2018 Harley-Davidson Touring Road Glide

Following in the tire tracks of the city-oriented Street Glide, the Road Glide uses a frame-mounted “shark nose fairing” rather than a simpler fork-mounted unit. This is actually better for high-speed riding and touring because both the fairing’s weight and wind loads feed into the frame rather than into the steering. The result is greater stability and reduced steering effort, especially in crosswinds. Despite its short windscreen, the high-mounted fairing provides reasonable blast protection at speed.

Another Road Glide benefit is its dual LED headlights. These serve two important purposes: 1) They illuminate the roadway better (duh!) with more natural-appearing light than halogen headlights; and 2) they improve your visibility to enemy combatants (e.g., cars)—not only at night but during daytime when you’re ironically more at risk of not being seen. Other standard Milwaukee-Eight features shared by the Road Glide include a smooth Showa cartridge-style fork, an easy-to-use rear-suspension preload adjuster, and 50 percent more electrical charging power than on previous Big Twins. The Road Glide styling may not suit everyone but the functionality should.

Likes: Safety is sexy. We like the Road Glide's LED headlights, triple four-piston brake calipers, and optional ABS.

Dislikes: Why so goth? Most of the Road Glide's six color choices look like they sprang from Darth Vader's closet.

Verdict: Equal parts brawn and brains, city slicker and highway hauler.

2018 Harley-Davidson Touring and CVO First Look