The Breakout arrived for the 2013 model year as Harley-Davidson’s factory answer to the long, low custom-cruiser trend, with styling inspired by classic drag bikes and a stretched, muscular stance. It was launched as a Softail family model and quickly became one of the brand’s most distinctive modern cruisers thanks to its massive rear tire, chopped bodywork, long rake, and performance-custom attitude. Early versions were powered by the Twin Cam 103B and were marketed as a premium, high-impact alternative to the more traditional Softail lineup.
This first Breakout run lasted through the 2017 model year under the FXSB designation. In 2018 Harley-Davidson reorganized the Softail range around an all-new chassis and a different set of model codes, so the original FXSB Breakout was not carried over unchanged. That makes the 2013-2017 period the definitive production span for this exact nameplate/code combination. Enthusiasts often see the original Breakout as one of the bikes that helped define Harley-Davidson’s factory-custom cruiser direction in the 2010s, blending show-bike proportions with everyday street use.