Harley-Davidson Grand American Touring Bikes: The Top of the Food Chain

Grand American Touring is what Harley calls its most potent, impressive, and expensive family of bikes. It's a term that was coined to encompass the best bikes the Milwaukee bike maker has to offer in the traditional touring segment – the adventure touring one, defined by the Pan America bikes, has a separate category in Harley's product roster.

Of course, Harley doesn't call this a term, but a "category we've created from the ground up." A category that had such an impact at a global level that one of Harley's rivals in this segment, BMW, presented its recently introduced R 18 Transcontinental as a Grand American Touring as well.

There is no question, though, that both at home and abroad, Harley-Davidson is leading the charge when it comes to this kind of monstrous bike. In its own stables the touring machines are equally important, as, for instance, they fueled a six percent increase in bike sales on the North American continent in the first quarter of the year.

After all it is these machines that are the quintessential Harleys. Although the bike maker does offer a lot more products in its portfolio, you have to admit that every time you think of a Harley, you either imagine the choppers ridden by bike gangs or these monsters.

Harley's present-day Grand American Touring lineup includes eight models, starting with the entry-level Road King Special and ending with the three mighty CVO machines. We'll discuss each of them in this piece, trying to make sense of both what makes them special and what sets them apart.

Harley-Davidson Road King Special ($24,999)

The Road King Special is the entry-level point in the Grand American Touring lineup. But that's only as far as pricing is concerned, as everything else about this two-wheeler is at the top of the game.

The model traces its roots back to the FL model sold by the American company from the early 1940s. The Road King moniker is a lot more recent, though, as it was introduced into the motorcycle game in the mid-1990s, when it arrived as a replacement for the FLHS Electra Glide Sport.

The modern-day interpretation of it was meant to rule the road, as Harley says. An impressive bodywork wraps around the bike's frame, starting with the large fender pulled over the front wheel, moving to the massive, six-gallon (almost 23 liters) fuel tank, and ending with the bags installed to each side of the rear wheel.

The bike is animated by a Milwaukee-Eight 114 engine that delivers 95 hp and 122 ft-lb of torque, transferred to the ground by means of Dunlop tires. A black, 2-1-2 dual exhaust system with tapered mufflers handles the ride's breathing needs.

Harley is selling this long-range machine for prices that start at $24,999. For that bikers get, aside from all of the above, floorboards, a passenger seat, and a long list of safety features, including ABS and electronic linked braking.

There are four colors and a single trim level, black, for the 2024 Harley-Davidson Road King Special. The standard comes in Billiard Gray, with Vivid Black, Red Rock, and White Onyx Pearl adding from $500 to $700 to the MSRP.

Harley-Davidson Street Glide ($25,999)

Up next in Harley's lineup of Grand American Touring bikes is the Street Glide. Essentially a stripped-down tourer (at least compared to the other bikes in the lineup), the model is a descendant of the range that dates back to the mid-1980s.

Together with sister bike Road Glide (which we'll discuss in the lines below) the Street Glide was subject to a major refresh at the beginning of 2024. That's because a year before the Milwaukee bike maker kind of ignored the range, and something needed to be done to keep the bar high.

The new touring bike was introduced as a "new era of touring performance, technology, and design," but that's only partially true. Because one doesn't mess with perfection, there aren't all that many visual changes to talk about.

Harley did tamper with a number of attributes to make the Street Glide more user-friendly. Using minor design tweaks, the amount of turbulent air thrown off the bike's windscreen into the rider's helmet dropped by 60 percent.

Then, the seat was redesigned and launched into the world wearing new padding materials. And since a seat with little backing from the suspension system wouldn't amount to much, the travel of the rear suspension was increased by three inches (almost eight cm).

The engine the bike holds in its frame is of the usual Milwaukee-Eight variety, only its displacement sits at 117ci. The engine has been tweaked with a new cooling system and enhanced intake and exhaust flow, and thanks to these upgrades the power rating stands at 105 hp and 130 ft-lb of torque.

The starting price for the 2024 Harley-Davidson Street Glide is $25,999, but no less than eight colors are on the table, with either chrome or black accents. The standard color is the same Billiard Gray, while the Vivid Black option (plus $600) opens the list of optional colors. All the others (White Onyx Pearl, Whiskey Fire, Blue Burst, Alpine Green, Atlas Silver metallic, and Sharkskin Blue) add an extra $850 to the starting price.

Harley-Davidson Road Glide ($25,999)

The Road Glide has always been Street Glide's sister bike in the Harley-Davidson portfolio. Because of this, not many things separate the two, the most noticeable being the shape of the fairing and the headlight.

Unlike its Street sister, the Road comes in the 2024 model year incarnation (both were shown in revised form at the beginning of the year) with a more aggressively styled frame-mounted fairing (the one on the Street Glide is fork-mounted) and a rectangular headlight. The position and height of the handlebar are also different, but other than that we get pretty much the same package.

That includes the claim that the Road Glide ushers in a "new era of touring performance, technology, and design," but also the mechanical bits.

The bike's frame holds the same 117ci Milwaukee-Eight rated at 105 hp and 130 ft-lb of torque. Saddlebags are fitted at the rear, and a seat for a passenger is also included in the mix.

Just like its sibling the Road Glide now uses Harley's Skyline operating system for infotainment purposes, controlled by the rider through a 12.3-inch screen – a piece of hardware that replaces all the analog instrumentation and many of the switches the bike originally came with.

