Roadglide
Worth th e Wait: Harleys n ew e ight Milwaukee keeps the dream alive - and the competition at bay with eight new models in the ‘22 lineup.
Milwaukee-Eight. Each bike has also been lifted slightly for greater cornering clearance.
For the last couple of months, we’ve been busy testing most of the ‘new for ‘22’ Harley-Davidson models. You’ve already seen our firsthand impressions of the Pan America and Sportster S and we’ve been back aboard the Softails and Tourers too. This year sees eight new and revitalised models hit the showroom.
This 117ci enhancement is also applied to the Low Rider S (FXLRS) and FXLRST, while the humble Street Bob (FXBBS) also benefits from a 114ci upgrade, up from the previous standard 107.
“As part of our focus on stronghold segments, including Grand American Touring and Cruiser, the 2022 product line is designed for power and performance. Each of these new models feature the unrivalled power of the Milwaukee-Eight 117, for those riders who want nothing but the biggest and the best, building on our position as the most desirable motorcycle brand in the world,” said Jochen Zeitz, Chairman, President and CEO, HarleyDavidson in The Motor Company’s predicably optimistic media announcement. The year was off to a good start and spurred on by their followup win in the ‘Battle of the Baggers’ series, Harley is celebrating by adding performance credentials to the two touring ‘baggers’ in the Great American Touring segment, the Road Glide and Street Glide. Dubbed ‘ST’, these hot rod baggers offer CVOlevel powertrains in a non-CVO bike, namely the installation of the biggest factory-installed displacement available, the 117ci
This year also sees the Street Bob lose the solo seat and gain some stunning new paint schemes. For mine, the stock orange and black ensemble takes the cake and is nicely set off with the black steel laced wheels replacing the spokes. Colour options (metallic at extra cost) are Vivid Black; Gauntlet Gray, Redline Red and Fastback Blue. You’ve already read our test ride report on the all-new Sportster S with the Revolution Max liquid-cooled 1250cc engine. So we were intrigued with the announcement of the Nightster which shared the engine, albeit in 975cc and ‘T’ format. The mechanical specifications are more-or-less identical to the 1250 seen in both Sportster S and Pan America except that, apart from the obvious lesser displacement, it’s tuned to produce a more modest 90hp (67kW) at 7500rpm and 95Nm at 5000rpm. H-D says the new RevMax iteration is tweeked to produce an exceptionally flat torque curve and “strong acceleration and robust power through the mid-range”. RIDING ON
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