The Harley Demo trailer was at my local HD Dealer, Brian's Harley, this weekend. I waited 1.5 hours to take a short ride on a 2017 Street Glide Special to see what all of the Engine and Suspension excitement was about. Having just done a 300 mile ride on a 2016 Road Glide last weekend, I thought it would be a great time to compare a 2016 to the 2017's.
Here are my first impressions:
1) The fun is gone at idle. I always enjoyed blipping the throttle to get that brrraaap, brrraaap, brute force response on the 103. Well, sadly its gone. It kind of feels like a Vespa scooter when you do the throttle blip on the 2017's with the 107 engine. You'll actually think something is wrong with the engine the first time you do this. Almost like its not responding to the throttle blip. It is responding (see #2), but because of the new counter-balancing, you'll think it's not responding.
2) The fun starts after you engage the clutch! The new engine has noticeably more torque and is deceptively fast. It really gets up and goes compared to the 2016's and it delivers it's power much more smoothly.
3) The new front and rear suspension is a HUGE improvement. I had to learn early-on when riding 2010-2016 Street Glides to straighten my back and brace for impact every time I was about to go over a bridge or overpass at highway speeds. The transition from pavement to concrete and back again could throw your back out if you weren't ready for it. Well, that's not necessary any more! The new suspension is amazing at smoothing out the bumps, even with the short travel on the SG rear suspension. The whole bike just feels much more planted under you, especially at highway speeds.
4) I don't like the appearance of the front fork in one area. For some reason, right where the fender bolts to the fork, they chose to not polish that area! Instead it has about a 1.5" band of roughly finished aluminum, while the rest of the fork is nicely polished. Cosmetically, it would look much better if this area was polished.
5) The new oil cooler is poorly located right behind the bottom of the front fender where it will be prone to damage from rocks, etc. kicked up by the front tire. They have no protection on the cooler itself, just the bare radiator fins are exposed. Sure could be a problem if something pops a hole in that cooler. I think it should be mounted a little higher.
6) The rest of the bike is identical to the 2016's.
7) I want one!
Here are my first impressions:
1) The fun is gone at idle. I always enjoyed blipping the throttle to get that brrraaap, brrraaap, brute force response on the 103. Well, sadly its gone. It kind of feels like a Vespa scooter when you do the throttle blip on the 2017's with the 107 engine. You'll actually think something is wrong with the engine the first time you do this. Almost like its not responding to the throttle blip. It is responding (see #2), but because of the new counter-balancing, you'll think it's not responding.
2) The fun starts after you engage the clutch! The new engine has noticeably more torque and is deceptively fast. It really gets up and goes compared to the 2016's and it delivers it's power much more smoothly.
3) The new front and rear suspension is a HUGE improvement. I had to learn early-on when riding 2010-2016 Street Glides to straighten my back and brace for impact every time I was about to go over a bridge or overpass at highway speeds. The transition from pavement to concrete and back again could throw your back out if you weren't ready for it. Well, that's not necessary any more! The new suspension is amazing at smoothing out the bumps, even with the short travel on the SG rear suspension. The whole bike just feels much more planted under you, especially at highway speeds.
4) I don't like the appearance of the front fork in one area. For some reason, right where the fender bolts to the fork, they chose to not polish that area! Instead it has about a 1.5" band of roughly finished aluminum, while the rest of the fork is nicely polished. Cosmetically, it would look much better if this area was polished.
5) The new oil cooler is poorly located right behind the bottom of the front fender where it will be prone to damage from rocks, etc. kicked up by the front tire. They have no protection on the cooler itself, just the bare radiator fins are exposed. Sure could be a problem if something pops a hole in that cooler. I think it should be mounted a little higher.
6) The rest of the bike is identical to the 2016's.
7) I want one!
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