KING OF THE BAGGERS? ROAD GLIDE IS A ROAD WARRIOR

The King of the Baggers series has really lit a firecracker under the bagger market in the US and at home, and Harley is capitalising on that by giving its 2024 Road Glide a massive facelift.

If it’s been a while since you’ve ridden a Road Glide or any Harley for that matter, you must understand just how far the Road Glide has come in terms of all-round comfort and performance – the difference is night and day.

What you have in the 2024 Road Glide is a motorcycle that you can rip out big miles on with a side-dish of performance, which can be used with surprising effectiveness when the roads get curvaceous.

At the heart of the 2024 Road Glide is the new Milwaukee-Eight 117 V-twin, that’s 1923cc in Australian speak, so we’re talking serious grunt here – think 176Nm of torque at just 3250rpm – that’s tyre-frying stuff.

Even with 380kg to push around, the Road Glide certainly gets moving; this is not a slow motorcycle. But speed aside, that sort of engine output makes cruising the highways and punching out of corners both easy and fun.

In addition to the new 117 Milwaukee-Eight engine, the Road Glide has also received a facelift. It’s not just a modern take on the Road Glide’s classic shark-nose fairing, with H-D using fancy computational fluid dynamics to craft a frame-mounted fairing that’s aerodynamically efficient as well as retaining the Road Glide's distinctive look. The rest of the bike has also had a cosmetic redesign, and it’s the most complete and neatest-looking Road Glide to date, in my opinion; I’m especially a fan of how the LED taillights and indicators are integrated into the panniers.

The infotainment system is top-notch, with a large touchscreen right in your face and a set of speakers that actually sound pretty good while you’re thundering along. There’s every bit of information you could want, or need- I just don’t have room to list all the features here, but let’s just say, as Harleys go, it’s a rolling tech-fest. On top of all those niceties, the Road Glide has a full rider aid package with a selection of ride modes, cornering-infused ABS, and traction control, and you can easily turn traction control off for… well, you work it out.

Although the Road Glide is more capable than ever of carving some corners thanks to a healthy increase in ground clearance, I think it's fair to say that most buyers are going to use the Road Glide for touring rather than bagger racing, and it has that department covered. The fairing does a mammoth job of keeping the elements off you, and the riding position is relaxed and comfortable. Having said that, the cockpit is roomy enough that you can fold yourself into a more attack-orientated position when it’s time to rip.

Baggers aren’t for everyone, and nor are the Road Glide’s looks, but if you’re looking for a machine that can take you places at pace, with a rumbling V-twin and the cred that a Harley supplies arguably better than any other brand, then the Road Glide is hard to beat. It isn’t perfect, but Harley has a parts catalogue that can take care of that. There’s so much more to say about the Road Glide that I just don’t have the word count to describe to you. But if you have even the slightest interest in getting your bagger on, you’d be mad not to get down and take one for a test ride; I guarantee it’ll be better than you think.