Even Harley-Davidson’s iconic Street Glide and Road Glide Grand Tourers can’t hide from the change gremlins. Change is bound to come sooner or later, regardless of whether change is in order or not. In this case, you might think—not. Up until 2023, Harley’s Street Glide and Road Glide were already looked upon by high-mileage eaters as the cream of the crop in the world of “bagger”-style grand Americana tourers.
By Kit Palmer | Photography by Brian J. Nelson
However, as good as the previous Street and Road Glides might be, Harley higher-ups thought it was time to get a move on and extensively upgrade its two iconic baggers, which haven’t seen an upgrade like this in quite some time. So, whether you like it or not, here they are, the all-new 2024 Street and Road Glide rides from Harley-Davidson.
What’s New?
It’s no secret that Harley-Davidson relies mightily on its name, heritage, iconic styling and tried-and-true design to sell motorcycles. When updating its motorcycles, the company always carefully attempts to find that perfect balance between old and new. It’s almost as if the more tech Harley builds into a new bike, the more it tries to emphasize its heritage. That explains why you might be hard-pressed to distinguish the styling changes of the new Street and Road Glides from their predecessors, which is the now-distinct Rushmore generation, despite taking on a boatload of technical changes. (Project Rushmore was the code name for a four-year undertaking by Harley that culminated with a retooling of 2014 and later Touring models to have air- and liquid-cooled engines, touchscreen electronics and other customer-driven enhancements.)
The main difference between the Street Glide and the Road Glide is their fairings. The Street Glide’s fairing is mounted to the forks, the Road Glide’s to the frame, and they are styled noticeably different. The Street Glide retains Harley’s iconic “batwing” shape, while the Road Glide has a more edgy, shark-nosed look than ever before. And you can’t miss that giant LED headlight (nor can other motorists!).
Another big difference is their handlebar. The Road Glide’s bar is positioned much higher than the Street Glide’s. The Road Glide also has a slightly taller laden seat height of 26.6 inches compared to the Street Glide’s 26.1 inches. However, both bikes hold a generous six-gallons worth of fuel.
Both bikes also received subtle styling tweaks to their fuel tanks, side covers, and saddlebags. There are several new colorways to choose from.
The latest non-CVO Street and Road Glides are powered by Harley’s new Milwaukee-Eight 117 c.i. (1923cc) 45° V-twin engine that is exclusive to these models and replaces the former 107 c.i. (1746cc) Milwaukee-Eight 45° V-twin engine in the previous-year models. The 117 c.i. power unit in the ’24 Street and Road Glides differs from the 117 c.i. engine in Harley’s current Breakout 117 and Low Rider models. The difference is that the ’24 Street and Road Glides’ 117 engines are modified, resulting in what Harley claims is a three percent horsepower gain and a four percent peak torque gain mainly due to intake and exhaust system updates. The new 117 engine also features liquid-cooled cylinder heads like previous top-of-the-line CVO Street and Road Glide ST models.
Harley claims the new Milwaukee-Eight 117 engine delivers approximately 20 percent more power and peak torque than the two Glides’ outgoing Milwaukee-Eight 107 c.i. engine.
Not surprisingly, the new Street and Road Glides offer all the latest electronic rider aids. Both bikes offer four ride modes. Road mode is the…well, middle-of-the-road setting, where you get smooth and controllable throttle response, a little less midrange punch, mixed with a high level of traction control and ABS intervention. If you’re feeling a little naughty, Sport mode gives you everything the 117’s got under the hood with the lowest level of TC. Rain mode is what you expect—mellow everything. You get Custom mode, where you can decide how much of everything you want.
To help you keep the rubber side down, you also get C-ELB (Cornering Electronically Linked Brakes), C-ABS, CTCS, and C-DTSC (Cornering Drag Torque Slip Control). Other safety enhancements include TPM (Tire Pressure Monitoring and VHC (Vehicle Hold Control).
You control most of these things via a switch on the right handlebar, and most can be accomplished on the fly.
