Most of our recent experiences with Super Glides have been on Super Glide Sports, the sporting variation of the genre. That bike has been discontinued this year (see sidebar), so this is about as close to a sporting Harley big twin as you'll find. In comparison to those past Sports, the 2006 Super Glide steers just noticeably slower and has less cornering clearance, although there is still more than with most cruisers. It feels slightly more solid and stable, too. This bike seemed more inclined to bottom out lightly in the rear, mostly in long, deep dips, but the ride under most conditions is the same or slightly smoother. Some of that may be due to the fact that this motorcycle has just one disc brake on the front wheel and therefore carries less unsprung weight than the Sport with its dual discs. We had no complaints about the current machine's braking power or control, however. In fact, buyers looking for a cruiser with a sporting flavor should consider the Super Glide.
Those 2006 updates have subtly shifted the Super Glide's appearance. With the external oil lines gone, the transmission looks cleaner than ever. The engine is finished in a silver powdercoat with polished covers. Perched above the handlebar clamp, the speedometer and warning lights are easy to scan without taking your eyes far from the road. However, the fuel gauge set in the middle of the tank requires you to drop your head to see it. The ignition lock on the right side of the steering head does double duty as fork lock and uses the barrel-style key of other Harleys. The gas cap doesn't lock, something we have always appreciated because it simplifies fuel stops. However, as gas edges toward $4 a gallon, 4.8 gallons may look pretty attractive to someone with a siphon.
The Super Glide comes in four solid colors-black for $12,195, or red, silver, or the blue of our test bike for $12,480. That makes it price-competitive with Japanese bikes of comparable displacement. Unless they are already sold out, you can also get the functionally similar 35th-Anniversary Super Glide in the "Sparkling America" (as it was known in 1971) white, blue and red paint scheme for a suggested $16,795.
High Points
-Six-speed drivetrain performs exceptionally
-Responsive chassis
-Most affordable Harley big twin
Low Points
-Primary-bearing replacement every 15,000 miles
-No passenger seat
First Changes
-Replace seat
-Add passenger pegs to bring a friend
What Became of the Sport-Cruisers?
When Harley rolled out its new-for-2006 Dyna line last summer, the absence of the FXDX Dyna Super Glide Sport was barely noticed, except by those of us who once hoped the sport-cruiser concept would catch on. Back in April 2000, we here at Motorcycle Cruiser believed we saw a trend and arranged a comparison of seven bikes, which we thought fit the sport-cruiser profile. They were the BMW R1100CE, the FXDX, the Honda Magna and Valkyrie, the Moto Guzzi Jackal, the Triumph Thunderbird Sport and the Victory V92SC SportCruiser. (You can read the results on our Web site at www.motorcyclecruiser.com/ roadtests/sport_cruisers_comparison/).
We believed that as increasing numbers of aging riders switched from sportbikes to the more relaxed ride of cruisers, many of them would still want some corner-carving competence, and we thought those seven bikes were just the beginning. Apparently we were wrong. Six years later, all of those bikes have disappeared from the new-model catalogs, mostly to our dismay. Though buyers who sought them out were glad for their extra sporting capability, many more simply bought them for other reasons, and apparently the two groups combined weren't enough to keep any of those bikes in production.
A Harley rep commented that the FXDX Super Glide Sport frequently sold just because it was available. Customers searching for a new Harley often learned that they could have an FXDX now or wait (and often pay more) for a model that more suited their sensibilities. As a result, you often saw FXDXs sporting ape-hangers or other mods that indicated that their owners had no appreciation for their sporting abilities. The owners who wanted the Super Glide Sport's improved suspension and brakes may have actually been in the minority. It made sense, then, for H-D to devote production to models in greater demand.
Although no one dares mate the words "sport" and "cruiser" these days, the concept isn't completely dead. Harley's Sportster 1200 Roadster keeps it alive, as do the Street Rod and Night Rod. And though it lacks the sport-spec suspension and braking of the Super Glide Sport, the Super Glide can still turn a series of switchbacks into a whole lot of fun. Moto Guzzi's Aluminum and Titanium models uphold both sides of the sport-cruiser equation with aplomb. With its aluminum frame, high-performance suspension, and sportbike-spec brakes, the Yamaha Road Star Warrior also does a good job of fulfilling the sport-cruiser promise.
The idea of a sporting cruiser isn't dead, it's just a secret.-- Art Friedman