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Harley-Davidson has taken its fair share of criticism over the years for not painting outside the lines. Especially for those riders outside the HOG fraternity, it often seems like the folks in Milwaukee struggle with change.
To Harley’s credit, at least a couple of new models in the last few years have represented a huge departure from the company norms. The LiveWire electric motorcycle and Pan America adventure-tourer brought completely new powerplants and, maybe most importantly, renewed the idea that Harley-Davidson is capable of surprising the cynics with new ideas. From the beginning, these two machines tested here — the 2022 Road Glide ST and Street Glide ST — had a tough row to hoe if they were to surprise anyone.
Facts
Both of these ST machines are built on the base platforms of the same name, and both the Road Glide and Street Glide are stalwarts in the Harley lineup. They are listed on Harley’s website under “Grand America Touring,” meaning they fall in the same chassis family as the Road King, Electra Glide, and all of the traditional top-box’d, long-distance rigs. The base ‘Glides are quintessential baggers — they use the standard-issue 107 ci Milwaukee-Eight engine (or the optional 114) and offer the traditional shape and capability of a slightly stripped-down touring machine.
The big news with the Road Glide ST and Street Glide ST is that both models come standard with Harley’s 117 ci mill, previously only available in up-spec CVO models. These ST models also adopt the three-inch rear suspension from full-size tourers, as opposed to the 2.1 inches available on other ‘Glides and Specials. Along with removing passenger accommodations, the ST bikes get some cosmetic touchups in the blacked-out powertrains, stubbier front fenders, bronzed cylinder heads that match fresh wheels, and Gunship Gray paint. The results are motorcycles that are unmistakable as a Road Glide and a Street Glide, except they have bigger engines and on the spec sheets they are about 15 pounds lighter than the base models.
After a few tosses and turns of the starter motor, Harley’s 117 engine comes alive with perhaps the most familiar of all exhaust notes, the Milwaukee-Eight being a modern and smooth interpretation of the classic Harley noise. It maintains the prominent and lumbering personality of Harley Big Twins, without the clatter of way-back-when. These ST models also light up with a suite of now-typical MoCo amenities: a 6.5-inch touchscreen controlling Harley’s Boom! Box infotainment and navigation system, Daymaker LED headlights, and a USB plug to initiate Apple CarPlay and/or Android Auto.
More to the point, these models do feel a little different to ride. Harley claims 106 horsepower and 127 foot-pounds of torque from its 117. That’s nine more horses than the 114 engine. Still, you might say that 850-pound motorcycles, in general, have a certain reputation for performance and these ST ‘Glides fit the stereotype. The power is as broad and flat as the Arizona landscape we thundered across on this test ride, and there is certainly a calm beauty in both the Harley engine and an open plain. But, not a lot of excitement.
Incidentally, if and when you come upon some curves in the road, you may want to know that the Harley teams on site confirmed that the ST moniker does stand for Sport Touring. If you look closely enough, some “sport” character is just peeking out from under the mountain of heritage and touring that makes up most of a Road Glide’s or Street Glide’s aura. The extra 0.9 inches of rear wheel travel represents an increase of 43 percent, and even though Harley didn’t make any claims about how much farther the bikes can lean over, it makes a difference. It felt like an extra few degrees of lean angle were available before the floorboards touched down.
As for “touring,” both of these bikes deliver what everyone has come to expect from Harley. On the open road they cruise along like freight trains, with brilliantly easy-to-use cruise control and saddles as wide as Utah. The 117 canters along holding 2,400 rpm at 65 mph and 3,000 rpm at 80 mph, pulsing gently and never feeling the least bit stressed, while returning miles per gallon in the low-to-mid 40s. The larger, frame-mounted fairing on the Road Glide provides more comprehensive weather protection with less helmet buffeting — for a six-foot, two-inch rider anyway.
The color dash can be controlled via the touch screen or with a combination of joysticks and buttons on the handlebar and it guides the rider through everything from scanning for FM stations to tire pressure and navigation. It’s a striking combination of old versus new, with an analog voltage readout of the charging system sitting next to a 3D rendering of the overpass the bike is crossing. It’s all fairly intuitive and certainly vast enough to keep any owner entertained and informed. While we’re dolling out compliments, by gosh I’ve never met a set of top-loading, one-hand-open-and-close saddlebags that I didn’t like and this luggage is no exception.
Opinions
While these ST Road Glide and Street Glide models are a clear step in a specific direction, it is a minuscule step. For some background, Harley-Davidson has thrown a wave of resources at the King of the Baggers racing series (all but abandoning American Flat Track), and has gone so far as to say that the ST model line represents some of the know-how that has been implemented while racing. Unfortunately, I don’t see any actual evidence of that. I listened to intelligent and well-spoken members of Harley's engineering and design teams explain the connections. I pored over specs. I rode the Road Glide ST and Street Glide ST. I even rode the race bike (story coming soon). And, your honor, despite having some shared parts I found no true similarities between the company’s racing machine and these new street bikes.
