The Sportster has taken a leap ahead into the 21st century with the introduction of the Sportster S powered by the liquid cooled Revolution Max 1250T. It’s 121 horsepower with 94 foot pounds of torque and it will spin up to 9500 RPM, but forget the numbers for a moment, this is a great looking bike and it’s going to be difficult to call the Motor Company’s technology behind the times with 4 valve heads, dual overhead cams, variable valve timing, slipper clutch and a lot more. There is also a lot of tech similar to the Pan America, multiple ride modes: (Road, Sport, Rain and Custom) with various Cornering Rider Safety Enhancements. Price starts at $14,999.
There is one thing I’ll have to see up close before forming an opinion one way or the other and that’s the instrumentation, all contained in a round 4.0-inch-diameter TFT screen that displays all instrumentation and infotainment functions.
All display functions are managed using buttons on the left- and right-hand control array, when the motorcycle is at rest or when it is in motion.
Because so many functions are combined in one screen, you have to cycle through various displays which may be really well laid out, but I have lived with a lot of these multi-function screens in several different cars and I don’t like any of them. Especially when riding, I want to glance down and immediately see what I’m looking for, without having to push buttons to get to the right screen. My guess is the Base Screen Display is the one you’ll use most of the time, but that adds to the hesitation or slower reaction when you need another display. Again, when I see it in person, I may find out my concerns are non-issues, but until then, I’m going to put this in the “maybe” column.
There’s far too much to detail here, your best bet is to check out the Harley Davidson website for a complete walk through of all of the features.
This complete redesign of the Sportster was definitely overdue and I think they did a great job of bringing it up to date. And after all of the recent news of LiveWire electric motorcycles, one of the best features of the Sportster S is it runs on gasoline.
A few additional thoughts:
Forward controls are standard though mid-mounted controls are available which quite a few folks will like. Also, you can get passenger pillion, pegs and backrest if two up riding is something you would like to do. There’s already a good assortment of accessory parts and this is a Harley, there will be truckloads of parts before long.
todd says
So, the Sportster will now be more powerful than their “big twinsâ€. They’re going to need to re-think their whole “girls bike†sales strategy.
Paul Crowe says
That “girl’s bike” terminology was from some who weren’t necessarily Harley fans to begin with and looked at the Sportster that way. What Harley is doing here is aiming to get it back to those earlier years (pre-Honda 750) when it used to be considered a serious performer. This could be the beginning of a new era. The aftermarket should be a big help, too.
bogie 52 says
Harley actually has advertised the Sportster to women, they adopted the girl’s bike image!
Paul Crowe says
Well, yes they did advertise to women, but that’s not how the term “girl’s bike” is usually used when referring to the Sporty.
ERE says
Who cares? If it speaks to you, enjoy it. If you’re so insecure in the validity of your “man card” that it keeps you from buying or enjoying something, the “man card;” is invalid to begin with…
Paul Crowe says
And if you happen to follow drag racing a bit, you already know there are young women among the best Top Fuel and Funny Car driver ranks so are those girl’s cars? I think the days of anyone making that comment and not being looked at as a bit odd are long over.
Drive The Wheels Off says
Good to see you writing this Paul, but I’m still surprised at the size of mind numbing blockheads that still think that about the Sportster (among other lies in our society).
I’d like to thank the EU for their influence & role in bringing this new chapter to life.
noahzark says
We now have a 2nd candidate for ‘world’s ugliest bike, after the Honda Rebel !
Question? was this lump designed by committee, or did a human actually put this to paper(cad) ?
Paul Crowe says
I disagree. I think it looks good. It builds on the traditional style of the Sportster and brings it up to date. It’s a Harley, it’s not trying to be anything else and that’s a good thing.
Louis Higgins says
It’s a factory performance bike WITHOUT having to invest loads of money and time. Now just get rid of the huge front tire and make it a backroad scratcher. That might attract people who enjoy a sportier experience.
stephen bogert says
The large round instrument is odd, the non round headlight is hideous! The humongous high mounted exhaust needs a rethink, I suspect that will be ditched before the bikes leave the dealers shop. I am glad to see the too small peanut tank is gone but why lose the rear fender to some aberant styling trend? and what the hell is that huge and heavy front wheel there for?
Paul Crowe says
The exhaust is a 2-into-1-into-2; catalyst in muffler setup, there’s a lot going on in there and Harley managed to put it all inside.
The tires are a new Dunlop design the GT503. The front is a 160/70R17. According to Dunlop, it provides a custom fat tire look, while still offering light and responsive handling.
Harley mounts the tires on black 4 1/2 by 17 inch aluminum wheels, too, which make the tire look bigger than it would with a light colored wheel, a styling decision that can fool the eye, but I bet those wheels aren’t very heavy, look closely, they seem like a lightweight wheel to me.
