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A Harley For Home Depot
By:
Jason Muxlow
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At
first sight the Ford Harley-Davidson F-150 demands
respect and shows authority. What grabs your
attention first is the outstanding two-tone paint
job; black over silver metallic clear coat separated
by inscribed Harley-Davidson tape. After that, your
eyes have a multitude of features for which to fall
upon. The massive chromed wheels demand attention,
while huge Harley/Ford 100 year insignia plaques
surface into sight. The new front
fascia/grille/headlamps also require a closer
inspection. Not only does the Harley talk the talk,
but she walks the walk as well. More on that later.
A good vehicle can never be judged solely by its look,
but it is a good place to start. As mentioned
before, the two-tone paint really gets this truck a
lot of looks. However, the objects of our eyes'
affection are the 20" chromed wheels. Though
thoroughly hard to keep clean, especially with all
the brake dust Ford's brakes create, the sight of
them rolling down the road is worth the extra elbow
grease. Upfront the modifications give it a little
more character and attitude as far as differing the
Harley from a standard F-150. Ford designers have
found great success, in our humble opinion, with
this truck's styling. Another noticeable feature is
that the truck has been lowered an inch all around.
She isn't slammed, but she does crouch. And of
course, it can't be a Harley without chrome pipes.
The pipes under the cockpit sweeten the image for
sure, though don't be fooled, they are not steps.
Unfortunately, one will likely be spending some time
polishing these pipes to keep them looking good, as
the tires like to pick up loose gravel and create a
noisy ping, ping, ping melody. Of course, the chrome
pipes that matter the most are the ones extending
back to exit behind rear tires. Through 3 ½
slash-cut twin pipes the Harley F-150 announces its
arrival with a low burbling rumble. You would be
hard pressed to find a truck with this tone of
melodious harmony.
The exhaust note isn't the only music to our ears.
Underhood lies a detuned SVT Lightning engine ready
for action. Rated at 340 horsepower, this
supercharged 5.4L 16-valve V8 reinforces the
attitude the look of the truck suggests. With 425
lbs of torque backing that up you can imagine how
the Harley launches. As one logbook quote exclaimed,
"There's enough twist under there to shear off the
lugnuts!" Ease into the throttle, and the burble
chimes in about 1750 rpms. Beyond that things quiet
down for a split second and the supercharger starts
to spool up. Mash the go pedal, and the truck sits
back on her rear haunches as the supercharger kicks
to life with a whine that will surely bring smiles
to the faces of all in attendance. This power plant
was truly a gem. Hit the throttle at idle, and you
had acceleration. Hit the throttle at speed, and the
gears kicked down just right and woke up the
supercharger. It didn't matter where you were in the
rev band, she always had power to spare. To sum it
up, this truck moved--and moved quickly.
How was the handling you may ask? Well, surprisingly,
for a truck of this size, it held the road pretty
well. The lowered suspension seems to have done the
trick with eliminating the excessive body roll felt
in most pickups. That, and the 275/60R-20 tires may
have had something to do with it. Even during hard
acceleration, the rear meats maintained their
contact and hardly ever broke loose.
Inside the Harley was just as pleasing to look at as
the outside. Harley-Davidson badges are found all
around on the center consoles, steering wheel, and
seats. The base color is black with accents of
chrome. The seats were wrapped in a two-tone leather
of black and silver. While supportive, the seat
cushions were a tad bit hard to our backsides. The
chromed door handles found welcome in the palms of
our hands. The Harley-Davidson gauges are stylish
and look as though they were lifted right off of a
bike. The power moonroof is exceptionally large and
is wonderful for gazing at the stars and letting
more of that wonderfully sweet exhaust note filter
into the cabin. Though like most moonroofs, headroom
suffers in the rear seat. Assistant Editor Vloet
realized that the laws of physics do apply here,
such that two objects of matter (his head and the
ceiling) cannot occupy the same space at the same
time. Other than that, the interior is a comfortable
place for 4 adults out cruising the town.
Why do you need a truck like this? Well, if that is
your question after all this, then this truck is not
for you. The Harley Davidson edition F-150 may not
be the most practical pickup, but it is probably one
of the most fun. So if your heart started to race
while reading any of this, and you happen to have
$39,295 lying around, you are probably a good match
for this vehicle. With that, I put my stamp of
approval on the Harley as one heck of a fun truck. |
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| The
Good: |
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Style and substance
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| The
Bad: |
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Attracts too much attention!
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| The
Verdict: |
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One heck of a truck.
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