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Hot Bike Volume 40; Number 10; Guess Who’s Back
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Retro, board tracker, throwback, old school, new school, and radically different were all terms we heard as the newly redesigned ’08 Pitbull from Big Dog Motorcycles (BDM) hit the asphalt of our office parking lot. Sure, they’re all great descriptions of the lush red and silver-accented machine that was sitting before us, but right off the bat the word that came to mind that really summed up this bike was badass. To see something of this stature roll off a production motorcycle line-are you kidding? There doesn’t seem to be anything production about it. If we hadn’t seen it a few months prior at the ’08 BDM launch, we’d have thought the delivery guy made a mistake and dropped off someone’s ground-up, custom-built bike. As one of the three pro-street models in the ’08 line, the BDM design department really pushed the limits of what a “production” can be. There isn’t a custom V-Twin motorcycle manufacturer out there putting out the volume of bikes that BDM is–nearly 25,000 after 15 years of business-and continually pushing the limits of design, as BDM constantly does.
To be honest, we probably shouldn’t have been so surprised about the fresh new look of the ’08 Pitbull. This seems to be one of BDM’s models of choice to break the leash and wow the V-Twin world with its design capabilities. Ten years ago, the Pitbull was used as the company’s first rigid bike. Then in ’02, BDM rolled the dice on incorporating a wide tire into the platform by mounting a 250 mm tire in the rear and hit paydirt-the public loved it. From that point on the tires kept getting bigger and bigger across all models, and now the all-new Pitbull sports a 280mm rear. The smallest tire in the BDM lineup is a 250mm rear.
We say all new because that’s exactly what it is-completely brand new, designed from the frame up. Unlike any rigid frame we’ve seen, the design emits a feeling of softness and elegance, two words not normally associated with a hardtail bike. The sweeping lines of the frame take your eyes for a ride like a roller coaster. Starting at the neck, your eyes slowly crest the arch of the 6-inch extended backbone giving you ample time to admire the stretched, and tapered, flat side 4.6 gallon gas tank. Your eyes gradually gain speed as they dip past the seat section and tire-hugging rear fender, and race towards the back of the frame. Reaching the rear of the frame, your eyes nearly pop out of your head as they pull massive Gs trying to stay on track around the tight-looped axle section. Just when you think the worst is over, the gut-wrenching feeling of a massive drop hits you as the frame heads straight for the ground, then makes a sharp turn as it cradles the six-speed BDM Balance Drive and 117ci S&S mill. Then it’s uphill to do it all again as you study the slightly curved 1-inch over downtubes.
The other standout feature of this bike is the wheels. As we stated before, the rear is wide enough to fit a 280mm piece of rubber, but it’s not just the width that sets this bike apart. Height is an integral factor as well. The front rolls in at a staggering 23 inches while the rear is quite tall-measuring 20 inches. Recently we’ve been seeing a lot of 23s stuffed between the forks of baggers, so for a production company to be up on this trend so quickly is very impressive.
With such tall wheels one would thing this bike was more of a Great Dean than a Pitbull, but BDM kept the seat height fairly low at 25.5 inches, only 1 inch taller than the rest of its models, and almost 1 inch lower than a XL 883L. Even though it’s a rigid, there is some suspension in the rear, as the seat is mounted on a pair of adjustable mini coil-over shocks. With the large wheels and stretched backbone it sounds like this would be a long, drawn-out bike but actually it has the shortest wheelbase in the BDM lineup at 73.1 inches. By reducing the neck rake of the new Pitbull to 31 degrees, BDM was able to tuck the front wheel in closer to the front of the frame and kept the trail at about 4.5 inches and giving the bike a tighter turning radius, especially when compared to the other models. The “tucked in” front wheel is also what probably draws people to think of the as some kind of modern board tracker look.
OK, we know what you’re thinking: “Enough about the looks. How does it run?” Thumbing the start button, the bike fired to life, and we were a little disappointed-more of a quiet growl than a bark, but that’s the result of and EPA-approved pipe. Right off the bat as we pulled out of the parking lot and onto the city streets we noticed the same lightened clutch pull and smooth shifting we found when we tested the Ridgeback (Vol.40, No.5). Not more than 500 yards from our office is a set of old train tracks that bisect the street, perfect for testing the suspension on our test bikes. When we hit the track at a good clip, the 41mm telescopic frontend compressed and rebounded great; the sprung seat, on the other hand, was a little rough; guess that’s why the seat shocks are adjustable. BDM offers a set of lighter 200lb seat springs that provide a 20-percent reduced spring rate for a cushier ride.
Careening around the city streets the bike handled fairly well, considering the 280 in the rear. With the shorter wheelbase and reduced neck rake, the Pit bull was much nimbler and more agile than other BDM’s we’ve ridden. The bike rolled in and out of turns with ease and allowed us to test the limits of the 4.750inch ground clearance.
Rolling onto the freeway, the 117ci S&S had plenty of torque and hp to get the bike to flow with the speed of traffic and well beyond in no time; however, there’s definitely more power and a better tone to be found with a different exhaust.
It’s hard to get noticed in Southern California-everyone’s either seen it all or done it all, or they are too busy talking on their cell phones. However, when you blast past them on a machine like this, heads tend to turn. Sometimes though you can catch the attention of the wrong people (CHP) on a flashy bike like this, but usually they just wanted to get a second look. On the freeway, the BDM six-speed and Balance Drive helped keep the ‘Bull tame and smooth. We gained a better appreciation for the sprung seat, as it did a better job of handling the smaller, less joltier bumps on the freeway, and make setting atop the rigid frame much more enjoyable.
While reduced rake, tail, and wheelbase made the bike agile at slow speeds, a couple times there was a slight wiggle from the frontend at higher speeds like 80 mph-plus. We decided the feedback from the frontend was mostly due to a combination of high speed and hitting a bad patch of highway at just the right or wrong angle (whichever makes the most sense); it was just a matter of loosening the grip on the handlebars and letting the dog sort itself out. One thing that came to mind, however, was the thought that maybe the large 23-inch wheel up front played a small part as well, sort of acting like a gyroscope. It wasn’t anything we couldn’t shade off, though, as we continued down our path same speed, some in the wind state of mind. Peeling off the freeway, a quick brake check of the PM 4-piston calipers before the stop light brought the bike to a solid stop, with the Pitbull marking its territory with a good 6-foot plus patch of rubber left behind from the meaty 280.
We really liked the look and ride of the Pitbull, and with an MSRP of $27,500 this is one hell of a bike. You get a ton of high-quality components mixed with incredible style. It’s fun to ride and easy on the eyes. With a wide array of upgrades and accessories like a detachable passenger seat and sissy bar, a really sleek-looking Reverse Radius Exhaust system that would most likely add the power and sound we were looking for, and a massive collection of custom paint, even though in BDM terms this is a production bike, you could really turn this into your own custom and no one would know the difference.
