Harley-Davidson ANZ probably chose the northern Victorian town of Bright as its base for the launch of a new Breakout model for the all the scenic riding routes, but it’s an entirely fitting location for another reason. For the 2023 Breakout is a much brighter bike than the previous versions. Where the old Breakouts looked dressed for a funeral, the new one sparkles and shines even on the dullest of days thanks to the thick layer of chromium that protects most of the engine and many ancillary components.
You can bet that a chunk of the new Breakout’s $40,750 price tag covers an extensive electroplating bill, and there’s several other noticeable places where the motor company has gone on a spending spree. The Breakout now becomes the fifth new Harley-Davidson model to receive the new 117 cubic-inch (1923cc) engine in 2023, which offers five per cent more riding force for its extra three cubic inches of displacement, generating a healthy 170Nm smack in the middle of the rev range.
Digital riding aids also get an upgrade, with cruise control joining the already fitted ABS system, and a standard-fit traction control system is coming later this year at no extra cost. There’s no IMU (Inertia Measurement Unit) fitted to the Breakout, so neither the ABS nor the coming TC will adjust their trigger settings to account for any extra demands placed on the tyres by cornering, but things are moving in the right direction electronically.
The visual appeal of the Breakout is little changed, with just a larger 19-litre fuel tank moving the model away a little from the fat-tyred custom choppers made by Jesse James and Co. that originally inspired Harley-Davidson to launch a factory version back in 2013. The stance of the '23 is still long n’ low with the 34-degree rake of the forks and the 21-inch, 26-spoke front wheel giving residual "Orange County Choppers" effect visually along with the fat 240mm wide rear tyre. However, the fatter fuel tank tones things down a little – in a good way. To my eye, there’s a visual balance to the new Breakout that was missing before. It’s now less a chopper, more a cruiser, thanks to the larger tank and the way it sits with the new better-handling frame that Harley introduced across the whole Softail family of models late in the 2010s.
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Seems the American dealer network also agrees that the Breakout is now a more appealing bike. Stateside sales of the model got so lethargic that Harley-Davidson axed the model from their domestic market two years ago. However, the Breakout has been and remains a huge hit here down under, and the 2023 upgrade has seen an influential bloc of US Harley-Davidson dealers give the bike the thumbs-up to putting it back on sale there.
“Are you going to tell your readers that it’s too low?”
The question was asked by a parked ute driver witnessing a Breakout photo shoot on a tight 180-degree corner near Mount Beauty. That Softail frame is generally a sweet-handling bit of kit, but there are cornering dynamic prices to be paid for the Breakout’s drag racing inspired features – the extra steering rake, the low stance, and the sluggish inertia felt before getting that fat rear tyre heeled onto its side.
There are bikes in the Softail family that are more agile rides on their narrower rubber– the Fat Bob and Low Rider S immediately spring to mind. Buy those if sporty cornering is more your jam, but as I said to Mr Ute: this bike is still fun to ride if you stay within the lean-angle limits and is the best-looking Harley ever made. He conceded the latter point.
It also has what feels like two cylinders chopped off the block of a WW2 V12 aircraft engine in the middle. From 1500rpm to 5000rpm, the 117 unleashes unflappable force, making the 299kg Breakout instantly feel 100kg lighter. You wonder how something so traditional, something that can trace such a direct link to 1930s engineering architecture, can so satisfy 21st Century sensibilities and expectations.
The Breakout is back, many US media will acclaim. For us and the Aussies, it never went away.
