Harley-Davidson Street Glide ST 2022 — Specifications

Can a Harley-Davidson be discreet? The question seemed incongruous until the Street Glide ST arrived, armed with a dark philosophy and a new ambition. Far from the gleaming chrome of traditional baggers, this machine displays a resolutely taciturn character, almost menacing, with a blackness that engulfs everything down to the smallest details. Forks, exhaust, engine, controls: everything has been scrutinized by the dark custom aesthetic, as if the beast wanted to melt into the shadows before striking. Only the pushrods and engine fins dare to display a metallic sheen, recalling that a living mechanical heart beats beneath this carapace. At €33,190, it no longer plays in the yard of flashy customs, but targets a demanding tourer, one who prefers authority to showmanship.

And authority, it has in abundance under the valve cover. Because the real coup de théâtre lies in its cardiac graft: the famous Milwaukee-Eight 117 engine. With its 1923 cm3, it propels the Street Glide ST into another category of breath. We are talking here about 103 horsepower at 5450 rpm and, above all, a monstrous torque of 167.7 Nm from 3500 rpm. It is this data, the power of the 117 engine of the Harley-Davidson Street Glide ST, that changes everything. The accelerations become bear-like rushes, the twin growls with a greasy density and an unstoppable traction, even at low rpm. Faced with an Indian Roadmaster or a BMW K 1600 B, more powerful on paper, Harley opposes a sledgehammer argument: the raw sensation, this tsunami of torque that sticks you to the seat without needing to rev high. It is an engine to be savored more than it is to be calculated.

Yet, with its 369 kg all fueled up, one might expect a lumbering giant. The surprise is there too. The chassis, inherited from the Touring range, offers the stability of a cruise ship, but the steering proves surprisingly light from the first few meters, aided by a 71 cm seat that isn’t so inaccessible. The 49 mm forks and rear shocks manage the weight seriously, even if one remains in the register of padded confidence rather than surgical precision. The brakes, with their triple 300 mm discs and 4-piston calipers, have the heavy task of containing this mass, and they manage it honorably, especially when coupled with the optional RDRS electronic safety pack. A system that, via an inertial sensor, adjusts the ABS and traction control according to the angle, a welcome modern foray for a motorcycle that so cherishes its heritage.

Because that is precisely its paradox. Beneath its appearance of a matte black bad boy, the Street Glide ST is a high-tech tourer. The Batwing console houses the Boom! Box GTS system with its 6.5-inch touchscreen, piloting GPS, high-definition audio and Bluetooth connectivity. Cruise control, Daymaker LED headlights, and hot rod-style instrumentation complete a lavish equipment list. It will seduce the tourer who wants to cover long distances in a rolling armchair to the grave sound of the V-Twin, without giving up the comfort of the integrated saddlebags and the characteristic small windshield.

Ultimately, the Harley-Davidson Street Glide ST succeeds in a bold bet: marrying the traditional soul of a bagger with the aggressiveness of a muscle bike. It is not the fastest or the most agile in its category, but it offers a unique sensory experience, centered on this 117 engine with crushing torque. It is a machine for those who consider travel as an emotional performance, where the growl of the big twin counts as much as the kilometer swallowed. A motorcycle with character, not to say in character.