Story and photos from motorcyclistonline.com / Adam Waheed

Harley-Davidson’s 2024 Road Glide ($25,999) is an iconic touring motorcycle that is meant to embody the spirit of freedom and adventure so many people associate with the Bar & Shield brand. It doesn’t hurt that Harley’s touring line is made up of remarkably good all-around motorcycles, with exceptional long-distance comfort, surprisingly good handling, and increasingly broad technical features. Plus, the Road Glide’s unmistakable design is etched into the American motorcyclist’s mind. Characterized by its distinctive shark-nose fairing, this touring cruiser is the bike most people—even non-riders—visualize when they hear the word “bagger.” Well, that or the Street Glide with the “batwing.”

“Harley-Davidson put the batwing fairing and hard bags on the touring motorcycle chassis in 1969 and created the Grand American Tourer,” says Brad Richards, vice president of design and creative director.

“One of the things about Harley-Davidson is the evolution of the aesthetics was rather slow compared to some other aspects of consumer products,” he says. “That means that the designs are very familiar to our customers.

“So any change of feature or DNA has to be highly scrutinized to make sure that we make the right move because there’s so much familiarity between the product and our customer, and there’s so much emotional connection between the customer and the product. So we spent a lot of time developing these new touring motorcycles.

“We [added] a lit signature,” Richardson says, “what we call the ‘lit signature,’ much like modern automobiles. Lighting has really become a piece of design content that people are using to create identity even at night, so when you can’t see the product, you see this motorcycle coming down the road and you’ll know it is a Harley-Davidson.

“It does a couple things. We actually did want it to feel a little bit like an eagle. I’m not going to lie,” he says, smiling. “That was part of the shape. When it lights up at night, you get that feeling of the wings and sort of a head. But it also allows us to integrate the turn indicators, which up to this point had been hanging on the motorcycle.”

At the heart of the Road Glide beats a potent Milwaukee-Eight engine, now sporting 117ci (1,923cc) of American muscle.

“We try to really celebrate the mechanicalness of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle, starting with the Milwaukee V-twin engine. When you do that, it’s a challenging design problem because you can’t rely on plastic covers to cover up all the different technical elements and mechanical elements. So it’s anatomy on display,” Richardson continues.

“It’s not the same 117 [as last model year],” adds Scott Nash, chief engineer, touring motorcycles. “We increased horsepower and we increased torque. Yes, [it’s the] same displacement, but not the same motor. It’s better than the motor we had on our previous 117s.”

This air-cooled V-twin powerhouse delivers abundant torque across the rev range, to the tune of 130 lb.-ft. of claimed torque from the crankshaft. This provides effortless acceleration and highway cruising capability with the unmistakable engine roar of a 45-degree big Harley Twin as we learned after about a hour’s ride on the ‘24 model at its official press introduction in Nevada.

Horsepower-wise Harley-Davidson says this engine configuration is good for 105 crankshaft horsepower. The smooth and refined power delivery, coupled with a six-speed transmission, allows for seamless gearshifts, but we wish the Road Glide included a heel shifter as a standard feature.

“The cylinder heads have been reshaped and we also reshaped the intake port,” Nash says. The spark plugs are a little bit deeper, and all this is designed around getting higher velocity into the cylinder head. Better tumble, better swirl, better combustion—all that stuff leads to better

performance for the motor.”

Additionally, liquid-cooled cylinder heads help boost and maintain peak power output, yet the cooling system is tastefully integrated into the aesthetics of the vehicle.

“Unlike the car industry—when you make a beautiful body, you can kind of cover everything up—with a motorcycle you’re exposing everything,” Richardson tells us. “So a lot of time is spent on the individual components and working really closely with engineering to make sure, for instance, that the cylinder heads are the right shape, the pushrod tubes are beautiful, and the transmission cover works with the air cleaner.”

“It keeps the motor cooler, which keeps your performance up at more of a wider range of conditions,” Nash explains. “If it gets too hot, it [the electronics] starts pulling some of that [power] away. This allows that performance to stay there all the time, and this also has benefits for the rider in terms of rider comfort.”

The 45-degree V-twin drinks from a nearly two-pound-lighter and reshaped 6-gallon steel fuel tank. During the course of our ride, we netted 42.3 mpg average.

“The teardrop Harley-Davidson fuel tank has been around almost since the beginning of the company,” Richardson expands. “It has, again, it’s a really tricky thing to try to change, but I would say in terms of evolution of design, we really pushed the fuel tank… You know, it ended up being a little bit further than I thought we were going to take it.

“We kept the teardrop shape in the side view, as you guys can see, but we added a chamfer, and the chamfer actually ties with the chamfer on the saddlebag and a couple other elements on the motorcycle if you look at it.

“That was done to do a couple things,” Richardson continues. “Number one: We wanted it to be instantly identifiable as the new fuel tank. We also wanted to show off the tension that we created and get rid of some of the softness that was in the previous design, again, holding everything together with these beautiful lines going all the way through the motorcycle. The fuel tank is 6 gallons still. It’s made with a lighter material, so the fuel tank is actually lighter than the outgoing fuel tank, and that’s really a key story with the new touring bikes design, but throughout the motorcycle we optimized weight. We got a lot of weight out of these bikes.”

