So close and yet so Harley
Is it sporty? No. Does it glide? Sort of. Should it be a bit less weird? Certainly…
REMEMBER IN THE 1980s and ’90s when road tests of BMWS (particularly GSS) would conclude with phrases such as ‘potentially this is a great bike, if only BMW would make certain bits much less weird and crap’? Eventually BMW did just that and now we can’t get enough of the things. Well, Harley’s new Sport Glide has that 1980s BMW vibe. The engine, for example, is a peach. A big, heavy peach – perhaps more of a melon come to think of it – but it’s an engaging, characterful and fast road bike motor. Yes, fast. Twist the throttle at 2000rpm and the Sport Glide (we’ll come to that absurd name in a minute) jolts forward like it’s been hit from behind by a sledgehammer. It’s tuned like a car engine, so is already at peak torque of around 100 lb.ft by then and accelerates hard until it starts tailing off at 4500rpm. In the first three gears, it’s quick and exciting. After that it’s more of a struggle because it only makes around 80bhp, but by then you’re doing 80mph and that’s fast enough unless you want to tuck in behind the titchy screen. What’s more, the motor is relatively smooth. Naturally you can feel the traditional Harley rumbling of the 1753cc V-twin, but that’s all it is – a pleasing rumble. Balancer shafts ensure that the mirrors stay nice and clear, blood happily circulates around fingers, bolts stay fastened and bits don’t fall off. I have yet to do a big trip on it, but I can imagine being happy cruising all day at 80. Helping this feeling of all-day comfort is the ride quality, which is decent – soft and compliant, yet firm enough to hold it together in corners. And the build quality is the best I’ve ever seen on a Harley. But, but, but… there’s the self-cancelling indicators that switch themselves off too early turning right on big roundabouts (cue cars pulling out on you), the pathetic ground clearance that means you can barely use the decent handling, the stupid forward-mounted pegs, the lack of fuelling below 1500rpm, and the name… Glide I can go with, but Sport? Really? Which sport are they referring to? Weight lifting? Come on Harley, why not join BMW in the 21st century…?