Introduced for the 1998 model year, this touring nameplate brought a frame-mounted “shark-nose” fairing to the company’s long-distance lineup and quickly became one of its most distinctive bagger designs. It was developed for riders who wanted full touring capability with a more purposeful, performance-minded look than the traditional fork-mounted-fairing models, and it earned a strong following among highway riders and custom-oriented enthusiasts. Factory service documentation identifies the nameplate with model-year 1998 Touring applications, confirming its earliest appearance in the lineup. The model was later dropped from the regular range after an initial run, creating a gap in production. In August 2014, the company announced that the model was returning for the 2015 lineup, describing it as a comeback for a motorcycle with a devoted customer base. That revival restored the nameplate after the hiatus and reintroduced it as part of the modern touring family. In the years that followed, it remained one of the core large-touring offerings and later received a major redesign in 2024 as part of a new generation of long-distance motorcycles. Across both eras, the nameplate has been associated with a low, aggressive silhouette, strong touring utility, and a more rider-focused interpretation of the brand’s big-bore road machine formula. Its history is notable not just for its original introduction, but for its clear break in production and later return, which gives it a two-period nameplate story rather than a single uninterrupted run.
MODEL HISTORY