In the intro video for the bike, there is a Harley racer who takes it out on a racetrack and it seems to move along quite nicely. It’s not a sport bike and it isn’t trying to be, but I’d bet it handles far better than the previous Sportster and probably better than many might think.
Meehawl says
This was clearly designed by the school bus driver from The Simpsons?
Bob says
I think a lot of the complaints about this bike will be addressed if/when they release the XLCR styled bike they revealed a while back. The flat-track styled bike didn’t look bad, either.
Whether or not HD can release it without stupid style department handicaps (Wrong size wheels, etc..) that add further expense to make right is another matter.
Better late than never….
Paul Crowe says
Some comments didn’t make the cut, they got tossed. It’s tiring, but this comment section isn’t going down that road.
One thing I do not understand, I mean I sincerely do not understand, are the sometimes extremely negative comments about the appearance of this or any other bike. If you don’t like a bike, you could say it’s not to your taste or you prefer something that looks different in some specific way, but I guess the political climate has coarsened everyone to the point where every opinion has to be highly emotional and if one person says something negative, the next comment has to be even more negative and on and on.
This bike has some design features that are sure to cause a reaction in the observer, some may be positive, some negative, and that’s a good thing because it doesn’t fade into the background, it makes a statement, but everyone needs to remember, this is just a motorcycle, and nothing about it deserves to be thought of in an extremely emotional fashion. Everyone take a breath and calm down.
noahzark says
Paul: I’m not one to dump on anything HD, but this one is a lump. For a company that can produce a KR750, XR750, XR1200, how did this get approved/released ? I had great hopes for the Rebel 500 hearing the rumours, and was totally deflated when it appeared. I’ll bet most people that buy them do it for the name and the engine, not the style. Money talks and we’ll all see if this HD butters anyone’s toast. Cheers!
Michael Clark says
I’m with Paul on this one I think it looks pretty good but it looks a lot more like the V-Rod than your standard 1913 tractor V-Twin they have been producing for over a “Hundred years” , as for the girls bike bull-crap the first Harley drag bikes were Sportsters and I once put a set of Wiseco 1200cc flat tops in an 883 with the 883 head a Mikuni 40mm flat slide and a SuperTrapp 2 into 1 and smoked every big twin I could find and the gentleman I built it for swears to this day I put cams in it but I never touched the bottom end . That was one of the funnest Harley’s I’ve ever ridden, Light by Harley standards and Fast and would get 45 mpg if you could keep the throttle from jerking wide open. Sadly there are only two kinds of people in the world when it comes to HD those that hate them and those that love them , Hell I’ve never seen a motorcycle I didn’t like except the new ones that don’t have an exhaust , But I’ve never ridden one either so…
Paul Crowe says
Yep, the V-Rod look is the liquid cooling look, which all V-Twins will eventually be moving to for emission and performance reasons. There are some other similar styling cues, too.
Drive The Wheels Off says
The last pic is a very good look, especially if you can imagine…
+ an aftermarket 2-into-1 cf can, terminating where the current bottom one does
+ updated seat unit without the lip for the top can. I’m sure that will be available.
+ mid mounts
+ round headlight. Lots of great options already. e.g., JWSpeaker
+ probably sport bike/standard wheel and tire
That will make a cool, standard hotrod that will offer all day comfort, sound, and enough performance.
How else would Harley move into an other era? Good job HD
Buck Pilkenton says
No doubt it’s a nice motorcycle, but calling it a Sportster is like calling a battleship colored bagger a Silent Grey Fellow.
Alex says
I don’t care for it visually, but I am excited that this engine is going into more bikes than the Panamerica. They have an engine that performs, now put it into a performance bike and I’ll be there. This is too much of a swipe at the market share that the FTR has already carved out. Not painting pictures, more tracing the work of others with its styling. Also a single disc up front? Nothing sporty about that on a 500 lb bike with 120 hp. I hope it is successful enough for us to get that lump with a good tune on a bike built to perform. This a step in the right direction, just not a good step imo.
Steve Welte says
I can’t say I totally care for it or hate it. So I look at this and see a change in the front wheel and tire. I can see the after market exhaust people having a field day. Plus If i owned it I would trash the rear light set up and make a really cool taillight/license that attaches to and under the rear of the seat . I see a couple more changes that really clean up the lines. One of the problems is the manufacturer gets caught by the EPA and rules that screw up a lot of stuff. Aftermarket fun is what I see and a whole new industry of parts. It’s the first version also. Let’s see what happens.
Justin Belshe says
I’ve been hoping for HD to build something better, and it’s been a long wait. It seems they’re feeling the heat from Indian, I wonder how this compares to the Scout…