FEATURE - 2024 HARLEY-DAVIDSON ENTHUSIAST COLLECTION - JUST BIKES

FEATURE - 2024 Harley-Davidson Enthusiast Collection

Words: Mike Ryan

Photos: Harley-Davidson

When Harley-Davidson launched their first ‘Enthusiast Collection’ range last year, the trio of “Fast Johnnie” bikes arguably didn’t resonate with a lot of aficionados, at least locally. For this year’s offering, they’ve hit the right note…

FEATURE - 2024 Harley-Davidson Enthusiast Collection

Unveiled at Daytona Bike Week back in March, alongside the ‘Hydra-Glide Revival’ that is the Icons Motorcycle Collection limited-edition for 2024, this year’s Enthusiast Collection offering is once again made up of three models. Last year, the Fast Johnnie paint and graphics were applied to the Low Rider ST, Street Glide ST and Road Glide ST. For 2024, only the Low Rider gets a return gig, with the new arrivals being the Ultra Limited and Tri Glide Ultra. It’s a good choice, as this year’s Enthusiast Collection finish is a lot less “sporty” and more suitable for touring models.

The finish in question is called ‘Tobacco Fade’ and is taken from the world of rock ‘n’ roll. According to Harley-Davidson, they’ve inspired generations of musicians, whose songs have become open road anthems. Returning the tribute, Harley’s stylists took inspiration from music, specifically a classic electric guitar that’s connected to iconic rock ‘n’ roll bands and some of the most memorable songs of all time.

The Sunburst

If you know your guitars, you’ll know the Gibson brand. And if you’re familiar with Gibson, you’re sure to know their ‘Les Paul’ model, too. First released in 1952, the Les Paul was a solid body electric guitar inspired by Les Paul (aka Lester William Polsfuss), a self-taught American guitarist who straddled blues, country and jazz genres. Back in the 1940s, Paul created his own electric guitar, one of the first with a solid body. He offered it to Gibson Guitar Corporation for production, but they showed no interest at the time and it was only when Fender brought out their own solid-body electric guitars in 1950 that Gibson reconsidered. Gibson’s Ted McCarthy worked with Paul to create a production version of his one-off and the Gibson Les Paul was the result.

The original Les Paul featured a mahogany body, maple veneer top, mahogany neck and rosewood fretboards. The body was painted gold, leading to the ‘Goldtop’ nickname. In 1953, the Les Paul Custom was added to the range, defined against the Goldtop with its all-black body and gold accents.

While changes were made to the guitar’s technical elements over the following years, styling didn’t change until 1958, when the Les Paul Standard was introduced.

Unlike the original Les Paul and Les Paul Custom, the Les Paul Standard showcased the grain of the body’s maple veneer, accenting it with cherry coloured paint on the outer edges. The warm, yellowy gold of the maple grain blending into the deep red led to the ‘Sunburst’ nickname for the Standard.

While it’s an iconic instrument today, the Les Paul Standard wasn’t a huge hit when new, being discontinued in 1961. There’s a few reasons for this, including the fact that Les Pauls had yet to be widely adopted by rock ‘n’ roll guitarists. There were also problems with the way the cherry red paint reacted to light, leading to either darkening or lightening depending on the formulation. As such, nicknames for the model changed to ‘Lemon Burst’ or Tobacco Burst’, depending on which way the paint reacted.

When Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones started using a Les Paul Standard in 1964, the guitar surged into the spotlight and would subsequently be used by the likes of Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, to name just a few, by the late 1960s. With a Les Paul Standard now the must-have guitar for junior axemen looking to emulate their musical heroes, Gibson re-introduced the model in 1968 and it’s been a constant in their range since.

From Burst to Fade

In taking the Les Paul Sunburst/Lemon Burst/Tobacco Burst finish and applying it to a motorcycle, Harley-Davidson have created what they call ‘Tobacco Fade,’ where a black base fades to a warm, rich gold on selected sections of the fairing, bodywork and saddlebags. Broadly speaking, the finish is applied in the same way across the three models in this year's Enthusiast Collection, with gold sections on the lower portion of the fairings, centre of the fuel tank and saddlebags. On the Ultra Limited and Tri Glide Ultra, the effect is applied to the front mudguard, too.

Accenting the fade are widely-spaced double coachlines – dark red on the outer and caramel on the inner - that trace the contour of the respective panel they’re applied to. Overall, it’s a striking, but subtle finish that has echoes of the black-to-red fade paint that was applied to the 120th Anniversary limited-editions released last year.

To make the golden sections of this finish pop even more, engines and exhausts are finished in black on the Ultra Limited and Low Rider ST, as are the fork shrouds, crash bars (where fitted), handlebars, mirrors and shells for the lights and indicators. These two models feature a smoked finish on their bobbed windscreens, too. On the Tri Glide Ultra, there’s the standard brightwork and chrome engine detailing, along with chromed fork legs, crash bars, mirrors, light shells and other details.

Wheel finishes are unchanged from the model each member of the Enthusiast Collection is based on, meaning satin bronze wheels for the Low Rider ST, gloss black for the Ultra Limited and polished bare metal for the Tri Glide Ultra.

Platters and Picks

Keeping the musical inspiration going, tank badges that are exclusive to the 2024 Tobacco Fade Enthusiast Collection have been styled like vinyl records. A circular background features visible grooves, with ‘Harley Davidson’ overlaid on this in a distinctive font, while small lightning bolts presumably reference the ‘electric’ part of a plug-in guitar.

On each model, the front mudguard carries a decal in the shape of a guitar pick, with ‘H-D’ branding and the bar and shield logo within, surrounded by a laurel wreath. Both the tank badge and mudguard decals feature dark red and caramel elements to pick up on the coachlines.

At the rear, subtle ‘Enthusiast Collection’ identification is added to the mudguard or top box, depending on the model.

Standard Spec

As the Enthusiast Collection is a cosmetic package, the engine and cycle parts are unchanged from the model that each unit is based on. In the case of the Low Rider ST, that means the Milwaukee-Eight 117 engine - with the Heavy Breather intake and high flow 2-into-2 shotgun exhaust - producing 77kW and 169Nm. The six-speed Cruise Drive transmission, 19/16 wheel set, dual front disc brakes, LED head/tail light and 2.1-inch LCD instrument display are all unchanged from the 2024 Low Rider ST, with the same 18.9-litre fuel tank and 50-litre saddlebag capacity, too.

For the Ultra Limited and Tri Glide Ultra, the Milwaukee-Eight 114 v-twin remains, as does the six-speed Cruise Drive transmission (electric reverse on the Tri Glide Ultra) and plush seating that includes a comfortable pillion perch. Both models feature an LED headlight, with an LED tail light and indicators on the Ultra Limited. Instrumentation is unchanged, as is the central infotainment touchscreen for controlling navigation and the Boom! Box GTS sound system.

With its ‘Tour-Pak’ top box and saddlebags, the Ultra Limited has a voluminous 132-litre luggage capacity, while the Tri Glide Ultra offers 190 litres. Fuel capacity of 22.7 litres is the same for both models, while seat height varies by only 5mm – 740m for the Ultra Limited and 735mm for the Tri Glide Ultra.

Short Cut Tobacco

Production of the 2024 Tobacco Fade Enthusiast Collection is limited, with no more than 2,000 examples of each model to be produced for global release. Australian allocation from those totals will be meagre.

As you’d expect, each member of the Tobacco Fade Enthusiast Collection carries a price premium over the model they’re based on, ranging from $3,850 to $6,975.

For more details and to confirm availability, see your Harley-Davidson dealer.