Instead of two headlights, it gets one LED headlight with low and high beams. The Low Rider ST finally bridges that gap with a fairing that looks like a three-quarter scale model of the Road Glide’s iconic shark nose. Unlike mainstream sport-touring machines that look more like fully-faired sport bikes or domesticated adventure bikes, cruisers usually get either an archaic clear shield or a massive touring fairing. I was eager to see how the new fairing would perform, and the 75-mile trip home provided the perfect test. On the highway, the Low Rider ST felt solidly planted and tracked straight ahead over cracks and bumps in the pavement. ![]() The resulting extra reach will place most riders forward and encourage an engaged – and I must say, sporting – posture. The handlebar doesn’t have as much bend as you’d find on a Road Glide or Street Glide. Forward controls would be nice for multi-day road trips, but the standard mid-controls are a better fit for this bike everywhere else. At 5’9” and 195 pounds, the ride was forgiving without feeling vague, and finding the foot pegs was as easy as could be. The clutch feel is intuitive and the bike’s low center of gravity masks its weight well. Pulling away from Harley-Davidson’s Milwaukee headquarters for the first time, the Low Rider ST felt welcoming, even for someone without meaningful experience on big cruisers. Factor in the innovative fairing aerodynamics, and the Low Rider ST has a lot more touring practicality than it lets on. One of those lights is for cruise control, which riders can activate, set, and adjust up or down with a switch under the left-hand turn signal button. Beneath the handlebar clamp is a small cluster for the usual notification lights. A button on the left control cluster allows you to cycle through the odometer, two trip odometers, time, engine speed, and estimated range to empty on a second line of text on the display. Instead of a traditional analog speedometer or flashy, full-color TFT display like you’d find on the Pan America, the Low Rider ST provides the bike’s speed, current gear, and fuel level in a neat digital display on the handlebar clamp. Still, the new Low Rider ST sneaks in some tech without spoiling the lines of a bare-bones cruiser. The Low Rider tradition has always been about a pure riding experience – hence the sacrificing of suspension travel in the name of seat height. This fairing splits the difference between Harley-Davidson’s touring bikes and the bullet screens available for other cruisers, both visually and in its effect. Three openings (one above the headlight and one on either side) channel air around the rider to reduce buffeting and wind noise while maintaining a sleek, athletic aesthetic. The secret to the innovative fairing is aerodynamics. Changes from the bike’s stripped-down predecessor include locking hard cases that add 1.9 cubic-feet of secure cargo room, and a clever frame-mounted fairing that’s less imposing than, say, the ones on the Road Glide or Street Glide. The Low Rider ST uses a lot of familiar Harley-Davidson components, shapes, and surfaces to build on the already popular Low Rider S. Style is subjective, but most riders would probably agree that – at least in the looks department – Harley-Davidson rarely misses. The overall aesthetic hasn’t changed much in the past century, but getting it just right has proven too difficult for many a designer. ![]() That should be good for more than 200 miles – assuming you can be judicious with the throttle.Ĭruiser styling is deceptively simple. ![]() The claimed curb weight of 721 pounds includes five gallons of gas. Slowing the bike down are dual four-piston calipers and 300-millimeter floating rotors at the front, and a single two-piston caliper and 292-millimeter floating rotor at the rear. The front 43-millimeter inverted forks and a rear coil-over that’s adjustable for preload make speed and acceleration more manageable. The Low Rider ST sends this power to the rear tire via a six-speed transmission, 10-plate wet clutch, and belt final drive. Claimed peak power figures are 103 horsepower and 125 pound-feet of torque. With the addition of oil cooling and four-valve heads, the current engine is a far cry from American V-twins of the past, both in power delivery and the mill’s willingness to rev. ![]() The platform’s bones are familiar: two air-cooled cylinders, a long-stroke crank, and pushrod valve actuation combine to dish up fistfuls of torque right off idle. The heart of the Low Rider ST is the stomping, 117-cubic-inch (1,923 cubic-centimeter) Milwaukee-Eight engine.
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