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2006 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson 4X4 Road Test

A Hog and The Truck: A Match Made In Heaven

Hows this for automotive pop culture: the Ford F-150 has been Americas best selling truck for almost every year of the past three decades, and the worlds best selling vehicle for 23 of those years. In its 55 years in existence, its sold over 29,000,000 units, which makes it the second most popular vehicle of all time. Thats a pretty decent resume for any vehicle, and certainly for a workhorse. Things have inevitably cooled off in the light truck segment in recent months, but the F-150 is still the king of the pickups. And theres no better way of flaunting its dominance than to once again team up with the king of all things two-wheeled, the Harley-Davidson motorcycle company. Ford and Harley-Davidson are a long-running item. Since 1999, theyve teamed up to produce over nine different truck models, not just limited to the F-150.

The Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson isnt just an ordinary F-150, its much, much more. (Photo, Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

There have been Super Duty F-250s and F-350s too.

From any angle, the Harley-Davidson Edition F-150 is a good looking truck. This years edition is only available in one body style and one configuration, which ought to cut back on confusion. Its the SuperCab, which has two proper doors and a pair of rear-hinged access doors that sit in front of a 65" bed. It isnt just big on the outside, mind you, as the interior is vastly roomy in all directions. Even the rear-hinged doors arent small, and the rear seats are big enough to accommodate

Its pretty roomy in there, but then again the F-150 is a pretty big truck. (Photo, Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

three full-size adults in a decent level of comfort, plus the rear bench seat flips up to uncover additional storage area. Just like a normal F-150, its also a very practical vehicle when it comes to being a pickup. The bed isnt just long, its deep, and despite being the biggest in its class, the tailgate is easy to lift - even with one hand - thanks to an ingenious torsion spring.

The handsome facial features of the standard truck have been modified to include a monochromatic gloss black paint finish. The headlamp bezels have been done over in black too, contrasted only by massive 22-inch

Lobo? A slight mix-up on the assembly line. This badge really ought to ready F-150. (Photo, Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

wheels, the chrome billet grille and a blue-outlined red stripe that runs from aft the window line to the edge of the bed. The only thing that might make this truck even better are a set of straight pipes, or sidepipes that exit right before the rear wheels.

Even to the untrained eye, its easy to spot a Harley-Davidson truck. If the special exterior finish doesnt give it away, the numerous Harley crests liberally scattered inside and outside, on the body panels, will. They can be found just about everywhere, from the top of the windshield to the wheels, to the fenders and tailgate. Staff writer Jonathan Yarkony and I played "count the badges",

Nobody makes an interior like this - nobody but Ford. (Photo, Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

and we came up with ten - and thats before we got inside. Oddly, one of the badges that adorned the passengers side front fender read "LOBO", as opposed to "F-150". Research showed that trucks exported to Mexico are sold as Lobos, which, incidentally means "Wolf". The more you know...
Short of the Cadillac Escalade EXT, Fords own Lincoln Mark LT and the King Ranch variants of the F-150, the Harley has by far the best interior of any pickup truck Ive come across. Its overall design is more or less the same as any of Fords top-line trucks, although its look is cooler, more casual and more urban. The first thing I noticed when I climbed aboard was the smell. Its rich and perfumed with the smell of tanned leather. The seats arent

There are lots of these heavy metal crests scattered inside and outside of the truck. (Photo, Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

so much buckets as they are aniline leather-trimmed La-Z-Boy recliners, each adorned with a zinc, die-cast Harley logo. Theyre extra big and extra wide, fitting given that the F-150s interior isnt so much a cabin as its a living room.  But theres more; the cowling for the instrument cluster is wrapped in leather and stitched at the edges, instead of the usual plastic, and so is the mammoth center armrest and the steering wheel. In fact, if this truck had any more leather, itd moo.

The rest of the interior appointments didnt disappoint either. Accompanying all those leather-trimmed features is piano-key black trim as well as a unique gray gloss patina that features tiny little Harley-Davidson crest logos, and a nice big plaque attached to the ash tray lid that shows the vehicles

Industrial chic? Thats one way of describing the Harley-Davidson F-150. (Photo, Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

VIN number. The chrome-ringed, silver-faced gauges, which mimic brushed metal and are labeled in the H-D font are supposed to look like the dials found on one of their bikes. In truth, they look cool, but are hard to read during day-night and night-day transitions due to dim green illumination.

At its heart though, the F-150 is still a workhorse, and thats something worth praising. Of course it hauls and tows just as well as any F-150, but something you might not be aware of are the buttons on the stereo and digital climate control, which are clear and concise, plus large enough to be used when wearing gloves, and you couldnt ask for a bigger, heftier shift knob. The upgraded CD-6 stereo system with optional Audiophile speakers and subwoofer is surprisingly good too. Its got plenty of power to drive every last note in a song home, but not at

Tons of little H-D crests make up the gloss gray trim around the console. (Photo, Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

the cost of clarity or bass-heaviness.

The Harley-Davidson F-150 gets big respect in general, but its the urban downtown core where the special edition pickup attracts the most attention. Around my area, trucks like this are a bit of a rarity, the choice of transportation being more plebeian than showy, and certainly lacking the visual presence of anything like the H-D F-150. Nevertheless, people are slowly drawn towards it, not because its so large that it could have its own gravitational pull, but more like magnetized zombies. I cant remember when I was testing something that caused so many to stop in the middle of crosswalks, giving big, approving thumbs up, and never from a pickup truck.

Unlike the motorcycle, this four-wheel variant doesnt make the lumpy "potato-potato-potato" sound that a vee-twin Harley might, but its exhaust plays a tune thats unique just the same. The sport-tuned pipes

I reckon that this is the best handling F-150 currently in production. (Photo, Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

are louder and throatier than a stock F-150, but to Harley riders who like to have their Hogs audible from a mile and a half away, its probably a touch too quiet. For the rest of us, however, its a sound so positively rorty it could make a Mustang V6 wet itself. Bad to the bone, and then some.

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