The new Street and Road Glides feature a massively upgraded infotainment center, which Skyline OS now powers. Harley gave the previous and aging Boom! Box system the boot. A new gigantic 12.3-inch full-color TFT display is crammed full of information; it also has an anti-glare coating, a touchscreen (or you can use the bar-mounted navigation menu), and three display modes (named Sport, Cruise and Tour), including a high-contrast ultra-bright mode with a white background, controlled mainly by a switch pod on the left handlebar.
The Glides’ infotainment center will accept Apple CarPlay but not Android Auto. However, for Apple CarPlay to work, you must use a helmet communicator with voice control. It’s an Apple thing.
The Glides’ audio systems have also been upgraded. You now get a new four-channel 200-watt amplifier with 5.25-inch Rockford Fosgate speakers.
Riding The Glides
Harley recently invited us to the outskirts of Las Vegas, where we got to sample both bikes in the open Nevada desert. The ride also included some twisty back canyon road sections. Comfort is the name of the game when it comes to riding the Glides. I was immediately impressed by just how comfortable both bikes were. Even though our planned ride was cut short due to nasty weather, you could quickly tell you could travel from sunup to sundown on these bikes. No problem. Ergos are well thought out, the seat is nicely cushioned while offering decent lower-back support, the floorboards are where they should be, and helmet buffeting is a non-factor despite the small windscreen and my tall stature. Harley says helmet buffeting has been reduced by 60 percent, and I won’t argue that. The designers deserve a pat on the back for mastering the Glides’ rider aerodynamics.
However, I preferred the Street Glide over the Road Glide because of its lower, more natural handlebar positioning. This made the Street Glide feel very stable in the corners, especially back-to-back-to-back corners, which I would not have guessed with the Street’s fork-mounted fairing. Perhaps it also had something to do with weight since the Street Glide carries approximately 20 pounds less than the Road Glide, but both bikes are hefty at well north of 800 pounds. But they still weigh a little less than their predecessors (16 pounds lighter than last year’s Road Glide and 18 pounds less for the Street Glide). Both bikes handle well at speed, but they feel heavy and a bit cumbersome in the parking lots. However, you get plenty of notice before things start going awry because they are well-balanced machines. The Road Glide’s lower seat height is a slight bonus when stationary.
For touring machines, you get an impressive amount of lean angle before the floorboards start to kiss the tarmac, and their suspensions are cushy yet firm enough to be ridden aggressively with confidence through the switchbacks, at least for my 170 pounds.
The Glides’ dash is a joy to look at. You almost can’t stop staring at it. In fact, the entire cockpit is amazing. There is so much information available, and it all looks so nice, and it’s all easy to read in both sunlight and moonlight. And if that wasn’t enough, you have several display options. Of course, there’s a learning process for operating all this stuff, but I figured out the important ones rather quickly. I never tried the stereo system, probably because I wouldn’t use it if I owned either of these bikes. In-helmet audio systems are so good nowadays, and they don’t annoy everyone around you (and, yes, I generally like to be considerate of other people, especially when I’m on a motorcycle). It’s about time to ditch external audio systems for motorcycles. This would also save on costs, space and weight.
I rarely used the touchscreen option to navigate the infotainment center. It’s a bit of a reach, so I found myself using the handlebar switch pods 99.9 percent of the time.
To make your life a little nicer, the Street Glide features a slick USB-C-equipped pop-out smartphone holder that fits a phone better than previously. The Road Glide’s smartphone holder equivalent is simply a small compartment with a pop-up lid that isn’t nearly as slick as the Street Glide’s.
The new Milwaukee-Eight 117 engine is terrific. The counterbalanced engine is ultra-smooth, delivers excellent power and has tons of midrange torque. It also has that traditional Harley sound without being obnoxiously loud. Harley claims the Street and Road Glides make 105 horsepower with 130 lb-ft (at 3250 rpm) of mouth-watering torque. The bikes hum along nicely and effortlessly in top gear while showing an indicated and steady 70-75 mph. They will go much faster, of course, and will do so willingly. The Glides accelerate impressively at speed, so highway overtakes are a breeze.
