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New Bike Tests: 2010 Harley-Davidson Dyna Wide Glide - From RoadBike November/December 2009
 Return Engagement By Steve Lita, Photos by Riles And Nelson Pop Quiz; what did millionaire capitalist Malcolm Forbes and I have in common? If you answered “Not much,” you’re correct. But while doing research for this new bike review of the 2010 Harley-Davidson Wide Glide, I discovered one thing we shared: a love for classic, flamed, hot rod cruisers. Seems my ’ol buddy Malcolm bought a flamed 1980 FXWG Wide Glide, the first year they were produced, and rode it extensively. It is now part of the Harley-Davidson Archive Collection. I can only imagine that part of his fascination with that original Wide Glide stemmed from the orange on black flame job available from the factory. I don’t know what it is. Some of my cronies and I have had a fascination with flame paint jobs from an early age. I remember talking cars with my buddies back in school, and whenever we described our dream ride, the capper to the story would be “And it’s gotta have flames.” To which everyone else in attendance would just repeat the last word in harmony, “Yeah, flaaaames.” For 2010, the flames adorning the new Wide Glide’s tank are applied with special treatment, more of an ink application that once clear-coated exhibits no raised edges. This makes the paint on the tank of the returning Wide Glide smooth to the touch. As mentioned, the original Milwaukee Chopper model ran from 1980-86 as the FXWG Wide Glide on the FX solid-mounted chassis, then FXDWG from 1993-2008 Dyna Wide Glide was based on the FXD rubber-mounted chassis. So after a one year hiatus, the Harley hot rod is back.
During the down time, Harley decided to fit the new Wide Glide with items like a new, internally wired handlebar atop current FXDWG front forks with a 1" shorter overall length. Wide Glide rolls on a 40-spoke, laced, 21" front wheel with black rim shod with Dunlop rubber, and a 40-spoke Street Bob rear wheel with 180/60 profile tire. There’s blackout treatment on everything from mirrors, risers, headlight bucket, and powertrain to new, gloss black, rear forging covers, and caddy cover. There’s a new fuel tank with black console on the flamed bikes or chrome console on the color versions housing a 4" speedo and ignition switch. A Street Bob solo seat with new cover for rider, smallish pillion seat, black-wire mini sissybar and bobbed rear fender holler Hot Rod Bike. Also new on the Wide Glide is the lack of a central taillamp. Now the rear lighting comes via stop/tail/turn functions all built into the signal stalks, and Harley added the side-mount license plate for a tidy rear treatment. A chrome Fat Bob exhaust system with Tommy Gun slotted shield and new Wide Glide trim on battery cover are but a few of the chrome accents.
The Wide Glide is powered by a rubber-mounted Twin Cam 96" V-twin powertrain with Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI) that produces 92 ft-lbs. of peak torque at 3000 rpm. Follow that up with Harley’s six-speed Cruise Drive transmission featuring a new helical-cut fifth gear for smoother and quieter operation. To me the power delivery was smooth and almost muted, not like a Fat Boy, which I found to have more rumble. Harley has been expanding the range of Dyna model offerings to appeal to a broader range of customers. There’s a different Dyna suited for just about anyone out there. In the technical presentation it was mentioned that the Dyna family of bikes is a great value offering from Harley and is an affordable entry point into the Big Twin motorcycles. Like the new Mini, Volkswagen Beetle, and Ford Mustang, the Wide Glide pays homage to its roots, with a cleaner, modern application. The 2010 Wide Glide is a new Harley-Davidson Dyna model putting an updated presentation on old-school chopper style in a low, stretched-out custom. RB Tech Sheet |
Distinctive Dyna Wide Glide chopper styling cues include an under-seat battery box, exposed rear shock absorbers, and a 4.7-gallon fuel tank. There’s a handy fuel gauge in the left-side tank dummy cap. The front of the fuel tank is tilted up 3/4" to accent the Wide Glide’s chopper profile. Looking back to vintage ’80s new bike photos I can see the family resemblance; I like how Harley pulled off the new-century styling.
Holding up the new Dyna and adding to the chopper look, the 49mm front forks are raked out to 34 degrees. The lowered front and rear suspension reduces seat height to just 25-1/2". I personally found the seat positioned in a good place for all day riding, but on the forward controls I feel the tallish brake pedal had me lifting my right foot off-peg too much when scrubbing off speed. Something else I found a bit bothersome was deploying the sidestand requires the rider to lean way over to the right to flip it down. I know I don’t weigh that much, folks, I wasn’t compressing the suspension that much. Depending on the slope of the terrain where you’re stopped, this can be a feat done with much trepidation. Also, in typical stock bike form, I think the front suspension was a bit spongy. But wallowing through corners wasn’t noticeable. In more sporting riding, the lower ride height led to limited right-side ground clearance. I flattened and scraped the lower shotgun exhaust pipe on my demo Wide Glide. And the extreme right-side 1/2" of the rear tire isn’t used with stock exhaust in place. I’d be adding an aftermarket pipe for more ground clearance if not engine performance. But I felt the Wide Glide could benefit in that area as well.
2010 Harley-Davidson Dyna Wide Glide