Harley-Davidson Unveils New Road Glide and Street Glide With Revolutionary Styling
Harley-Davidson is the last word in traditional American cruisers. However, the MoCo can’t keep selling the same tired looks and hope to stay competitive with Indian, Triumph, and BMW. Enter the all-new Road Glide and Street Glide, a new take on the Wisconsin-based motorcycle brand’s most popular rides.
The new 2024 Harley-Davidson Road Glide and Street Glide get a modern refresh
The all-new Harley-Davidson baggers ditch the old-school Sharknose and Batwing fairings for updated versions. For starters, fans will notice the motorcycles’ new LED integrated LED lighting. Moreover, the bright white lights take the place of the previous model’s dual round lamp application and the Street Glide’s horizontal LED runners.
The new 2024 Harley-Davidson Road Glide retains the fixed-fairing application of previous models. However, the new Road Glide gets a new shape courtesy of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The MoCo says the new Sharknose fairing will optimize rider comfort and performance. Not that the previous model’s fairing didn’t cheat the wind; my seat time on the previous bike yielded a smoother ride at highway pace than the Batwing-equipped touring motorcycle.
Speaking of the Street Glide, the new model gets a redesigned Batwing fairing with the same CFD treatment as its fixed-fairing sibling. Like the Road Glide, the Street Glide gets a set of running lights and a new LED headlight. Both bikes get a set of scalloped integrated rear lights which include turn signals as well as brake lights. Harley asserts that “every surface of the Street Glide [and Road Glide]” has been “reimagined and refined” for visual flow.
Beyond the looks, both “Grand American Touring” bikes get a displacement bump in the form of the Milwaukee-Eight 117 cubic-inch V-Twin. The 117 twin develops 105 horsepower and 130 lb-ft of torque. Of course, it’ll need every bit of that output to motivate the Street Glide’s 811 lbs of running weight. Better yet, the engineers at Harley-Davidson gave the 117 twin a set of liquid-cooled heads to better dissipate heat.
Straddling the new Harley touring motorcycles reveals a 12.3-inch touchscreen display, which runs on the brand’s Skyline OS. However, the touchscreen isn’t just for infotainment; the screen accesses the motorcycle’s ride modes, like Rain and Sport. Both bikes get a substantial price bump for 2024, adding nearly $4,000 to the starting price. Of course, riders are getting quite the update for the price bump.
| Model | Starting price |
|---|---|
| 2024 Street Glide | $25,999 |
| 2024 Road Glide | $25,999 |
