Jay's Brick Blog

A blog about LEGO bricks

  • Home
  • About Me
  • LEGO Reviews
  • News
  • Summer 2022 Sets
  • SW Advent Calendar

Review: LEGO 10269 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy

September 29, 2019 By Jay 5 Comments

2019 will go down in history as one of the years with the most surprises coming out of LEGO, and the unveiling of 10269 Harley-Davidson was certainly high on my list of things I never expected LEGO to do.

Every year, we’ve come to a Creator Expert vehicle from LEGO, and the Ford Mustang from early in the year did more than satisfy fans, but LEGO were not content and dropped the very first Creator Expert Motorcycle in the second half of 2019.

I remember going, “wow, they actually did a Harley Davidson”, and being very impressed with it, but at the same time remained quite skeptical of it, not being a car and all, which I was used to collecting.

Let’s see if the LEGO Harley Davidson is more than just a pretty little experiment out of Billund.

Thanks to LEGO Group for providing this set for review. 

Name: Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
Set Number: 10269
Pieces: 1023
Price: AU$159.99 | US$99.99 | £84.99 – Buy from LEGO.com [AU] [US] [UK] [Amazon]
Exclusive to: NA
Theme: Creator Expert
Release Date: 1 August 2019

One thing I’d like to add – in my first impressions of the LEGO Harley Davidson, I did get excited by the prospect that this set had no stickers based on the press materials, and the printed Harley logo.

I was wrong though, the set does employ stickers for minor detailing, which is a bit of a disappointment, but these aren’t what I would consider “critical” elements and when they inevitably peel, they wouldn’t detract from the overall experience much.

Building the set was a brisk, but extremely enjoyable experience. The set isn’t the largest at 1023 pieces.

Looking at the four numbered bags that popped out the box, I could immediately tell that it wasn’t going to be a substantial set.

After years of building Creator Expert cars, you kind of know what to expect, but what I enjoyed much about the Harley is how unexpected and surprising the build was.

Again, I have to commend Mike Psiaki and his team for actually pulling this set off, and using what is mostly conventional LEGO elements (as opposed to Technic) to mimic the Harley’s shape so well.

I was engaged throughout the build, and it kept me guessing all the way, as to how the Harley would take shape, and it’s the most fun I’ve had building a LEGO set in awhile.

Like most LEGO sets worth their salt – the devil is in the details, and I loved how well the designers captured the Harley’s V-Twin engines, as well as the clever use of a grey gearpiece for the air filter.

I also really like the elegance and restraint shown when it comes to the details – it’s a “less is more” approach, without over-greebling, allowing the core parts to truly shine.

Also, unlike Creator Expert cars, you get to truly appreciate the “innards” of the Harley Davidson as it’s mostly exposed to the world.

Sadly, there’s quite an unfortunate typo on the sticker which puts a dampener on things. Then again, is it really a necessary life skill to be able to correctly spell Milwaukee?

The wheels are custom-designed for the model, and the super-sized aesthetic looks particularly realistic – the threads on the tyres are great to look at.

I’m not particularly knowledgeable about Harleys, but one of the smalls bits of trivia I know is that they use drive belts instead of chains. This model here uses LEGO chains for the engine to function, but I feel like this fact might bother hardcore Harley fans.

I was also very impressed by the twin exhausts, and the angles in which they connect to the engine looks very well-proportionate and believable to me.

Here’s how it looks from behind, where you can see the mudgard, back lights and the license plate which thankfully spells Wisconsin correctly.

I don’t know what the 41 and MFG stand for, so if anyone can enlighten me in the comments, that’d be great!

Here’s a look at the seat.

And here’s a look at the front, with the speedometer.

Here’s a closer look at the iconic printed Harley Davidson logo, which is placed on the fuel tank – it’s one of the other parts of the bike that the designers managed to replicate so particularly well.

What I liked:

  • Unexpected, original and such a fun build experience
  • Just the right level of detail
  • Exceptionally faithful design to the original model
  • Priced fairly well for what you get
  • Looks incredible on display

What I didn’t like: 

  • Would’ve been much nicer in chrome

Final thoughts: There’s no denying that the Harley-Davidson is such a design triumph for LEGO and I enjoyed every bit of this set way more than I thought I would.

From the very first bag, the build was enjoyable from start to finish, even for a LEGO veteran like myself. The novelty of the build, which did an amazing job blending regular LEGO elements with Technic was such a breath of fresh air.

The build and design proves that LEGO still can innovate and flex their design prowess, taking on a shape as challenging as a Harley Davidson and nailing the design so faithfully.

There’s also no denying that this is an extremely stunning model to look at. The initial photos were great, but they don’t really do the set justice as many of its best features show themselves as you take time to appreciate it up close.

Could it be improved? Of course. As good as the design is, it’s missing all the chrome goodness that well-maintained Harleys are known for. That would be prohibitively expensive, but it’s nice to dream about an alternate model with all-chrome parts.

I liked the LEGO Harley-Davidson so much more than I thought I would, mostly because I am an ardent collector of Creator Expert cars and I was apprehensive about whether a motorcycle could do it for me.

Turns out the answer is yes when LEGO are capable of putting out such an amazing Creator Expert model, at quite an affordable price.

Despite not being a Harley-Davidson or even a motorbike fan, I could still appreciate this set for what it is – an exhilarating all-round LEGO experience.

