SHADOW BOXER | THE STREET GLIDE KEEPS GETTING BETTER

I know that the Road Glide steals a lot of the bagger limelight because it’s used in the Mission Bagger championship, but out of the two, it’s my preferred bagger from the MoCo. You have to know that when reading this quick review, because I’m a big fan.

For one, the styling is more my cup of Texas tea, and I reckon it handles just a little bit better, and the suspension on the rear always feels a little better than its sister, the Road Glide. I suspect that’s simply because the Street weighs less.

Like the Road Glide, the Street has had a raft of updates for 2024, but even with those updates, my preference for the Street remains. Harley held the launch of the new Street Glide in the Gold Coast Hinterland, and while the relatively flat and straight roads around the low-land cane fields is a natural fit for a 360+ kilogram big-twin cruiser, the winding roads of the mountainous areas are not usually what you relate to a Harley bagger.

Obviously, the styling has had a big overhaul, with the new fork-mounted fairing copping a new more modern look, as has the rest of the package. But at road speeds, that doesn’t really pay the bills in terms of sporting ability, but Harley’s decision to sling its 117 cubic inch Milwaukee-Eight VVT engine in the Street does - it’s a gem of a donk. We’re talking almost 2 litres of V-twin here, and as you'd expect from an engine with two huge pistons slamming up and down its barrels, there’s enormous amounts of torque on offer.

More cubes are great, and the Street is now lighter than ever before, but what really impressed me, and I didn’t think I’d ever write this about a Harley bagger, is that ground clearance has improved greatly and there’s extra effort required before the footboards or sidestand touch down. Obviously, I’m not talking sports bike angles here, but compared to past iterations of the Street Glide, it’s, well, streets ahead. If anyone tells you can’t chuck a Street Glide through a set of corners with purpose and dash, they simply don’t know what they are doing.

It goes without saying that when the pace slows down, the roads straighten out and it’s time to get your ‘touring’ on, the Street shows why it exists on this earth. It’s ultra-comfortable right out of the box, but because it’s a Harley, there’s a phone book size parts catalogue full of stuff to personalize your rig to suit you. Despite the improved ground clearance, there seems to be no apparent negative consequences to the riding position. Harley still insists on putting uncomfortable seats on its touring bikes, and the standard seat on the Street is no exception. If you plan on fanging around town and looking cool, you’ll be fine. If you plan on doing any meaningful touring, you’ll either need to rip out the parts catalogue and get a better seat or book a surgeon for an arse transplant.

The Street has a full complement of high-end rider aids, including numerous ride modes, corner ABS, and traction control, all of which are controlled via a big and bright touchscreen display.

I wish I had more room to wax lyrical about how much I like the Street Glide, but I don’t. Suffice it to say that I find it hard to fault the Street. The things I don’t like are just the way of things with Harley-Davidson, such as the heavy $46,495 price tag and uncomfortable standard seat. The bonus, I guess, is that these can all be rectified with the right parts and a good credit rating. My final word is as simple as this; if I were in the market for a Harley, the Street Glide would be in my garage, and considering I’ve ridden every model but the Trike, that’s saying something.