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Motorcycle Review: We Ride the New Harley-Davidson Performance Baggers!

Motorcycle Review: We Ride the New Harley-Davidson Performance Baggers!

The new 2022 Street Glide ST and Road Glide ST get the monstrous 117-inch Milwaukee-Eight v-twin

The new 2022 Street Glide ST and Road Glide ST get the monstrous 117-inch Milwaukee-Eight v-twin, Harley’s most powerful production engine ever.

The new 2022 Street Glide ST and Road Glide ST get the monstrous 117-inch Milwaukee-Eight v-twin
Exclusive first rides on the new Road Glide St (left) and Street Glide ST. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy of Harley-Davidson

Taking its cues from fender-scraping wheelie artists and knee-scraping racetrack heroes, for 2022 Harley-Davidson upgraded its most popular models. The Street and Road Glide STs are true performance baggers through and through, powered by the 117-inch, 106 horsepower Milwaukee-Eight v-twin.

With 127 ft.-lbs. of torque, plus linked Brembo brakes and a longer rear suspension for a deeper lean angle, the fairings of Harley’s two most popular motorcycles are now trained directly at the track. Fresh off Screamin’ Eagle factory rider Kyle Wyman’s 2022 King of the Baggers championship, these new baggers crank up the performance factor to 11.

Reviewed: Harley-Davidson Street Glide ST and Road Glide ST

We recently had the opportunity to ride these killer baggers before they hit the dealerships, and we’re here to testify. These are probably the most powerful and best-riding Harley-Davidson baggers we’ve ever had the opportunity to flog. Handling is phenomenal. We’ve never ridden a better-braking Harley, bagger or otherwise. And of course, all the touring amenities are appreciated, especially the fantastic in-dash touchscreen infotainment system.

riding Harley-Davidson Road Glide ST
The new Road Glide ST tears up the desert. Photo by Kevin Wing, courtesy of Harley-Davidson

But the real pleasure of riding these new Harley baggers is in the saddle. Throttle response is crack, braking is excellent, and the suspension and handling are among the best we’ve ever experienced on any Harley.

This new engine features a high-performance camshaft, a high-flow intake, and high-performance exhaust tuned to maximize engine performance. Screamin’ Eagle Stage Upgrades are available to boost engine performance even further. And if you’re feeling particularly ballsy, the Screamin’ Eagle 131-inch crate engine is also available.

Performance Baggers Extraordinaire

Performance baggers are all the rage these days. Harley could have gone in a completely different direction with these bikes, kowtowing to the wheelie-popping, fender-scraping “Nitro Circus” crowd. While those gravity-defying feats are no doubt impressive (and/or foolish and crazy), we’re glad Harley chose to lean hard into the racing side of performance baggers with these two new models. Because while not all of us can (or want to) rock a wheelie down the road, all motorcyclists can appreciate the thrill of diving into and throttling out of a sweet curve on a twisty road. And the Street Glide ST and Road Glide ST are built for just that. The linked Brembos are particularly satisfying.

riding harleydavidson Street Glide ST
The new ST should inspire plenty of existing Street Glide owners to trade up. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy of Harley-Davidson.

The new STs are dressed in dark and black colors with bronzed finishes throughout for a menacing look. Both feature the complete suite of Harley-Davidson Grand American Touring features, including Harley’s Boom! Box infotainment system with color touch screen and navigation, cruise control, and LED headlamps. And of course, a full slate of optional accessories and rider enhancements are available.

The new Milwaukee-Eight 117″ is the powerplant these big bikes have always deserved. If you own a pre-2016 Street or Road Glide with the Twin Cam 103B motor—and judging by the amount of them parked at rallies and bike nights nationwide, there are a lot of you out there—the time to upgrade is now.

The new 2022 Street Glide ST and Road Glide ST on racetrack
The racetrack is the perfect setting for these new Harleys. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy of Harley-Davidson.

Both models are available now at your local Harley-Davidson dealer for an MSRP of $29,999.

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