EICMA 2017: Harley-Davidson Sport Glide, agile in the city and suitable for long journeys [PHOTO]

Harley-Davidson chose theEICMA 2017 to present an interesting innovation that expands the 2018 range, lo Sport Glide. It is a custom motorbike suitable for tackling different situations, taking advantage of the agility in city travel and the comfort of a long-distance traveller.

Stylistically the Sport Glide winks at the classic taste of the Harley Touring range which is combined with new compact and contemporary shapes. This new and aggressive custom cruiser from the American brand is equipped with a detachable fairing and side bags. The new Sport Glide motorcycle is available in three colors: Vivid Black, Twisted Cherry and Silver Fortune.

The Sport Glide is the ninth model based on the Harlay-Davidson Softail platform. Featuring an eye-catching combination of technology and style, the new motorcycle uses a frame designed to be light and rigid, thus offering superior agility and handling. The Milwaukee-Eight 107 V-Twin engine with high torque that guarantees first-rate acceleration and pick-up.

Dave Latz, Harley-Davidson Senior Product Planning Manager, said: “The Sport Glide offers the exciting dynamic capabilities of the new Softail platform combined with features that make it suitable for everyday driving as well as longer distance travel. Its 'factory custom' design speaks of modern performance and contemporary style".

Brad Richards, Harley-Davidson Vice President of Style and Design for his part stated: “The Sport Glide features the broad influence of Harley-Davidson design heritage in a contemporary way. The new fairing, for example, clearly recalls the iconic 'batwing' mask that characterizes the Touring models, but has been shaped to create a more compact and sporty shape. The Sport Glide project gave us a unique opportunity to use directional wheels, the first time for this type of application outside of CVO models. The spokes seem to project from the center to the edge of the circle creating a sense of movement even when the motorbike is parked. The impression of movement is reinforced by the shape of the fairing, the side bags and even the cut of the exhaust pipes".

The Harley-Davidson Sport Glide increases rider and passenger comfort thanks to the oil cooling system in the hottest areas of the cylinder heads. The sporty style is underlined by the two-in-one exhaust with black tip. While completing the standard equipment are the electronically controlled accelerator and cruise control. The American motorcycle is equipped with a new 43 mm upside-down fork and a preload-adjustable monoshock. Mantis aluminum wheels are 18 inches at the front and 16 inches at the rear, wrapped in high-performance Michelin Scorcher 31 tires.

The motorcycle offers a contoured fairing, fixed to the front fork with quick release attachments, thus facilitating installation and removal. Furthermore, to further protect yourself from the air, the 5,5-inch Light Smoke Windshield is available as an option instead of the standard 1,5-inch one. On the Sport Glide we also find rigid bags, with lock, with a capacity of 25,5 litres.

The black Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine takes Big Twin-powered Harley cruisers to a level of performance never achieved before; and this also applies to the Sport Glide. The balancing countershafts eliminate primary vibrations at idle, instead allowing you to feel the "character" of the engine at higher rpm and at speed. The engine is rigidly fixed to the frame, a solution that increases the torsional rigidity of the whole and puts the rider in a more direct relationship with the powertrain.