Softail Slim FLS (2013): "It Caught the Eye of Hollywood" — And Made a Cameo in The Avengers
Introduced as an all-new bobber-style model midway through 2012, the Softail Slim genuinely earned a moment of pop-culture fame before this exact model year even arrived — Captain America rides off on one at the end of the blockbuster movie The Avengers. Built on the Fat Boy platform with a similar front end and an extremely low profile, the Slim shared its 23.8-inch seat height with the CVO Breakout, briefly claiming the title of Harley's lowest production motorcycle when it launched.
Power comes from the Twin Cam 103, an air-cooled V-twin displacing 1,690cc, a 3.875-inch bore and 4.38-inch stroke, delivering a claimed 98.7 lb-ft (134 Nm) of torque at 3,000 rpm through a 6-speed transmission with belt final drive. The Slim's blacked-out treatment covers the engine, rims, air cleaner cover, and headlamp, paired with unique retro-inspired handlebars, a gloss-black headlamp cover, and a "Cat Eye" console housing a genuinely period-correct speedometer face — all deliberate callbacks to 1940s bobber styling.
Confirmed dimensions list a 94.3-inch overall length, a 30-degree rake with 5.8 inches of trail on a 64.4-inch wheelbase, a 23.8-inch laden seat height (25.9 inches unladen), and 4.5 inches of ground clearance. A 5-gallon fuel tank and 3.5 quarts of oil (with filter) round out the fluid capacities, with a shipped weight of 671 lbs rising to 700 lbs in running order. Standard instrumentation includes a tank-mounted electronic speedometer with odometer, dual tripmeter, RPM/gear display, and low fuel and oil pressure warning lights.
2013 US pricing started at $15,699. This exact FLS configuration ran through 2017 before Harley's 2018 Softail platform redesign discontinued the standalone Slim S trim entirely and rebuilt the standard Slim on the new single-shock, Milwaukee-Eight-powered chassis.
This factory service manual covers the procedures, torque specs, and diagrams needed to keep a 2013 Softail Slim FLS running the way it was built to.
