2025 Harley-Davidson Softail Details Leak

Based on preliminary homologation data from Australia, we believe that Harley-Davidson will have seven Softail models: the Low Rider S, Low Rider ST, Breakout, Street Bob, Heritage Classic, and Fat Boy, plus a special 35th anniversary edition Fat Boy that could be Harley-Davidson’s 2025 Icon model.

The Australian filings include two documents, a formal approval notice and a road vehicle descriptor (RVD) which typically includes some partial specifications and images. The RVD includes seven vehicle identification number codes for the 2025 model year, with three of them confirmed to be for the Low Rider S, Low Rider ST and Breakout, and four others left unlabeled. The document lists data for those three confirmed models, but their images were replaced with a placeholder marking them as “CONFIDENTIAL until Embargo date,” which all but confirms they are receiving some sort of update.

As we previously reported, Harley-Davidson released a teaser image of a Low Rider fuel tank that at one point showed an air intake with a label reading “Milwaukee-Eight 117 High Output.” The RVD confirms the 2025 Low Rider S and ST will be getting a more powerful engine. The displacement remains at 1,923cc (117ci) but the listed peak power output is 114 hp at 5,020 rpm, a sizable jump from the 2024 engine which claims 103 hp at 5,020 rpm.

The 2025 Breakout is also listed as having a new Milwaukee-Eight 117 engine tuning, but the listed output of 103 hp is only slightly higher than the 2024 model.

The engines won’t be the only changes. The 2025 Low Rider S is listed as being 3 kg (6.6 pounds) lighter than the 2024 model, while the 2025 Low Rider ST is 4 kg (8.8 pounds) lighter than its predecessor. The 2025 Breakout, however, is certified as being 1 kg (2.2 pounds) heavier than the 2024 version. Where these weight discrepancies come from remains to be determined.

The other four VIN codes are a bit of a mystery, but the approval notice provides a big clue, listing 16 different Softail model codes. The approval notice is valid from October 1, 2021 to the present, so these codes include bikes dating back to the 2022 model year, and not all will be part of the 2025 lineup, like the 2024 FLI Hydra-Glide Revival one-off Icon model.

What stands out to us are the four model codes that haven’t been in use during the 2022-2024 period covered by the approval notice: FLHC, FXBB, FLFB, and FLSTFI. During this timeframe, the FLHC (Heritage Classic), FXBB (Street Bob), and FLFB (Fat Boy) model codes all included an “S” designation marking them as Specials, or 114 models, separating them from the standard 107 models. Harley-Davidson adding these non-S model codes to the file suggests that the Milwaukee-Eight 114 will now be considered the Standard engine, and the 107 engine, last used on the FXST Softail Standard and, in markets outside the U.S., FLSB Sport Glide, will finally be dropped from the Softail lineup. The name change would also leave room for future Specials to come with the Milwaukee-Eight 117.

But what about the FLSTFI? Well, the FLSTF was the original model code for the Fat Boy when it debuted in 1990 until 2018, when it changed to the FLFB designation when Harley-Davidson consolidated its Softail and Dyna ranges. Harley-Davidson introduced a 30th anniversary Fat Boy in 2020, so it would make sense the FLSTFI would be a 35th anniversary model. The Fat Boy received a FLSTFI variant from 2001-2006, with the “I” standing for fuel injection. All of Harley’s models are now fuel injected, so it’s very possible the “I” in the 2025 FLSTFI could denote it as this year’s Icon model.

Based on this evidence, we feel fairly confident that Harley-Davidson will be announcing the 2025 Low Rider S, Low Rider ST, Breakout, Street Bob, Heritage Classic and Fat Boy on Jan. 23, along with a 35th anniversary Fat Boy Icon model. We also expect the announcement to include Harley-Davidson’s 2025 CVO range, its Revolution Max models, and a new FLHXU Street Glide Ultra.

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