2017 HARLEY-DAVIDSON STREET ROD

Harley-Davidson, as it appeals to a segment of the market that they previously have not had offerings for—a younger, more urban consumer whose wants and needs are a bit different than that of the usual H-D customer.

The list of upgrades to the Street Rod over the Street is impressive and plentiful: 43mm inverted forks, 17-inch wheels, front and rear shod with performanceoriented Michelin Scorcher tires, dual 300mm brake rotors with dual-piston calipers squeezing them, longer-travel piggyback shocks, a much sleekerdesigned tailsection, shorter subframe, relocated fuel tank, increased cornering clearance, vastly improved paint quality and overall finish details, and, my two favorites, more powerful engine and steeper steering head rake.

So do those “upgrades” really do anything, or do they just look nice on the spec chart? The upgrades give the bike a whole new personality—sort of along the lines of the classic “ugly duckling to swan” story. This is the bike the Street always could be but was just hiding underneath a few pesky unattractive feathers. Let’s start with the engine. The original 750cc, liquid-cooled, 60-degree V-twin was already pretty favorable, a smooth and linear power delivery with a nice little punch that revved out pretty decently. A great pairing for the machine and the intended user. With the upgraded overall sportiness of the Street Rod, it received an 18-percent increase in peak power and an enhancement of 8 percent more torque. This was achieved through revised headwork, cams, airbox, throttle bodies, exhaust, and a raised rev limit. All these changes gave the Revolution X engine a new personality and a new name. The High Output Revolution X Engine is like that one uncle who has a bit of mischievous fun at family gatherings after a few adult beverages—boisterous, exciting, and a good time are fitting to both.

This engine does its best work higher up in the rpm range, which is a bit of a departure from the usual H-D engine characteristics. The Street Rod powerplant excelled equally at around-town jaunts and open highways. Its tame manners at lower rpm was befitting to the unpredictable ebb and flow of urban riding. Once out onto some open highways and back roads, its high-revving nature brought a huge smile to my face. This thing revs to the moon and really has some get-up-and-go once the throttle is held open to the upper half of its rpm range. Great stuff.

Now onto my favorite update: handling. Previous steering head rake was at 32 degrees, and the Street Rod was steepened to 27 degrees. That makes a world of difference. No more floppy and vague steering feel. Precise and immediate steering is now what you get at the handlebars. This inspires much more confidence and peace of mind for experienced and newer riders alike. This also makes for a more enjoyable and safer ride experience in my opinion.

With the Street Rod’s updated and taller suspension, increased lean angles are something to play with. Unfortunately, this wasn’t happening with my few days on the Street Rod. The media was assembled in Daytona Beach, Florida, during Bike Week to test out the new Street Rod. We rode more than 200 miles in those two days with only a handful of slight bends in the roads we blazed. Usually I can get almost any bike’s pegs to scrape in some spirited parking-lot antics. I tried this with the Street Rod and come nowhere close of even grazing the pegs. We will have to get our hands on a long-term Street Rod to test its canyon-carving capabilities, which I suspect will be quite adequate and a hoot.

I can tell you that the Street Rod ate up urban riding like nothing and spit it out with a huge belly laugh. This bike rules for ripping around the city. It is a bit heavier than some of the competing models from other manufacturers, but that is a figure that is more of an argument on paper. Once in motion, the Street Rod has an agile feel; it definitely didn’t feel 497 pounds (more than 500 ready to ride). The design team did a commendable job of making the Street Rod carry its weight low, thus creating a highly maneuverable feeling.

Suspension was firm but compliant and provided a good sense of feedback to the rider—a nice change from the original Street that had passable suspension but with a bit of a pogo-ish feel. The inverted fork was nonadjustable, but I felt it really didn’t need adjusting. The factory settings worked plenty good for all-around riding and were a good match for the engine and handling of the bike.

The piggyback shocks out back had some adjustable preload, which I cranked up a couple settings to stiffen them since I am more on the girthy and heavier (okay, fatter, haha) side of the intended user. This worked like a treat and I had zero complaints. Nothing but smooth compliant damping action on both ends. Braking power and feel was vastly improved over the base Street model. Twin rotors and braided steel brake lines had the Street Rod stopping very rapidly and under control.

Finish and details were much improved on the Street Rod, and it’s definitely now worthy of sitting in a Harley-Davidson showroom loud and proud. Those pesky exposed wires and suspect routing were nonexistent, and now everything looked and felt like a premium motorcycle.

Ergonomics is where it gets a bit funky and really subjective for the Street Rod. Along with the taller suspension, lean angle was increased by raising the pegs a bit. I was plenty comfortable on the basic Street model, but now the Street Rod was a bit uncomfortable, as my knees came up higher into my chest. I have short legs for being 6-foot-1, but still I was cramped. At first I was thinking, “There is no way I can ride this bike for more than a few minutes.” But after a while, I kind of got used to being a bit uncomfortable, if that makes any sense.

Maybe it was because the bike is such a blast to ride that I forgot about my knees being sky high in the breeze, or maybe they just went numb from lack of blood flow. Either way, I learned to live with it. I have a feeling the higher peg placement is a blessing when going for it on some twisty roads. I was indifferent about the drag-style handlebars, which in turn was actually a good thing. No funky bends or rise that put me in a weird position or hurt my wrist. I was slightly more forward than I’m used to, but it goes along perfectly for the layout and style of this bike.

