2015 Harley-Davidson Road Glide Review

[Dustin]

I very, very rarely take interest in anything from Harley but the Road Glide looks pretty darn nice. Motorcycle.com just released a great review--really informative, objective and well presented.

I actually found this bike to be interesting in terms of styling and function; it's an attractive looking motorcycle, a little more refined and less of a pile of noise making chrome for some knuckle dragging ape

Write-up:
2015 Harley-Davidson Road Glide First-Ride Review + Video

Video review:
[video=youtube;Ov2V9HHGQWA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov2V9HHGQWA[/video]

I'm pretty surprised to see Harley releasing things like a 500cc entry bike and an electric bike. Maybe they're evolving a bit

 

[BDazzler]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think it is the second ugliest bike I've ever seen, with the Victory Vision holding a firm grasp on #1.



I'll admit I have a distinct bias against HD, but I'm impressed they are adding liquid cooling and the 500cc and 750cc (just to get some affordable bikes in their lineup). The electric bike is a laugh. Battery tech isn't close to ready for production vehicles and the charging time and lack of infrastructure to support that are ridiculous.

 

[FZ1inTX]

I'm not a fan of that hideous fairing they use. If the front were more Goldwing and less Cyborg/Mack Truck, I'd take a look. If I was going to own a HD, it would be the VRod or the 1200 custom with no fairing. Those interest me a lot!

 

[Dustin]

The electric bike is a laugh. Battery tech isn't close to ready for production vehicles and the charging time and lack of infrastructure to support that are ridiculous.

I people said that about the first horseless carriages, too. Your cynicism is understandable but I think misplaced. Bikes like these aren't for riding coast-to-coast, they're for--in the case of the Livewire, riding from Starbucks to Starbucks. It's a boutique motorcycle, a poser mobile. Considering HD out sells all other motorcycles by a huge margin, this bike will really push the technology forward. Shocking to think it's coming from HD.

And let's be honest, how many riders actually ride coast-to-coast on a regular basis? Hell, most people on this forum consider 200 miles to be a long day ride. It won't be very long that an electric bike could take you that far. You can't take an old, established product and compare it to something completely new which requires an all new infrastructure and a new way of thinking.

Companies like Tesla are pushing the technology forward despite obvious reprisal from gas & oil companies and cynicism from the public. This small company based in California has built an electric 4-door luxury sedan that outsells all of their competitors combined; that's quite something. They're doing so well that the next vehicle in the pipeline is a sub-$30,000 car for normal people.