Comparo Harley-Davidson Street Glide 107 & Road Glide 107

Menus

• Which model of the touring range to cut the road ?
• V2, 1745 cm3, around 90 hp, 150 Nm, from 376 kilos fully loaded, from 26,890 €
• Discovery
• In the saddle
• Engine and transmission
• In the city
• On motorways and main roads
• On departmental
• Part-cycle
• Brakes
• Comfort & duo
• Consumption / autonomy
• Conclusion

Which model of the touring range to cut the road ?

V2, 1745 cm3, around 90 hp, 150 Nm, from 376 kilos fully loaded, from 26,890 €

Some manufacturers have machines in their range with sometimes quite similar performance, which means that we can legitimately ask the question about the choice of model.. So when Harley-Davidson completely renewed its Touring range at the end of 2016 with a new chassis and the next-generation Milwaukee Eight engine, the Den went to try the fully air-cooled Road King 107, as well as the Ultra Limited Low 107 with mixed air / water cooling and also the CVO Limited 114 with mixed air / water cooling, too. More recently we tried the Road King Special in Normandy and in the winter. The two enemy sisters, the Street Glide and the Road Glide, were missing: we had the opportunity to compare them face to face during a rather intensive race in Croatia..

Street Glide and Road Glide indeed offer a fairly comparable vision of "light" tourism (understand: not 5 star like in a Limited), while being more equipped than the Road King, especially in terms of protection, sound and infotainment. We can see that the machines are based on extremely similar technical and mechanical bases and that the difference will be on points of detail or on an aesthetic crush, since they still have quite distinctive postures..

To find out more, we slipped into the shoes of a biker: yours truly already has a beard and tattoos, so it’s okay; on the other hand, he put on his best AC / DC t-shirt and slipped an MP3 into the storage compartment to ride to music, as all fans of this kind of motorcycle do. And on the way: between Split and Vrlika, passing between lakes, mountains and seaside roads, there is something to get an idea.

Certainly, one could say, as a biker avid for wide open spaces, that a Street (street) facing a Road (road) is a battle lost in advance, because a road is a street that has succeeded. Alas, it’s not that simple !

Discovery

It’s big, heavy, shiny: no doubt, it’s really American. With the general public, both embody this fantasy of Route 66 (minus the D19 between Villers-devant-Mouzon and Moulins-Saint-Hubert, even if they will do it just as well!).

Afterwards, true to its strategy of "making new things that don’t see themselves too much as new", Harley has a real talent for preserving the heritage. The Road Glide and its two square Renault 16 TX headlights date back to 1979 (ok, it was called Tour Glide then) and the Street Glide has been around since 2006 anyway..

However, neither of them is “old motorcycle”. They have a look that goes beyond fashions to enter the envied universe of timelessness and in addition, they seduce by their quality of presentation and finish, even more with the glitter paints of some of our test motorcycles..

On the service side, therefore, between the identical engine, the close chassis, identical equipment, identical load capacity, it is not the price that will decide between them either: a Street Glide is indeed worth 26,890 € and a Road Glide is worth € 27,290; it is not therefore a question of money that will guide your choice (these prices are for black motorcycles; for a color paint, add 200 € and for a glitter paint like, for example, the green of the Road Glide test, add 1000 €).

Note that these two models also exist in a Special version which is distinguished by different colors and black treatment of the wheels, engine and exhaust: then count € 27,790 for a Street Glide Special and € 28,190 for a Road Glide Special . Finally, the Road Glide Ultra 107, fully equipped, is in the catalog for 28,790 €.

In the saddle

It is not the saddle height that will decide between them: 695 mm for everyone. Fans of heel cushions and members of Michel Drucker’s fan club should be delighted: let us not forget, however, that the machine remains heavy and bulky and that maneuvers at a standstill and at low speed require a bit of grip and arm. accompany the turning radius of the machine. Nevertheless, this low saddle height remains appreciable.

