2018 HARLEY-DAVIDSON SPORT GLIDE RIDES EASY
With smooth engine and high comfort, new cruiser from Milwaukee one of the best
LAGUNA BEACH, CALIF. HarleyDavidson must be feeling some heat. Maybe it’s the softening of the cruiser market. Perhaps it’s the renewed competition from longtime archrival Indian. Certainly the flattening — and, more recently, even a slight decrease — in its global sales has put a fire in its belly. Whatever the case or justification,though, we the motorcycle consuming public benefit.
For instance, it was just six months ago that The Motor Company unveiled its biggest market shift in years, the combination of Dyna and Softail into one lineup, highlighted by eight brand-new or completely revised models. And yet, unlike previous unveilings, there has been no standing on laurels, with Milwaukee taking the wraps off a ninth new model in the rejuvenated Softail platform. Being late to the party might have given the new Sport Glide a leg up, the extra six months of development perhaps the reason the new semi-touring big twin is the best of all the 2018 Softails and one of my favourite Harleys of all time.
You know something is seriously wrong with the world when a Harley Softail’s saddlebags are more accommodating than a Honda Gold Wing’s. Now you’ll note that I didn’t say commodious; as you’d suspect, even the 2018 Wing’s newly downsized luggage carriers are larger. But, while the new Harley luggage — with damped lids, no less! — is definitely smaller, they are better shaped inside than the misshapen side bags on the new Wing. For instance, I could fit my laptop case easily inside the Sport Glide’s bags; not so on the new Wing’s.
More importantly for the intended audience (that would be those looking for stylish weekend getaways if I am reading HarleyDavidson’s marketing drivel right), I easily fit an entire airline carry-on’s clothing and the aforementioned MacBook into the two saddlebags and had room left over for rain gear. Practical, lockable and stylish — well done, Harley!
Like Convertible models past, the luggage and the “Batwing” fairing are easily removable. Two minutes and a couple of latches and the Sport Glide is, well, naked as a Softail. Harley implies that removing the bodywork makes the Sport Glide more stylish, though I, for one, found it much more attractive fully dressed.
The Batwing fairing provides passable protection. Deliberately sized to minimize wind pressure to the rider’s chest but leave the head in an unobstructed breeze, the fairing does both, while producing very little turbulence around the helmet. Yes, you will get colder in a stiff breeze, but you won’t go deaf without earplugs.
You can convert the Sport Glide into a full-boat tourer. Harley will offer a taller windscreen, a luggage rack, and even an Electra Glide-like Tour-Pak rear topcase. I’d avoid all of it, the taller screen trading turbulence for protection and the Tour-Pak likely making the Sport Glide look like a Paul Teutul Orange County Choppers abomination.
The Milwaukee-Eight engine really is a gem. Dual counterbalanced with, in this guise, 107.6 pound-feet of torque and, judging from the other eightvalve 107s we’ve tested, about 78 or so horsepower, the rigidlymounted big V-twin is smooth when it needs to be, throbby when you’re looking for personality and responsive enough, especially with just one on board, to make the 114 version of the Milwaukee-Eight unnecessary. Indeed, there is no 114 version of the Sport Glide as there is for the Fat Bob and Heritage, but you can order a Stage IV upgrade from the Screamin’ Eagle accessory department that pumps things up to 114 cubes. But with the Sport Glide weighing in at a comparatively light — for a Harley — 304 kilograms, I suspect it’s largely unnecessary.
Harley’s latest suspension is up to the job. There may be only one cartridge damper in the two fork legs — both have springs — but the inverted front fork is compliant enough over all but the largest bumps for serious roadwork. Ditto for the rear. Neither end has damping adjustments but for the intended use the suspension is well-calibrated right out of the box.
It could use more brake. Like so many — too many! — Harleys, the Sport Glide leaves the showroom with only one disc brake. That, according to Harley’s stylists, is so we can have an unobstructed view of the new Mantis front ‘directional’ wheel, “the first of its style to come out of the HarleyDavidson factory on a non-CVO model” says Harley. Dude, who in H-E-double-hockey-sticks give a rat’s you-know-what about a wheel when they can’t stop in time to avoid the front grill of an 18-wheeler? Yes, the single disc is gripped by a four-piston caliper, but we want two of ’em.
The Sport Glide is the best steering of all the new Softails. You’ll notice, again, I didn’t say “finest handling.” It lacks the ground clearance to make it a truly effective back-road weapon. But, unlike the Fat Bob that, despite its sport bike-ish styling, runs on stupidly-sized cruiser tires, the Sport Glide’s 130/70-16 front and 180/70-16 rear Michelin Scorchers steer perfectly neutrally. Things may start scraping early, but you’ll have fun till you get there.
The Sport Glide is comfortable enough for weekend tours. The rider’s seat, at least, is broad and flat, the reach to the handlebar — a semi-swept-back affair — reasonable and the seat height a lowish 673 millimetres. Were it not for my lopsided lower lumbars, which make any foot-forward controls uncomfortable after an hour, I’d be happy to while away the hours on the Sport Glide. And, if you’re not so afflicted, that basically negates my only criticism of the new Sport Glide.
The 2018 Sport Glide costs $22,299, about mid-pack in the 2018 Softail lineup, which makes it something of a bargain, considering it superlative all-around performance. It’d be the Softail I’d own and is, short of the Road King, the best Harley I’ve ever tested. Hopefully, it catches on.