Harley-Davidson Road Glide

Which Road Glide in France?

The Road Glide (model code FLTRX) is the Harley-Davidson Grand American Touring model that wears the frame-mounted ‘Sharknose’ fairing, with hard saddlebags and no top box. It shares its engine, frame, suspension, equipment and price with the Harley-Davidson Street Glide, whose Batwing fairing is mounted on the fork. Don’t confuse it with the Road Glide Limited (€35,500), which adds a top box and a variable valve timing engine, the Road Glide 3, a three-wheeler, or the CVO Road Glide ST, a 126 hp limited-run model. This page covers the standard Road Glide, redesigned for the 2024 model year.

What changes for 2026?

On the French website, the 2026 specifications match the 2025 ones with one exception: official fuel consumption drops from 6.0 to 5.9 L/100 km (140 g/km of CO2 instead of 143). Everything else is cosmetic: Blood Orange, Purple Abyss, Aurora Blue Denim, Olive Steel Metallic with Vivid Black and Teal Thunder with Vivid Black join Dark Billiard Gray and Vivid Black. The Road Glide Liberty Edition (Midnight Ember) sold in the United States is not part of the French range.

How much does it cost?

Harley-Davidson France lists the 2026 Road Glide from €32,850 in Dark Billiard Gray with the Chrome finish, exactly the price of the Street Glide. Other colours add €800 (Vivid Black, Blood Orange), €900 (Purple Abyss, Aurora Blue Denim) or €1,450 (two-tone schemes). The Black finish, which swaps the chrome on the mechanical parts for black, costs €1,500 more, taking the top price to €35,800. The 2025 model year, still listed, starts at €32,790. In the United States, the Road Glide starts at $25,999 with a solo seat.

How good is the engine?

The Milwaukee-Eight 117 is a 1,923 cc 45-degree V-twin with four valves per cylinder, operated by pushrods, rocker arms and hydraulic lifters. In this ‘Center-Cooled’ version, a small radiator mounted low at the front of the frame cools the cylinder heads, starting with the exhaust valves of the hotter rear cylinder; the cylinders keep their fins. Harley-Davidson quotes 107 hp (80 kW) at 5,020 rpm and 175 Nm at 3,500 rpm under the European method, and 176 Nm at 3,250 rpm under the American SAE J1349 standard. Variable valve timing (VVT) is reserved for the Road Glide Limited.

On the road, the engine wins everyone over: Motorrad finds it willing from 1,500 rpm and happy all the way to the limiter at around 5,500 rpm, and Visordown rides hairpins in third gear. In Sport mode, Le Repaire des Motards sees it turn into a ‘power cruiser’. The gearbox keeps its loud ‘clonk’ into first (1000PS), and the cable-operated assist-and-slip clutch (it prevents the rear wheel from locking on downshifts) needs a firm pull according to RevZilla.

How does it ride?

The twin-downtube steel frame carries over, with a conventional 49 mm fork (117 mm of travel) and twin preload-adjustable shocks whose travel grows to 76 mm, against 54 mm on the 2023 Road Glide Special. The wheelbase is 1,625 mm, trail 173 mm (3 mm more than the Street Glide) and lean angle 32 degrees each side. Rated at 380 kg in running order, the Road Glide is 7 kg lighter than the 2023 Road Glide Special, but 12 kg heavier than the Street Glide, 11 of them over the front according to Motorrad.

Mounting the fairing on the frame lightens the steering: the fork no longer has to swing that mass, and BikeSocial finds the Road Glide slightly easier to steer than the Street Glide. 1000PS calls it surprisingly agile for 380 kg and BikeReview rates it the best-handling Road Glide yet; Le Repaire des Motards disagrees, finding that the new bars move the rider away from the front end and dull the feedback. The limits come from suspension that does not soak up every bump (1000PS) and Dunlop tyres ill-suited to tight back roads (Motorrad); Motorcycle.com and BikeReview want more rear travel, 1000PS and Visordown a less demanding front brake.

Road Glide or Street Glide: which one?

It all comes down to the fairing and riding position. The Road Glide’s handlebar is taller, wider and further away, and can be rotated through 27 degrees forwards or backwards; the seat sits 720 mm off the ground unladen, against 715 mm on the Street Glide. Motorcycle.com’s 5-foot-8 tester and Cycle World’s both preferred the lower Street Glide bars, whereas BikeSocial finds the Road Glide just as comfortable and its fairing more protective. Motorrad sums it up: the Street Glide for savouring the ride, the Road Glide for slightly more dynamic fun. According to Harley-Davidson, the Street Glide outsells the Road Glide two to one in the UK (BikeSocial), while RevZilla was told the two sell in roughly equal numbers.

What equipment does it get?

The dashboard is a 12.3-inch (312 mm) touchscreen running Skyline OS, with wired or wireless Apple CarPlay, Bluetooth and embedded navigation sold separately, but no Android Auto. The rider aids take lean angle into account: ABS, linked braking, traction control and drag-torque slip control (it stops the rear wheel locking when you shut the throttle). On top of that come four ride modes (Road, Sport, Rain, Custom), hill hold, tyre pressure monitoring, standard cruise control, full LED lighting, a 200 W audio system, two fairing cubbies (one with a USB-C socket) and 69 litres of saddlebag space. No quickshifter or heated grips as standard.

What about fuel consumption and maintenance?

Harley-Davidson quotes 5.9 L/100 km (140 g/km CO2), giving a range of about 385 km from the 22.7-litre tank. The 2026 maintenance schedule calls for a first service at 1,600 km, then an oil change every 8,000 km or every year, with inspections every 4,000 km. The valves need no adjustment and the belt needs no lubrication. The warranty runs for 2 years with unlimited mileage.

Has it been recalled?

The 2024 Road Glide was recalled for a regulator wire that may rub against the crankcase and cut electrical power (NHTSA 24V-672; RappelConso A12/03120/24 in France for bikes built from 27 October 2023 to 18 July 2024). In the United States, 2024 to 2026 models are also covered by a recall for a crankcase breather that may become blocked (NHTSA 26V-270), with no equivalent found on RappelConso so far.

Where does the Road Glide come from?

The frame-mounted fairing first appeared on the 1980 Tour Glide; reworked, it gave birth to the Road Glide in 1998, along with its ‘sharknose’ nickname, as Rider Magazine recalls. Renamed Road Glide Custom from 2010 to 2013, it skipped the 2014 model year, returned in 2015 with Project Rushmore, then got the Milwaukee-Eight engine in 2017. The current generation, launched in 2024, borrows its styling from the 2023 CVO Road Glide. If you want a lighter, sportier 117 Harley without saddlebags, take a look at the Harley-Davidson Low Rider S.