As one of the cheapest Creator Expert sets on the market, I can highly recommend 10269 Harley-Davidson. With the Christmas holidays approaching, if you haven’t picked this set up, it would make a pretty sweet present come the holidays.

Oh and in case you’re wondering, yes it does fit in well with the other Creator Expert vehicles, despite the scaling being a teeny bit off, haha.

If you’re looking for an accessible Creator Expert set that’s a lot of fun to build, and looks great on display, look no further than the Harley-Davidson.

Rating: 4/5


The LEGO Harley Davidson is available for purchase from LEGO.com or your local LEGO Brand Retail Store.

Special thanks to LEGO for sending this set for this review. 

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this review! As you can tell by all the outdoor photos, I had a blast photographing the set, and who could blame me when I have such a photogenic LEGO set to work with.

If you own the LEGO Harley-Davidson and have yours built, I’d love to know what you like most about the set in the comments.

Oh and another fun thing about the LEGO Harley-Davidson? The Star Wars constraction figures are just the perfect size to pose with them.

Enjoy this photo of Kylo Ren with his middle-aged crisis purchase.

Don’t forget, you can find many more reviews in the Jay’s Brick Blog Review Hub. To stay up to date on the latest posts, you can follow the Jay’s Brick Blog Facebook page or subscribe to receive email alerts for new posts!

I also post behind the scenes content, and teasers on my Instagram page @jayong28, so give me a follow if you’d like to see more!

Subscribe to receive updates on new posts & reviews!

Filed Under: Creator Expert, LEGO Reviews Tagged With: 10269, 2019, 4.5, creator expert, harley-davidson, lego, motorcycle, review

« LEGO Sesame Street, The Pirate Bay and a Playable Piano are coming to LEGO Ideas
First Impressions: Doncaster LEGO Certified Store »

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Taz says

    January 3, 2021 at 8:33 PM

    Can anyone tell me how the headlamp assembly fits or connects to the forks. I have competed all of the build but cannot figure this oint out

    Reply
  2. Steve says

    June 9, 2020 at 4:12 PM

    I enjoyed building this model, but agree that a bit of chrome would have been nice. Maybe just the exhaust pipes?
    One thing on your build though, the left and right tank side emblems should sit level, please swap them around!

    Reply
  3. Hendro says

    April 7, 2020 at 8:17 PM

    Hi thanks for the review, I am also planning to buy this set. Can you share with me the dimensions (length, width, height, preferably in centimeters) of each of the three legos in the picture (VW beetle, Harley, VW Camper)? I bought the VWs but not yet build them due to limited space (& time lol). Therefore I am thinking to buy a custom-sized display boxes so they can be stacked, and the dimension is needed so they can fit in perfectly.
    Is there any website that provide the information on the lego dimension after being completed? Please let me know.
    Thanks a lot.

    Reply
    • Jay says

      April 8, 2020 at 9:05 PM

      Thanks Hendro! Here’s the dimensions:

      VW Beetle: 11” (15cm) high, 10” (29cm) long and 4” (12cm) wide
      Harley Davidson: 7” (20 cm) high, 7” (18 cm) wide and 12” (33 cm) long
      T1 Campervan: 5.5 inches (14cm) high, 11.8 inches (30cm) long

      Custom-sized display boxes would be a brilliant idea! Are you thinking of acrylic?

      Reply
      • Hendro says

        April 9, 2020 at 1:08 AM

        Yes it’s acrylic boxes, I just found someone in town who can make them custom-sized. Thanks for the dimensions info, they’re very useful. Cheers!

        Reply

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to Jay's Brick Blog. In here, you'll find independent LEGO set reviews, commentary on LEGO trends & news, bargain hunting tips and an inside look into the life of an average LEGO fan. Find out more about me here

Subscribe for updates

Enter your email address here to receive updates about new posts from Jay's Brick Blog - straight to your inbox!

Join 2,986 other subscribers

Site Search

Like my page on Facebook

Facebook Pagelike Widget

Buy LEGO

Buy LEGO
Follow on Instagram

Recent Posts

  • Bricklink Designer Program Round 3 has closed with pre-orders selling out under 24 hours!
  • LEGO Ideas and Target set vote gives fans a second chance for these 3 sets!
  • Review: LEGO 21333 Vincent Van Gogh: The Starry Night
  • LEGO Ideas 21333 Starry Night officially unveiled – Build your own Van Gogh LEGO masterpiece!
  • LEGO Con 2022 is back, kicking off LEGO’s 90th Anniversary celebrations
  • Review: LEGO 41717 Mia’s Wildlife Rescue
  • LEGO Ideas Cosmic Cardboard Adventures (40533) gift with purchase now available!

LEGO Reviews

Review: LEGO 40548 Spice Girls Brickheadz

Review: LEGO 9463 Monster Fighters – The Werewolf

Review: LEGO German Football Team Minifigures

Review: LEGO 10273 Haunted House (2020)

Review: LEGO 10300 Back to the Future Time Machine

Review: LEGO Minifigures Series 17

Review: LEGO 6322501 The United Trinity Promo Set

Categories

Archives

Jay

Jay is passionate about LEGO and the endless creative adventures made possible by this complex interlocking brick system.
Learn more →

Popular Posts

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · WordPress · Log in We may earn a commission when you use one of our offers/links to make a purchase.