The larger engine is something no other non-CVO machine gets (aside from the Low Rider S and new ST), it’s true, but then again the race bike uses a 131 ci version of the Milwaukee-Eight. That engine comes in a crate, by the way, as a plug-and-play option for these models. Most disappointing of all, the increase in rear wheel travel comes via shocks that were taken from existing touring bikes in Harley’s lineup. I felt a genuine difference in cornering clearance, I swear, and that was after the PR team told us honestly that in the SAE lean-angle test (that’s with 75-percent suspension compression) these new models didn’t perform differently than the base machines. Practically, and even scientifically, there is almost no difference with these new bikes, aside from a little more power.
It would be one thing if the factory racing effort was weak or half baked, but it simply isn’t. The championship-winning King of the Baggers Road Glide Special is an epic machine, built by a cadre of in-house engineers that energetically took on the challenge. Sure, the result is as long as a canoe and has a seat taller than an adventure bike. But you know what? It goes around corners without dragging parts. The race bike simultaneously embraces Harley-Davidson tradition and epitomizes the type of flamboyance and change that the critics could love. Considering the basic structure of that race bike is a Road Glide frame and a factory accessory engine, it feels like an amazingly rich opportunity for Harley to make something new.
In other words, why not build a Road Glide ST that actually leans over? Why not a 31-inch seat height, five inches of rear suspension, the 131 engine, mid controls, a flatter handlebar, and Mert Lawwill’s famous Grand National number 1 splashed across the bags? These are rhetorical questions, to be clear. I’m not interested in the excuses. It would be brilliant, and if it weren’t brilliant it would at least be a testament to a bizarre and successful project that grew from the enthusiasm and buoyancy of Harley-Davidson’s own impromptu, volunteer race team. Worse motorcycles have been built for flimsier reasons than that.
I will admit that we, the motorcycling public, might not need a tall, weird, fast version of a Road Glide, but I would argue that we also didn’t need this, another version of the Road Glide we already know that makes nine more horsepower at a $7,500 premium. Essentially, with the $30,000 Road Glide ST and Street Glide ST, Harley-Davidson has yet again painted inside the lines. If you prefer a food analogy, it is the same dish with a different garnish.
That’s fine because it’s popular. Delicious, to some. These new 'Glides deliver the familiar and unique experience of motorcycling Americana on a grand scale. I appreciate them for what they are. But, in this era of LiveWire and Pan America, I know that Harley-Davidson is capable of surprising the sport-touring world and I can’t help but want that feeling.
| 2022 Harley-Davidson Street Glide ST | 2022 Harley-Davidson Road Glide ST | |
|---|---|---|
| Base Price (MSRP) | $29,999 | $29,999 |
| Engine | 1,923 cc (117.3 ci), air-cooled, eight-valve, pushrod V-twin | 1,923 cc (117.3 ci), air-cooled, eight-valve, pushrod V-twin |
|
Transmission, final drive |
Six-speed, belt | Six-speed, belt |
| Claimed horsepower | 106 @ 4,750 rpm | 106 @ 4,750 rpm |
| Claimed torque | 127 foot-pounds @ 3,750 rpm | 127 foot-pounds @ 3,750 rpm |
| Frame | Steel tube | Steel tube |
| Front suspension | 49 mm dual bending valve fork, 4.6 inches of travel | 49 mm dual bending valve fork, 4.6 inches of travel |
| Rear suspension | Preload-adjustable shock, 3.0 inches of travel | Preload-adjustable shock, 3.0 inches of travel |
| Front brake | Brembo four-piston calipers, 300 mm discs with ABS | Brembo four-piston calipers, 300 mm discs with ABS |
| Rear brake | Brembo four-piston caliper, 300 mm disc with ABS | Brembo four-piston caliper, 300 mm disc with ABS |
| Rake, trail | 26 degrees, 6.7 inches | 26 degrees, 6.7 inches |
| Wheelbase | 64 inches | 64 inches |
| Seat height | 28 inches | 28.1 inches |
| Fuel capacity | 6.0 gallons | 6.0 gallons |
| Tires | Dunlop D408F, 130/60B19 front, 180/55B18 rear | Dunlop D408F, 130/60B19 front, 180/55B18 rear |
| Claimed weight | 814 pounds | 842 pounds |
| Available | TBA | TBA |
| Warranty | 24 months, unlimited mileage | 24 months, unlimited mileage |
| More info | harley-davidson.com | harley-davidson.com |
