Harley-Davidson Motorcycle reviews

At the 2019 EICMA show in Milan, the Bar & Shield brand pulled the curtains off their brand-new, strategically developed machines that will bring them a new bunch of riders, ones who’ve never looked inside its shops before. Behold the “Bronx” and the “Pan-America.”

Paving the company into the Streetfighter and the ADV touring category, the Bronx and the Pan-America are the first babies of Harley’s “More Roads to Harley-Davidson” growth plan through 2022, though it all started with the launch of its first electric, no-clutch “twist and go” LiveWire.

These new motorcycles will be powered by the company’s new 60-degree V-twin Revolution Max engine that is supposed to be like nothing seen on a Harley before. The Milwaukee brand hasn’t divulged much information, but enough to just keep us excited through to their launch sometime towards the end of 2020. We’ve gathered them around here for a pre-production review of the Pan-America 1250 Adventure Tourer.

2020 is the year the Bar & Shield brand will be aggressively trying on new markets, and the first leg is already underway with the launch of its first electric, no-clutch “twist and go” LiveWire. As part of its “More Roads to Harley-Davidson” growth plan through 2022, this year’s EICMA witnessed Harley-Davidson unpacking their first-ever models, paving the company into the Streetfighter and the ADV category.

Rightly called the “Bronx” and the “Pan-America,” these new babies will be powered by the company’s new Revolution Max engine. Harley hasn’t divulged much information, but enough to just keep us excited through to their launch sometime towards the end of 2020. We’ve gathered them around here for a pre-production review of the Bronx. The Pan-America will follow suit.

Harley-Davidson expands the Sportster family with the new-in-2018 Iron 1200. Retro is in, so the ’70s-esque paint and custom touches drawn from that era give the Iron 1200 plenty of nostalgic value. Power comes from the venerable Evolution engine to the tune of 73 pound-feet of torque to give this ride modern performance that belies the dated veneer. A classic dish with custom spices, the new Iron 1200 raises the Iron stable’s displacement ceiling to draw new customers from a market that has been in decline for over a decade.

When Harley-Davidson makes changes to the Iron 883, they stay faithful to at least one important aspect – performance. While XL models have never been known as ’fast’ bikes, they certainly have a well-deserved reputation as ’quick’ bikes. Nothing in the Harley world comes out of the hole like a Sporty, or handles the corners like one, and the Iron 883 maintains that tradition with aplomb. Bikes like this show how the XL line has not only survived, but also thrived in the entry-level and sport-minded American markets.

Harley-Davidson’s Custom Vehicle Operations division was at it again with a revised CVO Street Glide model in 2019. The newest “SG” sports a new Boom! Box infotainment system with some serious speaker packages. Power comes from the Milwaukee-Eight 117 and brings its “guns” to the table with oodles of torque and a new color band as a model-year identifier.

Harley-Davidson revamped its Street Glide Special yet again for the 2019 model year in an effort to keep it “special.” First, the factory stuffed the largest non-CVO engine into the frame. Then it boosted the infotainment potential with the new Boom! Box GTS system. Color choices span the spectrum so there should be something for everyone on the palette.

Harley-Davidson kicked its Road Glide Ultra to the curb from its touring lineup ahead of MY2020 in favor of its new FLTRK Road Glide Limited. The Road Glide Limited takes touring comfort and safety up a notch with a host of new electronic features to go with its already-fabulous Infotainment system, and it all comes wrapped in a premium paint along with special bits of bling to finish off the package. Best of all, Harley powers the Road Glide Limited with its second largest production engine, the 1,868 cc Milwaukee-Eight 114 that brings over 100 pounds o’ grunt to the table for your touring enjoyment.

Harley-Davidson’s Tri Glide has always been a top-shelf machine, but the MoCo takes it to the Nth degree with its CVO treatment. The Custom Vehicle Operations division is where bikes, and in this case trikes, go to be elevated to greatness, and the 2020 CVO Tri Glide is a better example than usual as Harley uses it as a platform for all its all new electronic goodies. H-D joins the 21st century with its Reflex Defensive Rider Systems that counters the inherent issues with the traditional two-in-back trike layout to make this a machine that can compete with the burgeoning Delta-trike sector. Best of all, H-D powers the CVO Tri Glide with its largest production engine to date, the Milwaukee-Eight 117 Twin-Cooled Engine that churns out well over 100 pound-feet of torque with not one but two generous contact patches to put the power to the pavement.

Harley-Davidson’s cruiser line isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind for a performance-oriented street machine, but that changes with its newly refurbished Softail Low Rider S model. The steering geometry is sharpened for the sake of agility, and as for power, the torque-rich, Milwaukee-Eight 114 engine delivers the goods with well over 100 pounds o’ grunt ready to be unleashed on the public roads. Harley gives the Low Rider S with coastal-style design touches that sets it apart from the pack and begs for customization.

After a revamp for the 2018 model year, Softail underpinnings are all radically different than the originals, but the overall classic look of the Heritage Classic remains largely unchanged for the requisite historical tie-in. Harley-Davidson put a new emphasis on the Softail lineup with plenty of performance-driven custom designs for the fiery-eyed pegdraggers out there, but for someone looking for an old-school cruiser and tour bike, the Heritage Classic is your Huckleberry.

