2024 Harley-Davidson Softail Standard

The 2024 Harley-Davidson Softail Standard is The Motor Company’s most “entry-level” Big Twin, though at $14,999 it’s not exactly a budget bike. Despite its comparatively lower price, the only thing abbreviated about the Softail Standard is its bobbed rear fender. Otherwise, it’s got the style, fit and finish, and performance you’d expect from the latest-generation Softails. It’s powered by a Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine, producing a claimed 87 hp at 5,020 rpm and 110 lb.-ft. of torque at 3,000 rpm. While other models in the cruiser lineup have adopted the 114ci and 117ci Milwaukee-Eight engines, the 107 provides plenty of romp for customers who want to get in on the Big Twin game and still have some leftover cash for customization.

Harley says the Softail Standard is “a Harley-Davidson motorcycle presented in its most elemental form.” The minimalist solo seat, mini apehangers, dog dish air filter, round Daymaker headlight, and the just-right proportion of chrome to blacked-out finishes suggests as much. It’s pretty much the quintessential Harley bobber; easy to imagine a whole row of them, with chromed apehangers like crossed sabers, standing guard outside a seedy biker bar or dusty blues joint. So not only is it an H-D motorcycle in its most elemental form, it’s a Milwaukee archetype. Kind of brings a whole new meaning to “entry-level,” doesn’t it?

The 2024 Softail Standard is available in Billiard Gray for $14,999 and Vivid Black for $15,349.