No less than eight body colors are available for the bike (Billiard Gray as standard plus Vivid Black, White Onyx Pearl, Whiskey Fire, Blue Burst, Alpine Green, Atlas Silver metallic, and Sharkskin Blue). The starting price for the bike is the same as that of the Street Glide, which is $25,999.

Harley-Davidson Road Glide Limited ($32,499)

A special version of the Road Glide offered by Harley in the Grand American Touring lineup is the Limited, a bike meant to make riders fall in love with long-haul rides. As such, it comes with a series of fittings that make it significantly different.

The most visible differences between the Limited and the regular Road Glide are the fitting on the former of a larger windshield at the front and a passenger seat with a backrest and top case at the rear. The position and height of the handlebar are different as well.

The differences that are not easily noticeable but are still there have to do with dimensions. The Limited is longer and heavier, comes with a lower ground clearance, and has a bigger luggage capacity.

Perhaps the most important change is the bike's engine. In this configuration, the motorcycle is powered by a smaller Milwaukee-Eight engine, one that displaces 114ci. As a result, performance levels are not exactly on par with the standard Road Glide, standing at 93 hp and 122 ft-lb of torque.

Because it's meant to haul more for longer distances, the Harley-Davidson Road Glide Limited is selling for more, namely $32,499. There are just five colors on the table, including one that's dedicated exclusively to it: Billiard Gray, Vivid Black, Sharkskin Blue, Blue Burst, and the dual color Red Rock/Vivid Black.

Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited ($32,499)

The 2024 Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited plays more or less the same game as the Road Glide Limited. There are differences, though, that could make it a more suitable choice for certain kinds of riders.

On a design level, the Ultra Limited sports a fork-mounted fairing, just like the Street Glide, and it's just a tad larger and lighter than the Road Glide Limited (and by tad I really mean that, as the differences are in the fraction of an inch range).

The same kind of Milwaukee-Eight 114ci engine sits in the frame, with power levels rated at 93 hp and 122 ft-lb of torque. Stats for it, as well as ride information, are relayed to the human in control by means of Harley's Boom! Box GTS system and a full-color TFT screen.

Harley is selling the Ultra Limited for the same amount as the Road Glide Limited, which is $32,499. There are more colors to choose from, six of them, with the usual Billiard Gray taking point as standard and the rest offered as options: Vivid Black, White Onyx Pearl, Sharksin Blue, Red Rock/Vivid Black, and the exclusive Tobacco Fade.

Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide ST ($42,999)

If you plan on getting your hands on a top-of-the-range Harley-Davidson, you can't go wrong with a Grand American Touring. But even in this family there are layers of coolness, and the range doesn't get any better than the Custom Vehicle Operations (CVO) handled Glides.

There are three CVO-tweaked rides offered in this segment, and the list opens (price-wise) with the CVO Road Glide ST. It's a motorcycle that made its debut this year as a West Coast-style custom described by Harley itself as the "quickest, fastest, and most sophisticated performance bagger ever produced."

Like the rest of the CVO tourers, the bike is powered by the largest engine available for this segment, the Milwaukee-Eight 121 HO. It's not just any other engine, but one that makes "the most horsepower and torque ever" from a factory-installed Harley-Davidson engine. That's 127 hp and 193 Nm of torque, more than what most European city cars are capable of.

The bike is a monster, but not as heavy as you'd expect, as it tips the scales at 800 pounds dry (363 kg). This achievement was made possible through the extensive use of titanium, carbon, and composites in many of the bike's elements.

It too packs the new Skyline operating and a 12.3-inch TFT touchscreen, and it also throws into the mix a sound system to die for, comprising a 500-watt amplifier and Rockford Fosgate Stage II 6.5-inch speakers installed in the fairings.

The American bike maker is selling the CVO Road Glide ST from $42,999 and there are only two colors on the table, both of them offered at no extra cost: Golden White Pearl and Raven metallic.

Harley-Davidson CVO Street Glide ($44,499)

The CVO Street Glide is not new in the Harley lineup in any measure, but it too is on the table this year in the performance-specced Grand American Touring range. We've already discussed the Street Glide in its everyday incarnation, but the CVO variant is another breed of monster altogether.

And that's something that may not be immediately apparent, because except for the paint job the styling of the motorcycle is pretty much the same, and so are many of the two rides' components and traits.

But the engine sitting in the frame is an entirely different beast, and for many, that's what matters the most. Instead of the stock Milwaukee-Eight 117, the CVO packs the Milwaukee-Eight VVT 121, which offers 15 hp more (a total of 115) and 139 ft-lb of torque.

The 2024 CVO Street Glide is one of the most expensive motorcycles in the Harley portfolio, selling for $44,499. Two color choices are available, Copperhead and Legendary Orange. Only the former comes free, with the orange hue adding an extra $6,000 to the total price of the package, effectively taking the motorcycle over the $50,000 threshold.

Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide ($44,499)

We're ending our journey into the world of the Harley-Davidson Grand American Touring range with the CVO Road Glide, sister bike to the one we've discussed above and an evolution of the base version.

Just like the Street, the Road shares the same design lines with the standard version, and a lot of the components as well. The main difference between the two is the engine – the same Milwaukee-Eight VVT 121 piece of hardware is used on this bike, with the exact same specifications as on the previous CVO: 115 hp and 139 ft-lb of torque.

The suspension system is made of inverted forks up front and an adjustable shock at the rear, and the wheels are combo-cast laced instead of cast aluminum on the normal Road Glide. The brakes are bigger, and the Skyline OS is on deck here as well.

Harley is asking $44,499 for the 2024 CVO Road Glide and throws into the mix the same two color choices, in the same conditions, as on the Street Glide version.