Is it possible to imagine Harley-Davidson without the Fat Boy? Or even motorcycling? It was such a surprising model, from its name (a few chuckles) to its almost shocking yet somehow inevitable design.

The Softail debuted in 1984 but the 1990 Fat Boy in its bright silver finish with yellow accents, and those imposing aluminum disc wheels with fat tires, cemented the hardtail-look platform in the greater mind of motorcycle culture. A starring role in the 1991 Terminator 2: Judgment Day blockbuster added to the impact.The original Fat Boy of 1990 represented a design departure for the brand. It was a kind of minimalist composition that delivered exceptional power and it was called the Gray Ghost as a result, a name first used for a Harley-Davidson single of the early 1900s.

In fact, Brad Richards, current vice president of design and creative director, says when he was in design school in Detroit, the original Fat Boy embodied a level of sophistication he’d never seen in a Harley-Davidson before, and it made a huge impact on him.Which all makes rethinking the Fat Boy for its 35th anniversary all the more important, and daunting. The result of that exercise is the 2025 Harley-Davidson Icons Collection Fat Boy Gray Ghost.

“Like designing any legacy Harley-Davidson in the portfolio, it’s tremendously intimidating to try to capture some of the original magic that Willie G. and the boys were seemingly so effortlessly able to capture,” Richards says. “But we knew the anniversary was coming and we were looking for a way to take the Fat Boy to the next level.”

Richards led the first major redesign of the Fat Boy for 2018 when the completely new Softail platform became the single basis for all Big Twin cruisers, absorbing models formerly known as Dynas. “When we redesigned the Fat Boy for 2018, it was really about presence,” Richards explains. “There’s no other Harley-Davidson like it in our lineup.”

That “next level” for 2025 became the chromelike finish applied to the tank and fenders of the Icons Edition Fat Boy Gray Ghost.

“We always talk about Fat Boy looking like a solid chunk of billet,” Richards says. “Well, here’s a solid piece of billet that someone’s polished. And that’s even better for an anniversary motorcycle.”

It’s not paint, but physical vapor deposition. The PVD process uses vaporized aluminum applied in a vacuum to achieve the shine, which is then clear coated just as in the two-stage paint process. Harley-Davidson calls the finish Reflect.H-D had used PVD on smaller parts, but never on anything as large as the Fat Boy tank and fenders. It was not easy to get the mirrorlike smoothness of the final product. The first experiments on test tanks and fenders was described as “an orange dipped in chrome.” But the finish team kept after it and the result is an impressively smooth mirrorlike finish shot with clear coat. This means you can (and should) treat the finish just as you would regular paint, not chrome.

Yellow accents on the engine and other parts, plus the stitching on the tank strap and seat echo the treatment of the 1990 model, the color Bill Davidson originally chose to use to set off all metallic tones.

The 2025 Fat Boy’s tank and fenders are remarkably clear and smooth, while the undertones suggest a bit of a nickel hue rather than the common blue tones found in chrome. It’s a neat effect that looks remarkable out in the real world, particularly with the chrome “oil tank” and round air filter housing echoing the original bike, plus those substantial polished-aluminum wheels.New Softail Features for 2025And while the Fat Boy may be about presence, the heart of the riding experience is a 117ci Milwaukee-Eight that produced 89.8 hp and 111.6 lb.-ft. of torque on the in-house Cycle World dyno. More impressive is that the four-valve-per-cylinder counterbalanced 45-degree V-twin delivers more than 100 lb.-ft. of torque from about 1800 rpm to 4700. The 117 powers all Softails this year and gets redesigned combustion chambers, oval intake ports, and low-profile intake valve seats for improved output and fuel economy. We observed an average of 48 mpg.

On the road, the 117 pulls cleanly and smartly from 1500 rpm in sixth gear and is positively fierce through the midrange. Three ride modes—Sport, Road, and Rain—are very nicely calibrated. Set the cruise control at 60 mph and the engine is turning a relaxed 2100 rpm.

Like other 2025 Softails, new lean-sensitive ABS, traction control, and drag torque slip control are available, as is tire-pressure monitoring. The 5-inch console-mounted speedometer with LCD screen keeps instrumentation simple. The front brake lever is now reach adjustable.Softail HandlingThe first Softail I rode was in the mid-1990s, and the non-counterbalanced, solid-mounted Evolution V-twin made things mighty vibratory even at moderately high rpm and I was pretty surprised how little cornering clearance it had. But the original Softail was never about “handling.”

The 2000 Softail saw many improvements, but the landmark change was the Twin Cam 88B or Beta engine that put counterbalancers in a Big Twin for the first time. I photo modeled that bike in 1999 for our exclusive first test, and the comfort and refinement changed my opinion of Softails.

The 2018 major redesign changed everything for Softails and some models are quite sporty handling, although the Fat Boy still concedes some capability for stance in the form of those very wide tires. Also, for 2025, the Showa bending-valve fork and preload-adjustable shock are tuned more for comfort.

Swinging down a backroad and riding the wave of engine torque is a real pleasure, but it takes more effort to initiate a corner than with some of the sportier Softails (looking at you, Low Rider S). We are on board with the new damping since comfort is likely higher on the list than cornering for the Fat Boy customer. A moderate pace on a winding ride is your best bet.What Is the Fat Boy Gray Ghost About?The Fat Boy Gray Ghost is an Icons Edition motorcycle, the fifth in this limited-edition series. Only 1990 Gray Ghosts will be made, of course honoring the year of its introduction. It’s also the first Icons model that isn’t some form of bagger. There are few motorcycles more deserving of the term icon than the Fat Boy. Remarkably, the bike was originally intended to be a three-to-five year model, said retired Harley-Davidson VP Jerry Wilke, who was part of the original product planning team that conceived the model in the mid-1980s. And here it is still paying the bills 35 years later.What’s the measure of success for the new Gray Ghost? Every time we park it, we keep looking back at it. And if that’s not the ultimate expression of a model like the Fat Boy, we don’t know what is.