Back in 2005, Harley introduced the now-hugely successful FLHX Street Glide-the fusion of a venerable touring chassis and custom iron the Motor Company is known for. It was essentially an Electra Glide dropped into the weeds, with some nice custom touches like fairing-mounted mirrors, color-matched saddlebag latches, and a mean, stripped look with less trim and no box. Unlike the super-stark FLHT Electra Glide Standard (no longer with us) however, it retained practical stuff like a radio and cruise control. It wasn't an "old guy" touring bike, and even Gen Y folks lined up to buy it.
What's surprising is that it took years for any direct competitors to emerge, but when Victory, then Star, recently trotted out bikes with their own "batwing"-style fork-mounted fairings, we couldn't wait to get them all together for a little ride. It's no secret that bikes like this, despite their touring chops, frequently never leave town. Riders love 'em for the comfort, lockable storage, and perhaps the ability to build a nice stereo into the bags and fairing.
We acknowledge the urbanites' love for these bikes, but that's not gonna keep us downtown in the summertime. So we mounted up the recently-released 2010 Star Stratoliner Deluxe and a brand new 2011 Harley-Davidson Street Glide and headed out from L.A. to meet Cherney (on a freshly-minted 2011 Victory Cross Country) in Western Colorado for a couple of days of riding on some of the best roads in the world.
Under the Wing
The design of these bikes give a clue to what they do best...and worst. The Street Glide is a touring bike that's been trimmed and dropped to cut a more fashionable profile. As a member of Harley's Touring family it has a host of upgrades available, and ours came with the biggest one: The PowerPak. The PowerPak is a $2000 option that adds ABS, H-D's security system, and a displacement bump from 96 to 103 CI. The Street Glide's batwing is also filled with all manner of useful gauges. It's roughly the same Harmon-Kardon stereo that's been on the H-D touring bikes for a few years now, and while it'll connect to a digital music source through an auxiliary port in the panel, it can't control an iPod like the others can. The Street Glide is the template for this class, but depending on your point of view, that classic, timeless look may be dated. Thankfully there are a ton of options in the aftermarket (and Harley itself) with which to modify it. It also comes with the greatest selection of colors available from the factory.
Star's Stratoliner Deluxe is an upgraded, touring-savvy version of the Stratoliner light touring rig (itself a cruiser on steroids). Given its origin, it's a little more Spartan than the others. A hollow fairing is filled only with speakers and an iPod hookup (with a strap and shelf to hold it). The 'Pod is controlled via a quartet of buttons above the left grip, which is simple and effective, but perhaps a little bolt-on looking. Just like the base Stratoliner, the gauges are down on the tank-not normally something we complain about, but after riding the other two with their better-positioned dials, the time it takes to look down is pretty noticeable. The Deluxe also sports larger bags than the standard Strat, but that's it for upgrades. Unlike the others, it doesn't pack clever tour management data into the gauges (range, air temp, etc), nor does it have cruise control, which was a real pain in the wrist. The Star does take a fresh look at the batwing fairing, with a smooth continuation of the flowing lines the 'Liners are known for, but you better love black-or be ready for a paintjob-as that's the only color available. Unlike the other two it has no highway bar (or engine guard) either.