A light and well-modulated slipper clutch makes the big Glides easy to launch from a standstill, and their six-speed transmissions change gears with little fuss.
I played a bit with the three preprogrammed modes and clearly noticed the differences. Rain mode, which I actually got to use in the rain, chills everything down significantly, giving you peace of mind when road conditions suddenly tank. ABS is noticeably more sensitive, throttle response is more gradual, and engine braking is reduced. All good stuff in crappy conditions. Road mode is nice for urban riding, but Sport mode was my mode of choice for most of the riding we did, even in traffic. I enjoyed the Sport’s quicker response and overall snappier feel.
I found the brakes to be strong and they do a good job slowing such a big, heavy motorcycle without much thought. For 2024, both Glides received upgraded Brembo brakes with larger 320mm discs paired to radial-mount calipers up front and a 300mm disc in the rear. The brakes are electronically linked, which works well enough to bring the bike down from speed with just the “rear” brake pedal applied, but contributing with a light squeeze on the front brake lever was the ideal combo for most situations. Linked braking is active at speeds around 20 to 25 mph, but they act independently at slower speeds.
Cruise control is simple to operate, but no heated grips!? That might be okay with the Street Glide but not with the Road Glide, whose grips are positioned above the fairing and exposed to the elements. Luckily, I planned ahead. I made sure I was on the Street Glide when I saw the black clouds in the distance.
Cut Short
Despite our ride being cut short due to the weather, you can quickly tell the new Street and Road Glides are wonderful long-distance cruisers, or tourers, however you want to call them. After riding the Glides, three things stood out for me: comfort, their awesome cockpits, and smooth (and powerful) engines. However, there is a long list of other things I also like about the Glides. However, it would be much easier to list the things I didn’t like—like the wobbly kickstand that made me nervous whenever I walked away from the bike and having to pay for a stereo system I’d never use. I’d gladly sacrifice the stereo system for heated grips. Otherwise, all is good riding the Glides.CN
2024 Harley-Davidson Street Glide / Road Glide Specifications
| MSRP: | $25,999 / $25,999 |
| Engine: | Milwaukee-Eight 117, V-twin, 8-valves |
| Displacement: | 117 c.i. |
| Cooling System: | Liquid |
| Bore/Stroke: | 4.075 in./4.5 in. |
| Compression Ratio: | 10.3:1 |
| Fuel System: | Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection |
| Exhaust: | 2-1-2 dual exhaust w/ tapered mufflers |
| Horsepower: | 105 hp at 4600 rpm |
| Torque: | 130 lb-ft at 3250 rpm |
| Fuel Economy: | 44 mpg |
| Transmission: | 6-speed |
| Clutch | Wet, slipper |
| Primary Drive: | Chain, 34/46T |
| Front Suspension: | 49mm, Dual Bending Valve, non-adjustable |
| Rear Suspension: | Dual shock, preload adj. |
| Front Wheel: | Cast aluminum, 19 x 3.5 in. |
| Rear Wheel: | Cast aluminum, 18 x 5 in. |
| Front Brake: | 320mm, 4-piston, dual floating discs, linked, ABS, C-ABS |
| Rear Brake: | 300mm, 2-piston, single fixed disc, linked, ABS, C-ABS |
| Rider Aids: | Traction control, Vehicle Hold Control (VHS), Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), Cornering Drag-Torque Slip Control system (C-DSCS) |
| Seat Height: | 26.1 in. (28.1 unladen) / 26.6 in. (28.3 unladen) |
| Ground Clearance: | 5.5 in. / 5.7 in. |
| Rake: | 26° |
| Trail: | 6.7 in./ 6.8 in. |
| Wheelbase: | 64 in. |
| Front Tire: | Dunlop Harley-Davidson Series, 130/55B18 M/C 80H |
| Rear Tire: | Dunlop Harley-Davidson Series, 180/55B18 M/C 80H |
| Fuel Capacity: | 6 gal. |
| Weight (wet, claimed): | 811 lbs. / 838 lbs. |
| Colors: | Billiard Gray, Vivid Black, White Onyx Pearl, Whiskey Fire, Burst Blue, Alpine Green, Sharkskin Blue |
2024 Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide ST
Performance Package
And then you have the Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide ST! If you like the idea of touring the backroads of America on either H-D’s Street or Road Glides but still want to keep the pace moving when the twisties arrive, Harley has the bike for you.
