When the Harley-Davidson Sport Glide debuted in 2018, it was a gamble as to whether a more mass appeal Harley would be a success.
With a wide range catering to almost every cruiser rider’s taste, the middle of the road Sport Glide had plenty of competition for hearts from its stablemates. Luckily for both the Sport Glide and Harley, the mass appeal approach really worked.
Based on Harley’s Softail platform, the Sport Glide brings to the table a mixed personality thanks to a couple of clever tricks built into its design. It is this flexibility that has endeared it with Kiwi riders.
In a way, the Sport Glide is a response to a problem a few premium manufacturers now have. With wide ranges of niche bikes targeting every kind of rider, what happens when the range is so plentiful your customers can’t choose between models?
Simple, you take some of the best aspects of a bunch of them and squish them together. In theory, you’ve got a bike with mass appeal at the end of it, or an utter abomination. Thankfully, going by Motor Industry Association’s sales figures Harley-Davidson has a bike with plenty of appeal in the Sport Glide. It was even the Motor Co.'s most popular model here in 2021, though it would appear the new Sportster S is trying to usurp it this year.
This sales success comes in part from the simple charms of the bike but also by offering a lot of value for those of us who are painfully indecisive in terms of what we want from our bike on any given day.
If you’re as indecisive as me, that makes the Sport Glide a hell of a proposition.
With both removable fairing and saddlebags, the Sport Glide can transform from tourer to cruiser to a weekend warrior in a matter of seconds, and that’s what has won over many riders.
Styling is one of the key ingredients that sets the Sport Glide apart from the rest of the Harley Softail range. Up front is a small batwing fairing which is easily removable to reveal the circular LED headlight beneath, while at the rear is a pair of hard pannier bags which when removed leave little trace that the bike comes with them.
At the centre of the Sport Glide is the smallest option in the Milwaukee-Eight engine range, the 1745cc 107. While Harley-Davidson has recently gifted other bikes in the Softail family with the larger capacity 114 or 117 versions of the engine, the Sport Glide retains the 61kw 107 as its only engine option. It makes sense, actually.
Despite being 10kW/21Nm down on power compared with the 114, the 107 is the sportiest engine in terms of rider feel and is much more willing to rev than its larger displacement counterparts. It is a beautiful unit that balances that iconic character of a big Harley V-twin with the flexibility to actually rev it out and have fun.
So what makes the Sport Glide stand out then?
Simple, it is a bike that can follow your mood from day to day with ease, yet packs all the character and fun you’d expect from a bike with its descriptive name.
No wonder it’s a top seller for H-D.
