U.S. 6 East, Provincetown, MA, 3205 Miles. That sign, on the outskirts of Bishop, California, reads like an invitation. And with Harley's new Street Glide waiting to go for a ride, I decided to accept it. Being a Westerner, I needed a map to learn that Provincetown was at the tip of Cape Cod.
The Street Glide brings Harley's touring motorcycles into the third millennium. Though basic elements are plainly culled from the Electra Glide parts bin, the FLHX Street Glide cleans up its profile and details, creating a sleeker, more purposeful Harley bagger. It wears no fender bumpers, tip lights or rails. There are no spotlights. The batwing fairing sprouts just the briefest windshield and mounts black mirrors behind the wings instead of stalks. The saddle has a smoother, lower profile, especially the passenger section. Hard nylon saddlebags without the traditional full-height chrome roll bars ahead of them have color-matched latches (which a remarkable number of people commented on favorably). Extensions carry the rear fender farther down and give a more integrated appearance. Additional details-Streamliner floorboards and controls with matching passenger pegs, a stretched console atop the tank, slash-down muffler tips, a license and taillight lower on the fender-further tidy up its looks. The largest functional difference is the low-profile rear suspension, offering a meager 2.0 inches of travel instead of the Electra Glide Standard's more adequate 3.0.
All told, the FLHX leaves behind about 13 pounds of stuff that the similar Electra Glide Standard includes, although the Street Glide gets the Harman/Kardon 40-watt AM/FM audio system standard.
Harley offers optional modules you can plug into the audio system, including a GPS with a monochrome non-map display ($1100), a high-output amplifier ($446), a rider-passenger intercom ($106), CB radio ($300) and a Bluetooth cellphone interface ($496). That last item is probably a bad idea considering all the evidence that talking on a phone, even handsfree, is a serious distraction. I still wanted to try the XM satellite radio ($496), however.
I wondered if the seat would be as comfortable at the end of the day, much less after 7000 miles, as it had been after a few hours. I was also dismayed to see that my sample had the optional Chromed Aluminum Profile laced wheels with tube-type tires instead of the standard black slotted cast alloy wheels and tubeless tires. Harley's fleet-center rep opined that I would likely want a taller windshield. As it turned out, the 4.5-inch-tall smoked windshield was one of my favorite features. It thoroughly deflected wind from my chest and shoulders, but did not obstruct my view of the road significantly.
My ride home from the fleet dealer wasn't long enough to allay any concerns. That night I checked over and loaded the bike up for two weeks on the road, wishing for a few more anchor points for bungee cords around the passenger seat. Shortly before noon, I shut off my computer and headed north for Bishop. I used a GPS to calibrate the speedometer, which turned out to be barely more than one mph optimistic at 70. The odometer/tripmeter proved to be equally accurate.
In the desert heat, I was grateful that the Street Glide has no lowers. I experimented with different leg positions on the floorboards and passenger pegs to find how to deflect the most and least air up behind the fairing. The fairing effectively turns away wind between your knees and the top of the helmet, but with my legs arranged to catch the air, I was still able to get significant cooling flow.
I got to Bishop a bit after 4:00 pm, having confirmed that the Street Glide had enough range with the 5.0-gallon tank topped with premium to make the 170-mile run from my first stop on U.S. 6 at Tonopah, Nevada, to Ely on the east side of Nevada. (During the trip I'd learn the tank's capacity was more like 5.4 gallons.)
Though simple and comparatively small (this was a 2006 1450cc model), the twin-cam engine has plenty of power for climbing the 7000-foot passes I encountered that day, easily passing slower traffic. It's stronger than some bigger V-twins, and the simple air-cooled two-valve twin gets impressive fuel mileage. Heavily loaded and going fast, the FLHX delivered an average mileage of almost 39 mpg, hitting 46 on the rare occasions when I slowed to a steady 55-60 mph. Premium fuel negates any savings, but good mpg and respectable fuel capacity give reassuring range when gas stations are scarce. Holding the bike upright during fueling ensures that maximum fuel gets into the center-filler tank. The gearbox and clutch are about average for big twins in terms of shift ease and certainty and better for clutch effort and engagement. The six-speed (see sidebar) is an improvement, though.
It always takes a few miles to get to trust a bike, but aside from the Street Glide's unsophisticated chassis performance, I had no complaints. The saddle and my glutes formed a happy alliance, and even after almost 1000 miles in 18 hours, I suffered no backside distress. The seat offered a margin of wiggle, and the variety of foot positions on the floorboards, passenger pegs and engine guards offer options for adjusting posture and pressure points. If I were bit taller than my 5 feet 10 inches or longer than my 32-inch inseam, I might have wished for more legroom, but as I am, the Street Glide fits me perfectly. The handlebar has a near-perfect bend for me as well.
Passengers don't have deluxe seating. You'd want to slip on a cushier saddle for a long ride two-up. Back-seaters also don't have a lot of space, particularly if they're tall. Harley's relatively short 63.5-inch wheelbase makes steering more responsive and improves cornering clearance slightly. The tradeoff is less space than that on a longer bike.
Despite a solid shudder right off idle, vibration wasn't a comfort issue. Rubber mounts thoroughly squelch the shakes before they reach the rider as soon as the revs rise slightly.