Harley-Davidson somehow manages to improve its touring bikes over and over without completely reinventing the wheel. You’ve got to hand it to the team in Milwaukee for doing that, and with the big step forward the 2024 Road Glide and Street Glide have taken, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Harley must have made a deal with the devil to make its 2024 bikes even better tourers.
With pricing starting at a hefty $50,490, Harley-Davidson needs to offer something special - and that just might be the case.
Harley’s strategy focuses on evolution rather than revolution. Big American tourers have always been a part of the brand’s identity, so you can be sure it doesn’t want to mess too much with what is already a pretty appealing package.
Updates for 2024 include decent weight loss (6-8kg), revised suspension, a more powerful 117 cubic inch engine, and all-new aerodynamically tested fairings offering an array of eye-catching colours.
Along with the major updates, Harley-Davidson ANZ is also offering pre-prepared inspiration packages from the “Big Book” of official accessories.
Alongside the new Milwaukee-Eight engines, Harley has pumped in new tech behind the all-new bodywork, which sees a huge touchscreen TFT display take over, displaying all information to the rider.
H-D’s Australasian launch took place on the Gold Coast, which is about as close as you can get to Florida without the extensive plane rides. I found myself straddling a black and chrome Road Glide - a classic Harley combo if ever there was one.
The big black Road Glide was immediately a surprise as I nestled myself behind the updated “shark nose” fairing and thumbed the starter.
Harley’s Milwaukee-Eight engines aren’t like the paint shakers of old, offering character without rattling your fillings out, and I think the 117 version is the best yet. Offering a nice balance between its 78kW of free-revving power and 176Nm of torque, it is a definite step up from the 114 engine it replaces.
Despite its size, the Road Glide was a breeze to navigate through traffic and up into the Hinterland, with its ergonomics feeling particularly well suited to my 176cm frame. Despite its considerable weight, barely any effort was needed on the bars to shift the mighty Road Glide’s road position.
I’m guilty of looking at Harley’s range and thinking they are all basically the same to ride, but jumping from the Road Glide to the Street Glide revealed that while they can appear incredibly similar, there is far more going on than meets the eye.
The Street Glide weighs in at 368kg ready to roll, while the Road Glide thanks in part to its extra large fairing sits at 380kg. Hefty machines, but to my surprise once lifted off the sidestand they were actually very easy to manage. Despite its 12kg deficit, the heavier Road Glide actually felt the easier machine to manage, with a much lighter steering feel than the Street Glide.
This is due to the fairing on the Road Glide being mounted directly to the frame, while the Street Glide has its fairing mounted to the triple clamps and forks and its handlebars sitting in an overall lower position.
Harley has packed in extra value not only in the large luggage space on offer but also in the tech department with an all-new 12.3” touchscreen dash.
The infotainment system is stacked with all the electronics you could ask for on a long journey, with displays covering navigation, tyre pressure monitoring, outside temperature and more. Cruise control is a given, and Harley has also changed intercom allegiances to Cardo, offering a branded Cardo Packtalk intercom to help you commune with your pillion.
You will want to read the user manual thoroughly, as the array of switches on the handlebars was at first quite overwhelming. It is, however, an intuitive system and doesn’t take long to master.
With that said, a downside of the plethora of tech on offer is it can become a distraction, and I had to force myself to pay attention to the traffic on the highway rather than cycle through the array of radio stations on offer in a futile search for some AC/DC to rock out to through the built-in speakers built in the fairing.
The new tourers really do step up Harley’s game. Once again I found myself marveling at how well these truly massive motorcycles handled as we wound our way through the Gold Coast Hinterland. Harley should be commended for simply ensuring you can have a tonne of fun in tight twisties on these big touring bikes without scraping them into oblivion.
ENGINE: 117cu in (1923cc) pushrod-operated Milwaukee-Eight V-twin, overhead valves with hydraulic, self-adjusting lifters, four valves per cylinder POWER: 78kW/176Nm PRICE: from $50,490.