Then, we are in the nuance: the instrumentation is identical, but not positioned in the same way, with the infotainment screen above the meters on the Road Glide (below, on the Street), which makes the latter less readable in bright sunlight. All the functions of the Boom Box 6.5 (Bluetooth, sound system, tactile GPS, etc.) are easily tamed thanks to the tactile buttons (which work even with gloves) or to the two twin-tones located on the commodos. Here is an excellent infotainment system, even if the Indian Ride Command is still a step above (sound quality, picture quality, more advanced on-board computer functions). Nevertheless, this Boom Box is a good travel companion !

Other nuances and size this time: the nose of the Street is articulated (the BatWing fairing rests on the fork) while the massive facies of the Road rests on the frame. So this should generate different sensations and they are, especially as the instrumentation of the Road is placed further forward, the fairing is wider. Which doesn’t make the Street a much heavier nose gear, however, but we do have a machine that feels more compact and straight forward..

Engine and transmission

We are here in familiar territory: these two machines embark in an identical manner the first of the three versions (entirely air-cooled, therefore), of the Milwaukee Eight and in its 107 ci version (1745 cm3). It develops 89 horsepower at 5,450 rpm and 150 Nm of torque at 3,200 rpm.

In both cases, we appreciate this engine for the same reasons: extremely flexible (it picks up on a trickle of gas at less than 2000 rev / min in sixth, which is remarkable for a twin cylinder whose each piston sails in 875 cm3, i.e. 50% more than a large can of sauerkraut, family size); it is very smooth and already present in a 2000/3000 rpm range; then, between 3000 and 5000 rev / min, it is, dare the word, lively, powerful, full of length. In short, here is a nice, efficient engine, which bends to different uses and which fits perfectly with the philosophy of these machines..

In both cases, it is mated to a six-speed gearbox, with final transmission via a toothed belt and actuated by a double-branch selector, precise as it should be. Finally, it should be noted that the historic “klonk” of the brand have disappeared on these models..

In the city

Here again, we are in the nuance. Before going into the details and if of course we can not say that the city is the ideal playground for these mounts (although in Split, in Croatia, it was fine, but in Parisian hell carefully orchestrated by Hidalgo & Najdovski, the duettists of chaos, it will not be the same story), but it must however be recognized that given the weight and the size, the balance of these machines and the ease of control remain astonishing. In addition, the flexible engine from the lowest revs, the precision of the controls and the great smoothness of the response to the accelerator make the task easier..

With its fairing on the nose, we imagined the Street more struggling in this exercise: this is not the case, thanks to a driving position that puts it more in connection with the front. The Road Glide is wider at the nose, its large fairing prevents having a precise idea of ​​where you are putting the front, which gives the advantage to the Street. The street wins in the street, normal !

On motorways and main roads

Will the Road regain its revenge on the road? Highly possible. Already, on the protection side, they both sin through a lack of care by sending you plenty of air in the face, except to measure less than 1.70 m. Astonishing on the part of road machines, even if it is true that the turbulence remains acceptable at 90/100 km / h and that, surprisingly, it is the cruising speed on the American highways.

On the other hand, the Road, with its wider fairing, better protects the bust, while the Street generates turbulence at the level of the elbows and shoulders, which one does not feel on its cousin..

That being said, we will not decide between them at the engine level. At 3000 rev / min in sixth, we are at 130 km / h and we have the impression that the big V-twin will take you to the end of the world. No stability problems here, on the other hand the aero turbulence means that the sound system is no longer really audible (although I have done thousands of kilometers with a Road Glide Ultra 103 while listening to the radio, even on the motorway).

On departmental

Another source of astonishment: even on a tortuous route, such as we have seen on the small Croatian county roads, these mastodons feel at ease and provide, yes, dare the word, a real driving pleasure: it is the David’s revenge against Goliath and the D19 on Route 66! Another word to dare: they are agile! Not like a KTM 790 Duke, but on condition that you apply the rules of driving a big cruiser, they are easy to handle and allow you to choose between cruising in peace and serenity, or having fun going pif paf by licking the crutch in the bends. The approximately 30 ° of angles allowed allow you to take a few turns without putting everything on the ground, which ends up happening, of course and in this case we take pleasure in rounding beautiful trajectories to optimize ground clearance. Obviously, a nice compression taken on the angle demonstrates the lack of rigidity of the frame, but let’s not forget that we then have, with the pilot on the handlebars, more than 450 kilos in full stress..

