Road Glide Guide

By Indra Gunawan

road glide harley

The new Harley Davidson Road Glide Custom motorcycle is a tougher, younger vision of the shark nose Harley Davidson classic. Here’s a bagger with a frame mounted fairing that offers a lean, hot rod look. Road Glide Custom leads with a big 18 inch front wheel draped with a clean FL fender, follows with a 2 into 1 exhaust feeding a long chrome muffler, and exits with a smooth new tail light assembly.

Hardshell saddlebags and the 40 watt Advanced Audio System by Harman/Kardon are standard equipment on the new Road Glide Custom model.

Key Road Glide Custom Features

  • An 18 inch Black Slotted Disc cast aluminum front wheel has machined highlights.
  • An aerodynamic, frame mounted fairing incorporates dual headlamps, a cockpit style instrument display with silver faced gauges, and two glove box storage compartments. The frame mounted fairing offers lighter steering feel than a fork mounted fairing. New head lamp trim replaces the clear cover used on previous Road Glide models, improving serviceability.
  • The rear suspension is lowered by one inch, so the Road Glide Custom model appears to hug the highway, a look that is reinforced by the “ground effects” trim at the bottom edge of the rear fender.
  • The new 2 -into -1 exhaust feeds a single, four inch diameter chrome muffler located below the right saddlebag.
  • A low profile dark windshield creates a sleek shape up front.
  • This design eliminates the separate tail/stop lamp. Tri line LED lighting is located at the bottom edge of the rear fender.
  • GTX nylon hard saddlebags have color matched latches. Inserts fill the spaces between the saddlebags and the rear fender.
  • The 6 speed Cruise Drive transmission is fitted with a new helical cut fifth gear for smooth operation.
  • Streamliner footboards, brake pedal and passenger pegs feature full chrome pans and three chrome bands inset in the rubber surface.

Tour with Custom Style

The Road Glide Custom model is built on the innovative Touring chassis introduced by Harley Davidson in 2009, based on a single spar, rigid backbone frame developed to withstand the demands of long haul touring riders and today’s more powerful engines. The 180/65 16-Dunlop-D407 Multi Tread rear tire designed specifically for the Harley Davidson Touring chassis feature a harder center tread compound and softer shoulder compound to enhance handling and extend rear tire tread life by 25 percent.

Air adjustable rear shocks accommodate variable passenger and luggage loads. Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) unclutters the handlebar area and enables an easy upgrade to optional cruise control. The engine is rubber mounted in the chassis, and mated to a 6 speed Cruise Drive transmission with a tall top gear for quiet, economical highway cruising.

Article You May Be Interested In Reading I thought You could be interested in this article: Harley Davidson Road King and Harley Davidson Road King Classic.