The rear brake pedal seemed like it had shrunken to “mini-me” proportions. As where the original Street brake pedal had a nice long throw to it, the Street Rod pedal literally had half the reach. The tip of the pedal was mid-sole on my size-12 boots. I briefly sat on another Street Rod that had a much lower-positioned pedal, but that didn’t really help much. Luckily, there was a footpad atop the muffler right behind the right peg. Whether it was an afterthought or a stroke of design genius remains to be seen. Regardless, I was just beyond happy that something was there to rest the heel of my foot on so I could use the rear brake properly.

These minor personal maladies aside, the Street Rod is an exceptional machine. It has great performance and is overall just a blast to ride.

This is just the bike Harley-Davidson needs to attract younger riders who might not even have considered owning anything with the Bar and Shield logo. On the flip side, I think the Street Rod is accepted by The Motor Company’s core audience since it is so cool and carries the H-D logo on the tank and is up to par on the quality end.

These observations are from first-hand experience while riding around Daytona Beach during Bike Week. College-aged students on spring break stopped to check it out and commented on how cool its styling was or how much “on point” it was and were a bit taken aback when they noticed it was a Harley-Davidson. They were into it regardless of the name on the tank. They were really interested when the base MSRP of $8,699 was mentioned.

While parked on Main Street in Daytona, grizzled H-D enthusiasts sought it out after seeing it from across the street. “I heard about this bike and wanted to check it out,” was overheard a few times. After some thorough visual inspection, more than a few of these veteran riders smiled their consent and spoke the words “Well, that is a pretty neat little bike,” and, “I have to admit I like it.”

There it was: a stamp of approval from the H-D faithful.

When they asked about the price and I told them, their eyebrows raised in a boyish manner. I could see some wheels spinning in their head that perhaps a second or third bike in their stable would be a good idea.

I have not seen such interest from a wide range of riders and prospective riders before with any other HarleyDavidson model as with the Street Rod. Well played, Milwaukee. Definitely a home run in my book. HB

For more info visit harley-davidson.com.

BILL LUCIANO’S GLIDES FROM ONE LIFE TO THE NEXT WORDS

KEN’S FACTORY COMPLETE CUSTOM 1997 HERITAGE SOFTAIL

Ken Nagai of Ken’s Factory has become synonymous with taking raw and bulky American machinery and remixing with an innovative Japanese style to create an almost new genre of custom. By using the catalog of Ken’s Factory mixed with one-off custom parts, the revamped machine hardly resembles the original in any way. Without a quick glance at the tech sheet, it would be hard to recognize the 1997 Harley-Davidson Heritage Springer that was used as the base for this bike. What does stand out is the tip-to-tail uniqueness that can only be achieved by a true artist.

This Heritage belongs to a high-end koi fish dealer in Japan that specializes in selling rare-colored koi fish that can run into the six-figure range. The owner wanted his first full-size motorcycle and knew it to be a custom Harley-Davidson. Ken never negotiates on custom-bike builds, and after an offer was made they got started. A year later, the bike was done.

Japanese law is very stringent when it comes to registering custom bikes. For that reason, this 1997 Heritage retains its stock neck tube and VIN section. In addition to that, the lower engine mounts were also left intact. But that’s about where the factory ends and the torch begins. The bodywork was all made by hand from raw metal using very basic tools. Its simplicity is where its genius comes from, and the simple semi-gloss paint by Center Roots of Toyota, Japan completes the design.

The custom girder front ends are also available to the public and made to order, each unique and designed in CAD by Ken himself. The one-off wheels are also available as a custom order to spec.

If you lacked the talent to make everything from scratch, Ken’s factory offers many of the parts for sale. The grips, footpegs, headlights, taillight, marker lights, gas cap, engine covers, air cleaner kit, rockers, pushrod tubes, cam cover, trans side cover, and top cover are all available from the Ken’s Factory shop based in Signal Hill, California.

This Heritage is the perfect example of what happens when talent is left alone without any encumbrance. While the heart of the machine still beats American, the rest screams simple Japanese artistry. It’s for that reason we love this bike so much. HB

Specifications

Ken’s Factory/20 in.

TIRE/SIZE 20 in. 220/50

CALIPER Ken’s Factory, Custom Inboard

ROTOR Ken’s Factory

PULLEY Ken’s Factory

FINISH/PAINT

MANUFACTURER Top secret

COLORS Semi-Gloss

PAINT/GRAPHICS Center Roots of Toyota, Japan

POWDERCOATING Yes

ACCESSORIES

REAR FENDER Ken’s Factory, one-off

GAS TANK Ken’s Factory, one-off

GAUGES Motogadget

HANDLEBARS Ken’s Factory, one-off

GRIPS Ken’s Factory

MIRRORS Ken’s Factory

HAND CONTROLS Beringer

FOOT CONTROLS Ken’s Factory, one-off

HEADLIGHT Ken’s Factory

TAILLIGHT Ken’s Factory

TURN SIGNALS Ken’s Factory

LICENSE MOUNT Ken’s Factory, one-off

SEAT Ken’s Factory