2015 Harley Street Glide Review

[Aussiejoe]

Ended up doing about 1200 kilometres in 2.5 days on the Harley Street Glide I hired. Picked it up with 870km on the clock.

First Impression
I put the Missus on the back and we went for a cruise along the esplanades, beach heads and through the city. The 103 cubic inch motor pulls well, you just want to wring it's neck, and the louder than standard pipes didn't help. It is pretty nimble through the little chicanes they call traffic calming devices and small roundabouts if going straight through.

Once in traffic things start to get a bit hot, the air cooled motor likes air flow, and started stalling at take off after being sitting still for a while. The stereo is awesome, controlled by 2 little joysticks on the left and right switch gear. You can also use the touch screen while riding, except putting new addresses into the GPS. I just plugged a usb memory stick into the cable provided in the little pocket in the dash for my music playlist. Left joystick up and down was volume control, left and right was song forward and back.

Cruise control is easy to use, push button in to switch on, push down to set, and down to reduce speed, up to increase. Touch clutch, any brake or roll the throttle back switches it off. Push switch up again to resume speed.

On The Road
We loaded up Saturday morning for about an 8 hour ride. The saddle bags are small, we were provided with pannier inner bag, and we just fitted enough in for an overnight trip. Definately need a top box or the bigger harley panniers, these are way too small for a touring bike. I always thought these bikes were built for comfort, but after an hour I was getting pain in my upper thighs, I can see why most people fit highway pegs mounted on the crash bars to stretch the legs outs. My missus after about 4 hours on the back was starting to get real uncomfortable. The flat pillion seat isn't the best!

We ended up turning onto a secondary paved road for a bit of a short cut, and this is the bit that told me a lot about this bike. The suspension is crap! It was a road I wouldn't back off from 100km/h in my truck or my Raptor (or any other bike I've owned), but on this Harley it was harsh! Ended up doing 80 km/h across that road and my Missus was still swearing, and I can't even coax her to say those words!

Had a few twisties to encounter before we arrived at our overnight stop though. Pick a line and speed, and stick to it. It's a big bike and doesn't like large adjustments mid corner. Across the dirt wasn't too bad, nice and slow with a $35000 machine.

Manhandling it around is a nightmare. There's plenty of steering lock, but a lot of weight also to deal with, plus gear and your missus on the back! It's a big bike to handle at red lights and stop signs, both feet down hill starts with a front brake are the norm.

45 minutes to an hour is a comfortable time span before having a rest break off it. My Missus was at about 45 minutes between rest stops!

Second day was about 6 hours, loaded up and rolled out with a good side wind, that fairing isn't badly affected by cross winds, might be all the weight on the road. Stereo was cranked the whole time, and GPS pointed us for home, even though it said we should use caution due to the accuracy of the map, but google maps and a local helped us out.

Plenty of nice twisties on the way home. Easy bike to flick from side to side if just cruising, I wasn't going to pretend it's my Raptor though. The missus was hurting bad, did I mention the sh*t pillion seat. 45 minutes between rest breaks again.

In Conclusion
To sum it all up, it'd have to be a quote from my Missus,”I don't see what all the fuss is about.” Stereo, GPS and electronic cruise control were awesome, as well as the motor, but the carrying capacity, rough ride and uncomfortable seating won't get me coughing up the money. For similar money I could buy a 675 Brutale and Triumph Tiger 800!

It has been a good perspective of seeing the world through a Harley rider's eyes for a few days. I see why they like them, but definitely not my cup of tea! I'm certain I can find a bike that is more capable in many more ways than a Street Glide, with more comfort, and better carrying capacity. Only problem is, finding a way to build a Harley touch screen and electronic cruise control into it!

[snapdragon]

Good review, really nice to hear about other bikes and their foibles.

[Tikka]

Great review!!! Thanks for sharing your experience.

Would your missus like the trip on the back of your raptor?

[ozzraptor]

Great review!!! Thanks for sharing your experience.

Would your missus like the trip on the back of your raptor?

ouch

[Spyke]

Hah, "if you want to take a passenger take a car", has always worked for me!

[Aussiejoe]

Would your missus like the trip on the back of your raptor?

That's limited to an hour of riding!
Have done 650km in a day on my Raptor solo, but I won't want to go any further than that!