Harley Davidson Forty Eight

Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight: The Gen-X Sportster

The Harley-Davidson Sportster Forty-Eight (or is it 48?), has made its way out of Milwaukee in time for the 2010 model year. Based on the Sportster 1200 platform, the Forty-Eight is the latest addition to Harley’s “custom” offering. It differs from its Nightser et al counterparts with a bobber meets cafe racer appeal, but keeps the ubiquitous orange and black color schemes.

Fatties on the front and rear rims, the black on polish Forty-Eight gets its motivation from the 1200cc Evolution v-twin motor that’s wedged into the Sportster chassis. The bike is certainly an attractive piece from Harley-Davidson, but also fails to really distinguish itself from the rest of the Harley line-up. Mirrors are underslung, the license plate is side mounted (we doubt the DOT saw that), and a 2.1 gallon fuel tank keeps things a strictly “around the town” sort of affair.

While Harley-Davidson is clearly targeting the under 40 crowd with the Forty-Eight, we’re still not sure the cruiser brand has really figured out to appeal to the next generation of rider yet. As such we’d probably never buy a Harley, but if we did, the Forty-Eight is probably closer to what we’d be looking for from Milwaukee. Pricing starts at $10,499, and the Harley Davidson Sportster Forty-Eight comes in Vivid Black with Brilliant Silver, and Mirage Orange Pearl is also available.