The biggest news however is the six-speed gearbox. H-D offered a similar box as a bolt-in option last year and say demand caused them to make it standard in 2006. Personally, I reckon that a six-speed on a Big Twin is a bit of overkill. You find yourself dropping down a gear to overtake under 100 kays BUT at cruising speeds the fuel injected donk ticks over beautifully at well under 3000 rpm. The clutch lever is much lighter as well. The new box uses ‘dog rings’ rather than gears to shift the cogs and, combined with helical cut gears and a plasma coated shifter fork, provides a shorter lever throw and quicker, smoother changes. The whole transmission is noticeably quieter and durability should be increased due to larger internal bearings and a fully automatic primary chain tensioner. All these changes reflect the comprehensive update the Motor Company have lavished on the whole Dyna range.

While the Street Bob and Anniversary Super Glide have drawn the bulk of attention the rest of the range has not been forgotten. All the improvements made to the new models carry over to the Wide Glide, Super Glide/ Custom and Low Rider and all are available in Australia. However, the unloved FXDX has been dropped, which means there is no option to fit a double disc front end, as we did to our 2003 FXD. (Although the new Night Rod has a double disc brake and the same diameter forks. Possibilities!)

I really like these new Dynas. They offer all the traditional virtues of the Dyna range with complete up to the minute engineering that gives the finger to any knockers of Milwaukee's finest.

Priced from $21250+ORC (FXD) they are still brilliant value for money. I noticed that one of the Japanese factories now have a “cruiser” for sale at $24000 +ORC. Geez, why would you bother when you can have the real thing?

--  Click here for 1024 x 768 desktop wallpaper of each and very model in the 2006 Dyna Range  --