The CVO Road Glide ST is the performance—okay, high-performance—version of the new Road Glide. It’s the foundation for the race bikes that Harley-Davidson’s factory racer James Rispoli and Team Saddlemen’s Travis Wyman now compete on in MotoAmerica’s King of the Baggers Championship.
The new Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide ST (Sport Touring) features all the updates that the new “standard” Road Glide received but with several high-performance-minded updates, most notably, the ST’s power unit.
The ST is fitted with Harley’s CVO Milwaukee-Eight 121 High Output (1977cc) engine, which has been significantly retuned for speed compared to the company’s Milwaukee-Eight VVT 121 engine on which it is based. Intake mods, a higher-performance cam, and a larger 58mm throttle body, among other tricks, translate into 12 more horsepower and an additional six lb-ft of torque. The VVT (Variable Valve Timing) system has been removed for the sake of weight and improving peak power.
The CVO ST is also fitted with Screamin’ Eagle Extreme Flow Titanium slip-on mufflers, and ride modes (Rain, Sport, Track and Track+) have been updated to suit the ST’s unique needs. Track mode gives you smooth throttle roll-on performance while disabling rear-to-front linked braking. There is also Track+, which provides you with the least amount of ABS intervention, the least amount of traction control, and the least amount of linked braking (but the most amount of fun if your name is Rispoli or Wyman).
The CVO ST’s suspension is fully adjustable, including a stout 47mm Showa fork and dual remote-reservoir shocks.
Perhaps the most critical piece of the puzzle is the CVO ST’s brakes, which have the unenviable task of slowing down the speed of this powerful and heavy machine. It’s been fitted with four-piston Brembos that grab dual wave-type 320mm rotors up front. A single 300mm disc is clamped in the back by a four-piston Brembo caliper.
The handlebars are not as tall as the standard Road Glide bars but not as low as the standard Street Glide bars.
Harley says the CVO Road Glide ST is 25 pounds lighter than the Road Glide, partly because of the Ti mufflers and because it doesn’t have the Road Glide’s full audio system. The ST’s saddlebag lids don’t house speakers. Instead, there are two 6.5-inch speakers in the fairing.
The CVO Road Glide ST is only available in two flavors: Raven Metallic Black and Golden Pearl White.
Taking It To The Track
During our evaluation of the 2024 Street and Road Glide models, Harley treated us to a day at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where we rode the CVO Road Glide ST on the facility’s “parking lot” track.
For someone who doesn’t get much track time and who questioned the idea of racing baggers from the very beginning, I was admittedly nervous about spinning laps on this big and powerful, not to mention expensive, motorcycle. But it also sounded like fun, and fun almost always wins out. So, here I go.
First of all, Harley didn’t just give us the keys and let us run amuck on their $42,999 motorcycles. We were given several parameters from which to work, like riding in small groups, slowing us down with tight coned chicanes, and not allowing us to pass our group leaders, Rispoli and Wyman. (Ha!) Sounds restrictive, but there were several sections where we could let it rip, and I was blown away by how well the bike performed. The nerves quickly disappeared, replaced by pure adrenaline and enthusiasm as I got used to the bike.
It’s hard to say what surprised me most about the ST, but it was probably how well it handled through the corners. I expected the front end to feel shaky, a little wobbly, like most monster touring bikes feel while leaned over in the turns. But not the ST. Instead, it felt planted and stable bent over and launched out of the corners like you’d think a motorcycle half its weight would. I never felt like I was wrestling the bike like I thought I would. You could ride it all day without getting tired once you get into a good flow.
