Harley-Davidson rebrands its tourbike line under the “Grand American Touring” banner in 2021, and the American marque marks the occasion with the all-new Electra Glide Revival. This bike is a bona fide rolling tribute that brings classic design elements together with top-shelf electronics and a large powerful engine, all of a more recent vintage to make this a thoroughly modern ride.

2021 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Revival Design

The Electra Glide Revival is a late release to be sure as it was announced shortly before the Black Hills Rally in Sturgis, SD -- an event that usually sees the unveiling of next year's products to the general public -- so I'm left with the impression that this is being pushed out as part of the new management's prerogative.

There's a lot to unpack here with oodles of historical Easter eggs sprinkled throughout, so let's get started with the laced wheels that sport plenty of chrome to start the bling treatment. The hoops pair well with the brightness of the wheels by carrying broad “gangster” whitewalls that traces their lineage back to the middle of the previous century. Likewise, the full front fender has a similar pedigree, as does the chrome script, piping, and fender skirt that completes the package in old-school style.

That's just the start -- the chrome coverage extends up to the beercan fork skirts and the partial nacelle that peeks out from under the Batwing fairing. While this is the same fairing mounted by many among the touring lineup, it's made to look a bit dated by not carrying the same paint as the sheet metal, and instead matches the hard bags for an old-school shadetree finish.

As a modern element, the fairing comes with H-D's SplitStream vent that relieves the vacuum behind the fairing and glass to mitigate the tiresome head-buffet effect. The single round halogen headlight is a two-in-one unit for both low- and high-beam operation, and it comes braced by a pair of pimp lights for greater forward light output. A chrome whiskerbar mounts the extra lights along with the front blinkers to complete the classic styling up front.

Around behind the fairing is a quartet of analog gauge dials lined up above a color TFT touchscreen that handles all the ride-quality and infotainment functions. Harley's BOOM! Box 6.5 GT audio system lets you share your road tunes with the rest of the class, and a GPS-driven navigation system finishes the package by ensuring that you never get lost. There's more chrome on the six-gallon fuel tank in the classic console, fuel door, and period-correct badging with widespread coverage on the drivetrain and exhaust.

The seat is something special. The overall shape of the saddle with pedestal-and-hinge articulation and chrome buttstop were inspired from the seats of yesteryear, as this type of saddle was popular on the old hardtail models and into the early swingarm years. It is a solo seat with plush tuck-and-roll upholstery, so no sharing the fun with a friend, at least on the stock setup.

The baggage comes shot in the same paint as the fairing for more of that home-spun look with 2.3 cubic-feet of secure dry storage. A final bit of bling makes it onto the rear end at the bag guards and rear turn-signal mount.

2021 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Revival Chassis

The frame on the Electra Glide Revival is welded-up, round steel tubing with a composite backbone for strength and rigidity. This is the same FL platform that props up the rest of the Electra Glide family, and it has a classic shape with a double-downtube/double-cradle layout that can trace its lineage back to around the '40s if you follow the family tree to its roots. A rectangular cross-section gives the yoke-style steel swingarm a bit of extra rigidity to finish the standing structure and the bolt-on rear frame is easily removed ahead of major repairs if need be.

Harley keeps one foot in the previous century -- not in a good way -- with its non-adjustable front forks, though credit where it's due, the 49 mm Showa stems sport the Dual Bending Valve technology that delivers demand-driven damping for a ride that is far superior to standard vanilla front ends.

A low rear suspension setup rests the saddle at 30.9 inches off the deck unladen and comes with a hand-adjuster for quick-and-easy preload tweaks, all without benefit of tools. There's a trade off to be had here. The seat is relatively low for a tour-style machine, but that cuts into the rear suspension travel with a short 2.15-inch stroke. The forks come with a 4.6-inch stroke that is closer to the average and should be sufficient for civilized roads.

