Harley-Davidson FLHT Electra Glide

Harley-Davidson's big-bike range cleverly blends a nostalgic, locked-in-the-1940s, concept and look with modern engineering and manufacturing technology.

Take as an example H-D's clever management of vibration on the Electra Glide. In the '40s motorcyclists copped whatever vibrations the machine produced. These days, H-D's engineering and marketing people have decided precisely what level and type of vibration is right for the rider. No-vibe isn't an option. H-D isn't about bland. The question for each model is, "How much and when?" For a tourer, like the Glide, you don't want it vibrating heavily in the 70 - 130km/h range. So engine mounts, bars, seat cushion and footboard inserts are optimised to be low-vibe in that range. (The rubber footboard inserts, usually pretty basic items, give a good indication of the thoroughness of the engineering. The rider's boot rests on a top layer that "floats" above a base layer to isolate the required proportion of vibrations.) When you're coasting to a stop or idling at the lights the Electra Glide is designed to start "shakin' it all about". Those two huge pistons start to communicate with you big time. The whole bike resonates to their beat. Even your sunglasses can start jiggling if they're not firmly in place. And I've got to say it feels good straddling all that metal in motion. There's something about the character of the vibes of a big, 45 degree V-twin that presses your pleasure buttons. And then the light goes green and you're off again and the vibe recedes subtly into the background.

The Electra Glide series started back in 1965 when an electric starter was added to the former Duo Glide, so named for its hydraulically-damped suspension front and rear. That was the last year of the Panhead engine so our test-bike's Twin Cam engine is the fourth engine type to power the Electra Glide series.

Built on the big touring-model frame with heavy front forks and twin-shock rear suspension, it's intended to be a real-world tourer and general work-horse that gives the rider an easy day over big kilometres or long hours in a range of conditions. Not surprisingly US police departments have bought a lot of Electra Glides over the years.

The suspension works well in most situations giving a plush but reasonably well-controlled ride. It hates hard-edged bumps - they really rattle your fillings. Mid-corner bumps at speed unsettle it, but it regains its composure promptly without a fuss. The alleged "poor cornering-clearance" issue is a non-issue most of the time. You can drag the footboards if you must but, two-up with luggage, we found that fairly swift speeds could be maintained on winding country roads with only rubber caressing the tarmac.

The brakes are effective. They need a good squeeze or a hefty push and there's not much feel, but they slow the big girl's progress nicely.

Now to the heart and soul of every Harley-Davidson - the mammoth engine. It's almost enough to just say it's an 88 cubic inch (1450cc) V-twin. (Translation: massive alloy-castings - stump-pulling torque - wicked noises) The test-bike was fitted with Screamin' Eagle touring mufflers, a Hi-flow air-cleaner and a re-jetted carb. So factor that in as we look at its performance.

Acceleration around town and up to the speed-limit on the highway is great. No apologies required in any company. There is, however, a little disappointment when you ask it to get past a B-double quickly on the open road. When you're half-way past and indicating say 120km/h you find it's feeling a little unresponsive and you need to kick it down a gear to really finish the job with a rush. With an 88 cubic inch powerplant you shouldn't have to change down at 120km/h to get rapid acceleration. Overall the thing feels a little overgeared. Fifth is a serious overdrive. If it was mine I'd be looking at changing the rear sprocket (or do you call it a pulley on a belt-drive bike?) for something bigger - around six to eight percent up. It would improve top-gear highway passing, overall acceleration and probably wouldn't harm the fuel consumption either. Confirming my suspicion about the gearing was the fact that it was flat out in top gear at 4000rpm, at least 1000rpm short of its power peak.

 Putting aside the gearing issue I have to say that this is a beautiful engine that performs beautifully. It starts easily and is ready to work after a short warm-up. It's a lumpy "gruntmeister" at low speed and a sweet, throbbing turbine at high speed. No complaints about fuel consumption - it returned around 17km/l on the highway, two-up, with luggage while cruising at "brisk" speeds. The gearbox feels "heavy-duty" and unburstable. Changes require a definite prod and it engages with a solid "clunk" each time, but it works well.

In heavy traffic a bike of the Glide's size is not a natural lane-splitter. Its size and physical presence produce a trade-off benefit though. Car drivers treat it more like a car. They give way more often and seem to notice it in their mirrors - not an experience I'm used to.

Overall, everything looks like value for money and the quality of finish is excellent. Two qualifications to this overall endorsement need to be made. The test bike was the "Standard" model - code for no accessories. That's fine, but the empty compartment in the dash for the stereo and the blank plugs for missing controls look unnecessarily "el cheapo" on a still expensive bike. Also there were bubbles under the chrome-plating on one muffler end-cap.

Short or long trips will be done in style and comfort and very enjoyably as long as you're not after sports-bike performance. (See our separate comment about pillion comfort.)

There are many ways to feel great on a motorcycle. As part of our test we took the Electra Glide to the Barossa Valley. Late one afternoon, ambling along a lane past the vineyards, with the sun setting and the big twin "snuffle-grunting" at 1800 - 2000rpm in top gear, I realised that I'd found another way to feel great on a motorcycle.

WHAT WE LIKED:

NOT SO MUCH:

The pillion rider's comfort seems to have been thrown overboard when form won a victory over function. The pillion cushion slopes down towards the back of the bike. When you couple that with the typical H-D feet-forward position of the footboards, the ergos do not work. The spinal alignment you get is a painful one. It would be fine with an accessory sissy-bar and back-rest pad but this thing was let loose without one. It's meant to be a two-up tourer but it doesn't deliver in its standard form.

To keep the travelling twosome together some modifications were needed. That was okay. I've always believed that if an American can make it, an Aussie can improve it. A roll of gaffa tape and some builders' foam strip produced a temporary layered-pad that gave a rising profile towards the back of the pillion area. It lost out heavily visually but got the thumbs-up for comfort.