The Origin of the Softail: From Backyard Concept to Global Icon
23 May 2021
The Softail - where did this incredibly successful Harley-Davidson model range start?
It began outside of the Motor Company, when Bill Davis, a Harley rider and engineer, designed a “softail” frame in the mid-1970s. His first design had a cantilever swingarm pivoted at the bottom and sprung at the top, and Davis built a prototype based on his 1972 Super Glide. He patented the design and arranged to meet Willie G. Davidson in August 1976. The story says that Willie G was impressed, but six months later, he said Harley-Davidson, although interested, would not use the design at that time.
Davis continued to develop his frames, switching the swingarm around so that the shock absorbers were underneath and the pivot point above. This allowed the traditional Harley-Davidson oil tank to be placed under the seat. Davis attempted to produce the new design independently as the Road Worx Sub-Shock, but the business collapsed.
By now, however, Harley-Davidson Vice President of Engineering Jeff Bleustein was keen on the idea, and Davis sold his patents, prototype, and tooling to the Motor Company in January 1982. After further testing and development, Davis's modified design was introduced as the 1984 Harley-Davidson FXST Softail.
As an aside, Bleustein (later CEO and Chairman of the H-D Board) was surely the right person, in the right job, at the right time, to see the potential of the Softail design. He had a Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University, and a Master's degree and Doctorate PhD in engineering mechanics from Columbia University. Bleustein also spent five years as an associate professor of engineering and applied sciences at Yale University.
As is well known, the simple “Hardtail” look packaged within the complexity of the Softail frame gave the Motor Company the styling flexibility to introduce the most successful model range in its history. The tightly-coupled development and release of the Softail and the Evolution powertrain led to the Softail Standard, Custom, Fat Boy, Heritage Classic, Softail Springer, Bad Boy, and Heritage Springer. Twin Cam Softails continued the sales success, and since 2018 the all-new Milwaukee-Eight Softails take those designs, model names, and engineering principles into the future.