Harley-Davidson brought its Road Glide and Road Glide Special into the 2018 model year with the base-model Glide more or less a direct carryover in everything but color selection. However, the “Special” rocks a host of improvements from last year, and for 2019, comes with the Milwaukee-Eight 114 in its standard equipment package. With improved suspension from Showa cushioning the ride, this pair is ripe for customization and gives prospective bike builders a blank canvas with which to work.

The 1200 Custom in Harley-Davidson’s Sportster line went into 2018 with a new look and hit the streets with the tried and true 1200 Evolution® engine along with the agile chassis that’s secured a place for itself in the lineup for over half a century. Kinda the black sheep of the Sportster stable, the 1200 Custom lives up to its name with a look apart from the rest of its siblings with a beefier front end and more aggressive riding position to put a little more ’sport’ into the ride.

The Harley-Davidson Motor Company beefed up its fixed-fairing Road Glide Ultra ahead of MY2019 with new electronic features along with a larger, more powerful Milwaukee-Eight powerplant. Built for long-distance work, the “Ultra” pulls from the top shelf for its touring tenacity with plenty of lockable dry storage and cushy appointments that let you share the fun with a friend in style and comfort. The factory adds the contemporary fairing to classic Harley looks to make the new Ultra a truly modern ride, but with the deep roots we expect from the MoCo.

Harley-Davidson adds to its Sportster footprint and moves the progress bar on its “50-new-models” goal with the ’Seventies-tastic’ Forty-Eight Special. Like the base model Forty-Eight, it rolls with numerous custom touches that tie it directly to a specific era, just of a more-recent vintage. Blackout components and chrome accents mix freely across the machine with the same 1200 cc, 73 pound-feet Sportster engine that drives the base model. It all in the details, though, and it’s the details that separates it from its predecessor.

The Forty-Eight from Harley-Davidson’s Sportster stable has that signature bulldog stance with beefy front forks and fat tires on a narrow frame. The 1,202 cc Evo engine comes blacked out with chrome blings, fed by a ’peanut tank’ that appeared on Sporty’s throughout its history. Low, low seat height and Dark Custom attitude give the Forty-Eight that low-slung, lean, mean look.

Heavily bobbed and blacked-out, the Harley-Davidson Fat Bob comes with a choice of engine: the 107-inch Milwaukee-Eight or the 114-inch version. These grunty powerplants, along with a (relatively) sporty new suspension system from the redesign in 2018 give the Fat Bob an aggressive bent that is meant to appeal to a younger generation of rider. The Fat Bob saw a complete do-over in 2018, so if you rode it before and weren’t impressed, know that you haven’t ridden this Fat Bob.

Powered by the 883 cc Evolution engine, the SuperLow XL 883L delivers modest performance and nimble handling. The slammed suspension puts the rider’s butt close to the ground where even the shortest inseams can feel confident and in control with both feet down flat. While this ride isn’t quite as entry level as the Street 500/750, it is the smallest of Harley-Davidson’s traditional designs and typically serves as a trainer bike for folks interested in air-cooled cruisers.

Harley-Davidson introduced the Sport Glide last year, an all-new Softail model that borrowed from the past while looking to the future. The detachable panniers and mini-fairing give it some (very) light touring capabilities, but it’s the 108 pounds of grunt from the Milwaukee-Eight engine that reveals its true nature as a power cruiser.

Harley-Davidson and the custom-bike culture have always gone hand-in-hand, and the updated-in-2018 Softail Slim makes for a rolling tribute to both. The Slim rides on the same, newly-revamped frame as the rest of the fake-hardtail family for the unmistakeable geometry and dated look that you just can’t get from a traditional swingarm. Bobbed fenders and blackout paint tie right into the custom trends of yesteryear quite nicely, but it’s the 107 cubic-inch Milwaukee-Eight V-Twin and its 100-plus pounds of torque that drives the Slim past “historical-tribute” turf right into viable power-cruiser territory. Since the whole point of the original bobbers was to provide a more thrilling ride, I find this pairing of power and panache to be entirely fitting.

The Harley-Davidson lineup underwent some serious changes for MY2018, and the chopped-down, Dyna-based Street Bob was rebuilt and reintroduced as a Softail model before the Dyna family was cut from production in its entirety. Not only did it switch to Harley’s faux-rigid style frame, but the frame itself was completely reinvented to the point where it bears little resemblance to the original that saw the light of day for the first time back in ’84. Sure, it still has that classic Softail visage, but the factory achieved it in a totally different way this time, and any perceived similarities are only skin deep. To add to the revamp, the Street Bob was on the receiving end of a beating-heart transplant with the addition of the then-new-to-cruisers, Milwaukee-Eight 107 powerplant that brings over 100 pounds of grunt to the table. The Street Bob has more power, new frame, and a new family/model combination as it rolls into 2019.

Harley-Davidson made some fairly major changes for MY2018, but the Road King stands firmly unchanged as a link to the past with a heritage that arguably started in 1958 with the Duo-Glide. The base-model comes equipped the 107 cubic-inch Milwaukee-Eight, though for 2019, the factory graced the Road King Special with the Milwaukee-Eight 114. Engine output places them well within the power-tourer bracket with a whopping 111 pound-feet of torque on tap (123 pound-feet for the Special) to push its curb weight that you may as well call it half-a-ton with a rider plus whatever is in your bags and on the pillion.