Look at its lineup, and you’ll see Harley-Davidson pretty much covers all the bases in the cruiser and tourer world of two-wheelers. The most affordable motorcycle with the bar and shield comes in at under $10,000. Whereas, at the other end of the scale is a full-size bagger that has been derived from a racing machine.
Somewhere in between these two extremes lies a Harley that hits a sweet spot between affordable and wanton excess. It has luxury and value in equal measure, and it will do a wide range of things and thus appeal to a wide audience. Let us explain why this Harley is the smartest purchase in the brand’s lineup.
The Harley-Davidson Street Glide Is The Smartest Purchase In The Brand’s Lineup
The entire Harley touring range has been given a massive overhaul for 2026, and gone are a few things like the Road King Special, the CVO Road Glide RR, and the Milwaukee Eight 114 engine. Instead, the revamped lineup has a more intelligent spread of choices, with something for everyone in the market for a premium tourer. However, even with all the choices available, the Street Glide remains the smartest choice in the brand’s lineup. One of the reasons is…
A New, Lower Price For The Base Model
The 2026 Street Glide has had a price cut and retails for $24,999. To put this into context, this is the exact same asking price for the Road King Special. And that model is powered by the older, smaller, less powerful Milwaukee Eight 114 engine. The Street Glide also offers the Batwing fairing, so there is quite a lot of value to be had.
Big Milwaukee-Eight V-Twin Power And Torque
The new Street Glide remains powered by the Milwaukee Eight 117 engine. This is now the default engine that powers most of the lineup, right from the Street Bob on up to the Limited tourers, but in different states of tune. In the Street Glide, this 1,917 cc V-twin runs liquid cooling for the cylinder heads and a compression ratio of 10.3:1.
It is a long-stroke design, so the peak power and torque are generated at relatively low revs. They are 105 horsepower at 4,600 RPM and 130 pound-feet at 3,250 RPM. It is mated to a six-speed gearbox and belt final drive, as always. Harley-Davidson claims a fuel efficiency figure of 44 miles per gallon.
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Steel Double-Cradle Chassis With Showa Suspension
The Street Glide has a downtube/cradle frame and Showa suspension. The front forks are dual-bend valve forks, while the rear are twin outboard shocks with remote hydraulic preload adjustment. You get 1.9 inches of travel on the front and 3 inches of travel at the rear. The remote hydraulic preload adjustment is a great addition for a touring motorcycle like this. You can cope with the big payload changes that are inevitable when one switches from the weekday to a long tour.
Elsewhere, there are twin floating brake discs at the front, and a single disc at the rear. The front calipers are four-piston fixed calipers, and all three calipers on the Street Glide are axially mounted. The wheels are cast aluminum alloy units and have a 19/18 inch diameter front to rear. Everything here is identical to the Road Glide, other than the fork-mounted fairing.
Big And Wide, As Expected
The Street Glide remains a large tourer, so no surprises when you’re told that it is nearly 95 inches long, 38.4 inches wide, and has a 64-inch wheelbase. The seat height is a very reasonable 26.4 inches when laden, while the unladen ground clearance is 5.5 inches. Those are both useful figures when out touring, especially with a pillion and the 2.42 cubic feet of luggage space filled to capacity. Finally, it tips the scale at 811 pounds in running order.
Luxurious Features From The Factory
While the base price is now the same as the 2025 Road King Special, this is a properly modern Harley-Davidson. It has the 12.3 inch touchscreen TFT infotainment system with Skyline OS. That offers access to all the electronic features like the ride modes, cornering traction control, cornering ABS, linked brakes, cornering drag-torque slip control, tire pressure monitoring, hill hold assist, and cruise control. The linked brake is an interesting addition – a computer-proportioned brake force to either end depending on the situation, even if you actuate only one brake lever out of both available to the rider.
2026 also brings new paint schemes to the range, so there is an orange, purple, black, matt blue, and two two-tone options, one with black and gray, and another with teal and black. The default color is gray, and these options cost from $500 to $1,800 extra. There is also the option of extra chrome or extra black on the bike – this changes bits like the forks, engine, exhausts, headlamp, and windshield. They are quite pricey, too, at $2,000 for the chrome and a whopping $3,400 for the blackout option.
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Harley-Davidson Street Glide Competition
Harley-Davidson has long priced the Street Glide and Road Glide the same, but for 2026, there is a marked difference in pricing. The Road Glide is a full $3,000 more expensive, which is another reason the Street Glide is the smartest purchase in the brand’s lineup. You can choose another American tourer in the Indian Chieftain ($27,749). This is more of a traditional tourer with an air-cooled engine if you want it, but the base model is powered by the wholly liquid-cooled PowerPlus 112 engine.
Of course, there is the BMW K 1600 B ($24,975), which is the opposite of the Street Glide in a lot of ways. Smooth, high-revving, high-power inline six, a sporty bent of mind, and a genuine appetite for curves despite its weight make it stand out. Then there is the other six-cylinder motorcycle, the Honda Gold Wing. Its quality, features, reliability, and price have made it the model to beat for decades now, and one look at its price will make it obvious that it is what Harley-Davidson was aiming for, with the 2026 Street Glide’s price correction.
Harley-Davidson Street Glide Vs Honda Gold Wing
|
Model |
Harley-Davidson Street Glide |
Honda Gold Wing |
|
Price |
$24,999 |
$25,500 |
|
Engine |
45° V-twin |
Longitudinal flat six |
|
Displacement |
1,917 cc |
1,833 cc |
|
Power |
105 HP @ 4,600 RPM |
124.7 HP @ 5,500 RPM |
|
Torque |
130 LB-FT @ 3,250 RPM |
125.3 LB-FT @ 4,500 RPM |
|
Curb Weight |
811 pounds (wet) |
806 pounds (wet) |
Source: Harley-Davidson USA