H-D Series Dunlop hoops make the connection to the concrete. Built for cruising comfort, the steering stem angle and tripleclamp offset sets a rake angle of 29.25 degrees with 6.8 inches of trail to make it track like it's on rails, even in blustery crosswinds. Curb weight is reported at 862 pounds, so this is a lot of bike to keep under control. The factory gives you the tools you need with dual front brakes and all-around, 300 mm discs and four-bore calipers to bind them. Plus, since it rocks the Reflex Defensive Rider Systems, ABS is a standard feature, so you can count on safely getting the most out of your anchors.

2021 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Revival Drivetrain

The Electra Glide Revival runs a punched-out Milwaukee-Eight that boasts a 114 cubic-inch (1,868 cc) displacement to put this lump in the mid-range for the engine family. As usual for an H-D Big Twin, the engine layout is undersquare with a 102 mm bore and 114 mm stroke to maximize torque output, and since it's reported at 118 pound-feet of grunt at 3,250 rpm, I'd say it's a job well done.

Horsepower tops out with 97 ponies at 5,020 rpm and compression comes in with a 10.5-to-1 ratio that'll put you at the mid-grade hook at the very least. The valvetrain is from the old school with external pushrods that actuate a quartet of overhead poppets per jug.

Power flows through a chain-type primary drive to a slip-and-assist clutch that adds a layer of rear contact-patch protection. The six-speed transmission crunches the ratios and sends power to the pavement via a tough, carbon-reinforced, belt-type final drive.

For your riding pleasure, the Revival comes stock with the RDRS package that bundles advanced ABS, drag torque mitigation, traction control, and Vehicle Hold Control to make this unit competitive with the top brands around the world, at least in the electronics category. Top speed is a reported max of around 100 mph, but that will be a bit variable with wind influence, cargo weight, elevation and rider weight.

2021 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Revival Price

Never one to use price as a selling point, Milwaukee looks to get $29,199 for its new, base-model Electra Glide Revival. In a break from convention, the factory doesn't offer this model in a Vivid Black paint package, but instead sticks to a Hi-Fi Blue over black with a Birch White finish on the fairing and saddlebags. This model is scheduled for a numbered production run of only 1,500 units worldwide.

2021 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Revival Competitor

The new Electra Glide Revival hits the bricks with a built-in domestic competitor in the Indian Chieftain Limited. As the only other American brand, Indian is in an excellent position to take on The MoCo with similar history and evolution of design, so let's get to it.

Indian Chieftain Limited

Indian brings its own mixture of old and new to the table with classic features such as the war bonnet ornament on the full-length, high-side front fender, chrome beercan fork skirts, and a powerplant that channels yesteryear through its flathead-type design features. As a proper bagger model, the Indian rolls with a batwing-esque fairing and stock saddlebags, plus it has a two-up seat that lets you share the fun with a friend right off the showroom floor.

Indian edges out H-D in the displacement category with a 116 cubic-inch (1,890 cc) volume and capitalizes on this minor size difference to deliver a total of 126 pound-feet of torque against 118 pounds of grunt from the Revival.

The Chieftain Limited rocks an infotainment system that rivals H-D's, and it comes with stock ABS protection along with a Rear-Cylinder Deactivation feature that kills the rear cylinder at stops to limit heat wash felt by the pilot.

Indian garners another small victory at the checkout with its $27,999 sticker, though I doubt that price difference will make many buyers jump the fence from their preferred brand.

Read our full review of the Indian Chieftain Limited.

He Said

“Go ahead and pencil me in as a fan. This particular blend of features really channels the 1969 version, all without sacrificing performance or electronic sophistication. Not only does it have its own charms, but it's also something of a blank canvas for builders looking to expand on this old school-themed bike. This will definitely appeal to the fans of retro-designed bikes.”

She Said

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says, “What a beautiful bike and a nice combination of classic styling and modern technology. The Electra Glide Revival is the first bike in Harley's Icons Collection, which is an annual program intended to 'elevate traditional forms and celebrate Americana, either by revisiting classic Harley-Davidson design themes or by exploring ideas that represent the future of motorcycle style,' according to the Harley site. I think they hit it spot on with this first contribution to the collection. The attention to historical detail is apparent. Of course, I remember 1969. Not a lot of folks reading this will.”

2021 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Revival Specifications

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