that parts bin though.

Bent bones

Nice riding position. Ouch!

I guess you won't be purchasing one anytime soon?

Nice looking bike,but quite frankly harleys are starting to bore me.I think theyve gone as far as they can with the retro custom (chopper/bobber)look and are beginning to be repetitive. The only HD's that grab me are the Sporty.the Eglide/Road king/road Glide series and the VRODs(engine but not the style).Now if they come up with a water cooled engine in a true touring chassis,I would be back in the wanna buy another harley frame of mind.until then I'll stick with my 97 geezer Glide and keep lusting for an Itakian sporty bike as my second street bike.

I'm liking the fact that we are finally moving away from the excessive chrome. I always liked the look of the springers and I'm glad it is back in the line-up. The spinger seat is a neat retro piece to include, but it looks a bit odd. Almost fake looking if that makes any sense.

Not a fan of the ape hangers, though, but I can't knock them for adding them as there are a large number of cruiser riders that dig 'em.

HD really seems to be targeting the "custom", "boutique" bike market recently with this model and the Rocker. And considering those bikes usually run north of 30 grand, you can almost say these bikes are priced reasonably.

+1 on a VRod powered tourer. I'd buy one tomorrow if they made one.

Haven't there been constant rumors of HD throwing the V-Rod engine into a touring rig? Or something close to that, at least.

You have to figure it will happen within the next 5 years.

Deja Vu?

Isn't this just a Bad Boy with a tractor seat instead of the usual sofa saddle?

Going back to the 40s and 50s bobber era shows how the company thinks: they've done the 20s and 30s with various Heritage softails in the 1990s, and now their aging customer base can remember the bikes they never had in the 40s - so here's one. If we wait a while they'll do the 60s and 70s again and I can buy the XLCR I missed the first time.. But maybe not.