Harley releases Electra Glide Standard
taken a step back with their latest release – the Electra Glide Standard – that strips some of the tech and uses traditional colours and finishes to create a tourer that’ll be more familiar to older riders.
Described as “a salute to the authentic Harley-Davidson touring experience,” the Electra Glide Standard is essentially a Street Glide Special that retains that model’s overall bagger-style look, but removes some of the standard features of that model and adds some styling elements from the more traditional Road King.
The main change is the removal of the Boom! Box GTS infotainment system. Losing that package - that includes a full-colour TFT screen, dual 6.5-inch Boom speakers, USB outlet and Bluetooth connectivity - not only reduces the pricing of the new model (by almost $4,000 compared to the Street Glide Special) and makes for easier day-to-day operation, but also takes a little weight off the standard fork-mounted batwing fairing. A glovebox replaces the space normally occupied by the Boom! Box GTS in the dash area, while ABS moves to the options list.
The Electra Glide Standard hasn’t dispensed with everything, though. There’s still standard electronic cruise control, reflex-linked Brembo brakes, 49mm Showa front forks with dual bending valves and rear shocks with easy pre-load adjustability.
Wheels are the same Impeller alloys (17-inch front, 16-inch rear) as the Road King, for a more traditional look compared to the multi-spoke 19/18 Talon alloys on the Street Gide Special, while there’s a lot more chrome than the Street Glide Special, too.
“To express the stripped-back essence of the Electra Glide Standard, we focused on finishes that were simple, timeless and fundamental to the Harley-Davidson touring line,” explained H-D’s Vice President of Styling and Design, Brad Richards. “Chrome was added to key components and complemented by polished and blacked-out parts.”
On the Milwaukee Eight 107 v-twin (the only powerplant offered with this model), the rocker, cam and derby covers are all chromed, as are the pipes, crash bars and fork legs. Engine output is the same 150Nm at 3250rpm as other 107-equipped touring models.
Vivid Black is the only paint colour offered, accented by traditional bar-and-shield Harley tank logos in red.
A solo touring seat is standard, with its 680mm height lower than both the current Street Glide Special (690mm) and Road King (705mm). Panniers are the 64-litre (combined) units from the Road King, not the deeper 71-litre (combined) units from the Street Glide Special. Wet weight of 372kg is 7kg lighter than both the aforementioned models, but fuel capacity is unchanged at 22.7 litres.
Priced at $34,495 ride away (NZ$37,995), the Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Standard is now available from H-D dealers Australia wide.
Harley buys electric kid’s bike company
Setting their sights on getting riders on the Harley-Davidson path when they’re VERY young, the Motor Company announced on 5 March that they had purchased StaCyc Inc., an American manufacturer of kid-sized electric-powered two-wheelers.
Closer to BMX bikes in appearance than motorcycles, StaCyc’s ‘EDRIVE’ electric kid’s bikes were first released in the North American market in 2016, available in two sizes, priced from US$649 and aimed at kids 3 years old and up. Some of the sales outlets since that launch have included Harley-Davidson dealerships.
The purchase of StaCyc is described by the Motor Company as a continuation of the ‘More Roads to Harley Davidson’ initiative announced in 2018 that focuses on building the next generation of Harley-Davidson riders through new products in additional motorcycle segments.
Harley-Davidson-branded StaCyc bikes will be released in the US in Q3, 2019 (around the same time that the adult-sized LiveWire electric model is to be released), but international sales are yet to be confirmed.
