2022 Harley Street Glide ST and Road Glide ST First Look

High-performance baggers with Milwaukee-Eight 117 engines.

Want an out-of-the-box performance bagger? The Harley Street Glide ST gets you most of the way there.Harley-Davidson

Performance touring, performance baggers, whatever you want to call it—the term has been bandied about for years in aftermarket circles, and the OEMs, always just a little late to the party, have finally caught on in a big way. Now we’re looking at the latest entries to that burgeoning class, Harley-Davidson’s new Street Glide ST and Road Glide ST, two hot-rodded baggers singularly focused on going faster, rather than bothering with more casual pursuits, like, say, two-up touring.

Some might attribute that to trends in the consumer world, or maybe the popularity of all the new bagger racing events, in fact Harley-Davidson repeatedly referenced its success in last year’s King of the Baggers series when it introduced the new bikes, but regardless of the catalyst, performance baggers are definitely having a moment.

The Street Glide ST packs a solo seat, hot-rod influences, and a Milwaukee-Eight 117 engine and starts at $29,999.harley-Davidson

Even though the Street Glide ST and Road Glide ST are uprated versions of existing machines we’ve seen before, clearly, the big news is their burlier powertrains—both get Harley’s Milwaukee-Eight 117 engine, H-D’s most powerful factory-installed mill. That makes them among the first mass-production Harleys to come with the 117ci engine as standard equipment from the factory. Before these new “ST” models (which includes the new Low Rider ST, along with the updated 2022 Low Rider S), you had to look to the company’s exclusive CVO series to get your hands on that powertrain as factory-installed equipment. It’s also probably worth mentioning that the ST touring bikes are new additions to the range, not replacements; they join the already-announced Street Glide and Street Glide Special, and the Road Glide and Road Glide Special in the 2022 Grand American Touring category.

Harley says the air/oil-cooled M-8 117 in the Glide STs outputs 106 hp and up to 127 pound-feet of torque at 3,750 rpm (fractionally more than the same 117 in the Low Rider S) with the high-flow Heavy Breather intake tuned to match the new exhaust system for optimal performance.

The 2022 Street Glide ST in Gunship Gray. The slimmer fenders and forward-facing intake are easy ways to tell this is the ST model.Harley-Davidson

But visual cues are what clearly distinguish these STs from their lower-rent Glide brothers, and while the Street Glide ST still features the iconic batwing fairing with low-profile dark windshield, it has skinnier front fenders for less visual weight; you’ll also notice the higher-flow Heavy Breather intake, and bronze-colored Prodigy wheels, with matching bronze detailing on the engine. Otherwise the powertrain is covered in black, and up top, a low-profile tank console with side fuel fill and low-profile engine guard separates it from other Touring models. Up front, a 49mm Dual Bending Valve fork offers linear damping performance and 4.6 inches of travel, while Harley’s Premium standard ride-height-adjustable rear suspension serves up 3 inches of suspension travel. Of course, that’s a touch taller than on the base models (which run the Low units, with 2.1 inches of travel), but to fully tap the potential of the chassis you’ll need to go to the aftermarket or H-D’s catalog for higher-spec suspenders like the Ohlins units used on the King of the Baggers racebikes.

At the back, there’s a single seat and no passenger pegs, another point of reference to the King of the Baggers racebikes, and the saddlebags themselves are the regular-height units from the base 107ci Street Glide rather than the stretched ones seen on the 114ci Street Glide Special. In addition to the power advantage of a bigger engine, Street Glide ST will likely benefit from its lighter weight. At 814 pounds in running order, it’s down from 827 pounds for the stock Street Glide and 829 pounds for the Street Glide Special. On the Street Glide ST, you get two paint options: Vivid Black or Gunship Gray.

With the signature sharknose fairing, the new Road Glide ST brings a bit more menace to the table, and also rolls with the M-8 117 powertrain.Harley-Davidson

The Road Glide ST’s aerodynamic frame-mounted sharknose fairing with dual headlamps is also a known quantity, but elsewhere, the production bike readily embraces cues from the Screamin’ Eagle bagger racer, as with the solo seat, trimmed-down bodywork, and freer-flowing intake and exhaust. The distinctive triple-vented fairing is topped with a low-profile dark windshield and holds dual Daymaker LED headlamps, while a low-profile engine guard and tank console keep the Road Glide ST’s profile trim. As with all ST bikes, there’s the 117 engine, rated for a touch more power and higher torque than the Low Rider, and doused in hot-rod-infused finishes.

The 2022 Road Glide ST in Gunship Gray, which retails for $30,574.Harley-Davidson

Like the Street Glide ST, you’ll notice the slimmer front fenders, the Heavy Breather intake, bronze-colored wheels and engine detailing on the Road Glide ST, with the Roadie ST likewise running a solo saddle with no passenger provisions and the same standard saddlebags from the base 107ci Road Glide, but with the taller Premium adjustable rear suspension. Helping the performance aspirations of the Road Glide ST is its lighter weight; it comes in at 842 pounds (wet, claimed), compared to 853 pounds for the base Road Glide and 855 pounds for the Special. And with the Road Glide ST you get just two subdued paint options as well—Vivid Black or Gunship Gray.

The 2022 Road Glide ST in Vivid Black taps influences from the King of the Baggers racebikes.Harley-Davidson

Given the fact that the Street Glide ST’s and Road Glide ST’s performance and style influences seem to draw a direct line to the MotoAmerica King of the Baggers racebikes, it seems odd to call them Grand American Touring machines at all; they’re both solo-seaters without passenger pegs, with hot-rod styling and powerful Milwaukee-Eight 117 powertrains. But because even hooligans want added reassurance for especially suspect maneuvers (we guess) both STs pack in a suite of H-D’s electronic rider aids, including Reflex linked Brembo brakes with ABS, a Boom! Box GTS infotainment system with color touchscreen and navigation, cruise control, and Daymaker LED headlamps (though Cornering Enhancement package is extra). Both of the ST baggers also hide the antenna for a tidier appearance than the base models, and the low-slung rear taillight is now an LED unit mounted higher on the rear fender.

With their bigger engine and better suspension, the new ST models will cost you a pretty good chunk of change, but for performance-minded riders who want to get a bit closer to the amped-up touring ideal with factory-installed peace of mind and added rider aids, the ST bikes might prove to be a good steppingstone.

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