The brakes were plenty strong for the speeds I was going. I was perhaps overly cautious about overcooking it into the turns; after all, it’s an 800-plus pound motorcycle versus my 165 pounds, so I planned my corner entry speeds carefully. However, my over-shooting concerns quickly went away because I learned that grabbing both brakes simultaneously slows down the ST, like now, and controllably.
Wyman and Rispoli had us start out in Sport mode, and as we got more laps in, we switched to Track mode and then Track+ mode. The most significant difference I noticed was that Sport mode had a bit more roll-on snap than Track mode’s slightly smoother throttle response. That makes sense when you think about it.
I probably wasn’t going fast enough to appreciate most of the ST’s rider aids, such as cornering ABS and cornering Traction Control; I didn’t feel any of them, or at least didn’t notice, but it was reassuring to know they were there just in case.
The ST makes a ton of power and delivers it all smoothly. It’s not a revver; I was a bit surprised how often I’d hit the rev limiter, which eventually taught me to take advantage of the ST’s juicy bottom-end and torque and not just pin it like a two-stroke motocrosser, which I’m more used to.
The ST changes gears surprisingly well under load and downshifts were accurate, but I couldn’t help but imagine what a quickshifter would be like on it.
Luckily, we experienced great weather on this day, and I enjoyed riding the ST on the track until the Las Vegas skyline lights started illuminating. I must say that I was shocked at how well this big bagger performed on the track, and I can only imagine how well it will work blasting down back-canyon roads en route to your distant destination.CN
2024 Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide ST Specifications
| MSRP: | $42,999 |
| Engine: | Milwaukee-Eight 121 High Output V-twin |
| Displacement: | 121 c.i. (1977cc) |
| Valvetrain: | Single cam w/ pushrods; 8-valve |
| Bore x Stroke: | 4.075 in. x 4.625 in. |
| Maximum Power (claimed): | 127 hp at 4900 rpm |
| Maximum Torque (claimed): | 145 lb-ft at 4000 rpm |
| Compression Ratio: | 11.4:1 |
| Exhaust: | 2-1-2 dual exhaust w/ titanium mufflers and carbon-fiber end caps |
| Cooling: | Air/oil |
| Lubrication: | Dry sump |
| Transmission: | 6-speed Cruise Drive |
| Clutch: | Hydraulically actuated w/ assist and slipper functions |
| Primary Drive: | Chain |
| Final Drive: | Belt |
| Frame: | Mild tubular steel w/ two-piece stamped and welded backbone |
| Front Suspension: | Showa, inverted 47mm fork, fully adjustable |
| Rear Suspension: | Showa remote-reservoir emulsion shocks, fully adjustable |
| Front-Wheel Travel: | 4.6 in. |
| Rear-Wheel Travel: | 3.0 in. |
| Wheels: | 7-spoke cast aluminum |
| Front Wheel: | 19 x 3.5 in. |
| Rear Wheel: | 18 x 5 in. |
| Front Tire: | 130/60 x 19; Dunlop Harley-Davidson Series D408F |
| Rear Tire: | 180/55 x 18; Dunlop Harley-Davidson Series D407T |
| Front Brakes: | 320mm wave-style discs w/ radially mounted Brembo 4-piston calipers, ABS |
| Rear Brake: | 300mm disc w/ Brembo 4-piston caliper, ABS |
| Wheelbase: | 64 in. |
| Seat Height: | 26.7 in. (28.3 in. unladen) |
| Rake: | 26° |
| Fork Angle: | 30° |
| Trail: | 6.7 in. |
| Fuel Capacity: | 6 gal. |
| Estimated Fuel Consumption (claimed): | 44 mpg |
| Curb Weight (claimed): | 838 lbs. |
| Colors: | Raven Metallic, Golden White Pearl |
Click here to read the 2024 Harley-Davidson Street Glide and Road Glide Review in the Cycle News Digital Edition Magazine.
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