Here too, the engine will not separate them: flexibility, length, availability, that’s good !

The difference is expressed more, at the level of the chassis, taking into account the weight distribution on the front and the small difference in driving position. In ride use, no difference, but by driving a little faster, we find a Street Glide more lively, but less stable than a Road Glide, more serene in its reactions and with a front axle which communicates its feedback better. information. Admittedly, you already have to have a slightly removed rhythm to feel these differences and in fact, I prefer the Road Glide. But for the many bikers who go for a contemplative ride, it’s all the same.

Part-cycle

The arrival of the Milwaukee Eight generation in the Touring range went hand in hand with a completely new chassis: new frame and new suspensions, with cartridge fork at the front and adjustable shock absorbers at the rear (you have to dismantle a suitcase to have access to setting).

Between the two models, the values ​​are generally identical: 26 ° of caster angle and 1625 mm of wheelbase, the Road Glide has a trail (173 mm), 3 mm greater than that of the Street.

The wheels are 130/70 x 18 at the front and 180/65 x 16 at the rear. The weight is to the advantage of the Street (361 kilos dry and 376 with the full tank, against 372 dry and 388 with the full tank for the Road Glide), but the difference is not really felt..

Brakes

Brembo system coupled in both cases, with a braking power which is largely sufficient in view of the weight and the vocation of the machines. ABS is not too sensitive.

Comfort & duo

Complex subject, because at the end of our day trip on the Croatian roads, we were in great shape. However, these machines are not perfect: we have already talked about the lack of aero protection. If the saddles are comfortable, the damping remains a little dry at the back and, another curiosity, with the sloping passenger seat, either you take a Geraldine with concrete abs, or you divorce quickly, or you buy a sissy- bar. But putting € 27,000 in a touring motorcycle that has trouble carrying a passenger as it is, it shows the victory of looks over pragmatism and it is still astonishing. Finally, if Harley announced, with the Milwaukee Eight, to have worked on the heat emissions of the engine, the V2 still heats up (admittedly, less than before) and in summer, it is noticeable on the left side of the engine..

Consumption / autonomy

With 22.7 in the tank and consumption that can run between 5 and 6 l / 100 at a pace ride, the real autonomy can exceed 400 kilometers. The fuel gauge is precise and an autonomy indicator is part of the information available in the small digital window at the bottom of the meter. There, these are indeed touring motorcycles.

Conclusion

At the end of our test day which saw us go from one mount to another at each break, we had the banana, in Split. Despite their imperfections (wind protection, damping a little dry at the rear), these two motorcycles are great rolling machines, whether in ride mode with the nose to the wind (it is the case to say it). !), or by still seeking to enjoy the pleasures of the road. With them, all the old rancid cliches on Harleys (handling, braking, performance, driving pleasure) are forgotten and we remain amazed at their ease of driving, given the size and weight of the machines..

Which one to choose, then? If the icon of the Stock Exchange, Jean-Pierre Gaillard, insists that "the market is always right", then it is the Street that must be chosen: it is not for nothing that it is the Harley model. Best-selling Davidson in the world and when four Street sells, only one Road Glide leaves the showroom.

However, it is she who has my preference: her more rigorous front axle speaks to my sensitivity as a biker who likes contemplative cruising, but who does not disdain to trajectory a little. And its look is terrible: when you have one in its mirrors, with its two LED bars, its "shark nose" fairing, what allure.

But hey, the tastes and the colors…

Strong points

• Look
• Neat finish
• Equipment
• Ease of driving
• Driving pleasure
• Superior road protection
• More precise front axle of the Road
• The best street in town

Weak points

• Dry rear shocks
• Wind protection
• Some heat rises on the left side
• The Street a little less stable on bumps
• Difficult duo as it is

Harley-Davidson Street Glide 107 specification sheet

Harley-Davidson Road Glide 107 specification sheet

Test conditions

• Itinerary: 300 km and a trial day in Croatia, between mountains, countryside and coastal road
• Motorcycle mileage: variable
• Problem encountered: it’s really beautiful, Croatia !

Competition: BMW K 1600 Bagger, Honda Gold Wing, Indian Chieftain, Moto Guzzi MGX-21

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