Harley Davidson Breakout review: Iconic motorbike brand hits dealers with new £20,000 monster
The 2018 Harley Davidson Breakout has a new engine with enough power to tow a caravan and will make the neighbours jealous. The only problem is the rather hefty price tag for a weekend toy.
WHEN did it become acceptable to spend £18,995 on a motorcycle?
I can understand if someone wants to part with that sort of sum for a race-tuned track-day weapon with gold exhaust pipes and weighing as much as a sparrow on SlimFast. But for weekend toys?
To give Harley-Davidson some credit, with the Breakout that buys a lot of bike, chiefly a new 1,868cc Milwaukee-Eight 114 engine with enough torque to tow a caravan.
The rider sits on top of a throbbing mass of metal, which has been revised with counterbalance measures to keep vibration under control.
There’s a 240mm tyre at the rear, the frame sits long and low, there is a 21in wheel at the front (18in at the back) and extra-wide bars cap off the drag-strip look.
At 305kg, the Breakout isn’t meant for the Tesco car park. The enormous, lumpy engine takes some getting used to, especially at lower speeds.
But on the open road, it comes to life, offering plenty of pull throughout the rev range to make overtaking stupidly simple.
Cornering isn’t so joyous, as the elongated frame and 28.8 degree lean angle make placing the bike difficult and peg-scraping common.
But with plenty of back-brake dabbing and large cojones, it soon becomes second nature.
New for 2018 is a very cool riser-mounted LCD display, which takes care of all readouts and makes the front end look clean and uncluttered.
An adjustable rear monoshock can be quickly dialled in on the move to suit the rider or adapt to extra weight.
But this bike is all about the engine – and that gigantic powerplant doesn’t disappoint.
more motorbike news
It piles on the power and some after-market exhaust mufflers would make it sing.
It is a lot of cash for an attention-grabbing weekend plaything.
But you could always sell the family hatchback.
- For more bikes, go to or search “bike world” on YouTube.