Despite its substantial size and 838-pound claimed weight, the Road Glide offers agile handling and excellent stability. Unlike the CVO model, the standard Road Glide continues to use a more traditionally styled telescopic fork with axial-mount Harley-Davidson-branded four-piston calipers (manufactured by Brembo).

The motorcycle’s frame-mounted fairing not only looks cool, but enhances wind protection for both rider and passenger. Harley claims subjective rider helmet buffeting to be reduced by 60 percent versus its predecessor. Adjustable fairing-mounted deflectors help direct air into or out of the cockpit and let miles melt away with ease, reducing rider fatigue on extended highway stretches.

The rear suspension has nearly an inch more rear suspension travel (3.0 versus. 2.1 inches on the 2023 and earlier models) and preload-adjustable shocks. The new setup soaks up bumps and undulations and delivers favorable ride quality. Another four-piston caliper handles rear braking duties with lean-angle-sensitive ABS and front/rear-linked proportional brake control.

Comfort has always been a key feature on the Road Glide, making it an ideal companion for long-distance touring adventures. A deep-dish rider saddle provides ample support for extended hours on the bike while the spacious floorboards allow for leg positioning. The handlebar is wider and can be easily rotated forward or backward based on preference. Furthermore the front brake lever offers position adjustment to better accommodate different hand sizes.

Additional touring-oriented features, such as cruise control (enabled through ride-by-wire throttle control, which also facilitates adjustable engine power, throttle response, and engine-brake control), combine with ample storage to further enhance touring trips. Although Harley says its liquid-cooled cylinder heads reduce engine heat inside the cockpit, we didn’t notice a difference versus ail/oil-cooled Harley touring vehicles during our ride in 58-degree ambient air temperature.

The Road Glide comes equipped with an easy-to-read 12.3-inch color touchscreen. The display easily connects via Bluetooth with either iOS- or Android-powered smartphones. Riders can access a range of audio sources including AM/FM radio, SiriusXM, and USB media, ensuring a personalized entertainment experience.

The chunky, backlit switch gear offers excellent tactile feel and is easy to use with or without gloves. A pair of fairing-mounted 5.25-inch speakers that features double the wattage compared to previous models (100 watts per speaker versus 50) sound great but, as ever, the higher the speed the harder it is to hear them, even cranked. Gadgets can be charged via the standard USB-C port inside the right-hand-side fairing-mounted compartment.

The 2024 Harley-Davidson Road Glide expands the touring experience in the bagger category. Cross-country journeys are made easier with the more powerful 117ci engine and genuinely improved ergonomics, and upgraded suspension, particularly at the rear. Cruising in town or commuting is a great option thanks to the saddlebags and good handling. Lighter weight also contributes to all of the above. Harley-Davidson has updated the iconic looks to good effect, building a nostalgic, familiar-feeling Big Twin touring bike with modern ride quality and technology. Very few motorcycles have ever maintained a mass-market appeal the way Harley-Davidson baggers have and it comes from the careful management of look, sound, and feel. Is it what’s old is new again? Or is it what’s new is old again? Harley somehow seems to answer both of these questions with the Road Glide and customers will be happy it did.

Gearbox

Helmet: Arai Contour-X

Jacket: Saint Armored Puffer

Gloves: Racer Tour FHH

Pant: Saint Force

Boots: TCX Climb 2 Surround

Oversuit: Aerostich R-3 Light One-Piece

2024 Harley-Davidson Road Glide Technical Specifications and Price

Price:	$25,999
Engine:	Liquid-cooled, 45-degree V-twin; 4 valves/cyl.
Displacement:	117ci (1,923cc)
Bore x Stroke:	103.5 x 114.3mm
Compression Ratio:	10.3:1
Transmission/Final Drive:	6-speed/belt
Claimed Horsepower:	105 hp @ 4,600 rpm
Claimed Torque:	130 lb.-ft @ 3,250 rpm
Fuel System:	Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection
Clutch:	Wet, multiplate slipper/assist
Frame:	Steel tube w/ two-piece backbone and bolt-on rear subframe
Front Suspension:	49mm Showa fork; 4.6 in. travel
Rear Suspension:	Dual emulsion shocks, spring preload adjustable; 3.0 in. travel
Front Brake:	4-piston axial-mount calipers, dual floating 320mm discs w/ ABS
Rear Brake:	4-piston caliper, 300mm disc w/ ABS
Wheels, Front/Rear:	Cast aluminum; 19 x 3.5 in. / 18 x 5 in.
Tires, Front/Rear:	Dunlop H-D Series bias blackwall; 130/60-19 / 180/55-18
Rake/Trail:	26.0°/6.8 in.
Wheelbase:	64.0 in.
Ground Clearance:	5.7 in.
Seat Height:	28.3 in.
Fuel Capacity:	6.0 gal.
Curb Weight:	838 lb.
Contact:	harley-davidson.com