Launch: 2016 Harley-Davidson Roadster

Whoosh! Off came the bike cover and there was the bike we’d seen in photos but never the flesh — Harley’s new Roadster. It is very obviously a bike based on the Harley-Davidson Sportster range, but there are various cues to the fact this is the start of something bigger for Harley, and not just the “garage-built custom" marketing buff.

The upside-down forks and twin disc front end is one of those signs — Harley is even calling the triple clamps “massive” — something it wouldn’t have previously bothered about when describing a Sportster-based package. The size of the triple clamps hasn’t even been on the radar — for Harley or its buyers — until now.

We were at the official Aussie and New Zealand launch of the marque’s new showpiece, held in a cool, but not as frigid as usual, Canberra.

2016 HARLEY-DAVIDSON ROADSTER IN BIKE SHOWROOM

If Harley was a little too “mainstream” for hipsters previously, the styling of this beast will have them spilling chai lattes and spitting out kale to get a closer look. It is more “purposeful” than “cruiser” and the “slammed” bars and hunched forward look gives it a more aggressive stance than most production Harleys before it.

The Roadster is clearly aimed at that elusive “new” audience well-established brands crave as time passes and tastes evolve, and it’s also clear the Roadster is the start of a raft of fresh-looking metal emerging from the Harley bunker.

All that said, old habits die hard. While Harley-Davidson has beefed-up the front end, the swingarm reminds me of a downhill mountain bike, and the footpegs look like someone forgot to include them in the initial design and just bolted them on afterwards. Many of the other detail touches are very well executed, however.

The new instrument panel immediately brings the bike into the modern era, and despite it looking like it would be hard to read due to a subtle lighting, I actually find the speedo better to read in direct sun than most other panels.

Having adjustable suspension on the rear is an excellent addition, given the variety of uses a bike of this type is subjected to. The seat, too, is very comfortable, though the otherwise-excellent ride position is compromised by those footpegs.

They stick out, moving your knees off the tank and meaning your gearshift foot is sitting on the bracket itself to shift gear, rather than the comfortable rubber of the footpegs themselves.

That rubber slowly but surely obliterated itself as the launch ride, a healthy strop around Canberra’s sights and bike roads, went on — Harley had removed the long and even more restrictive hero knobs on the launch bikes and touch-down was never far away. It is an unusual ride position for a Harley, but feels natural to me and a good blend of sports and naked bike.

The Roadster chassis certainly feels like it can handle more lean angle, as it has that beautifully planted feel the higher end Harleys have always had. Bikes like the Street Glide and Road King handle better than people give them credit for, and I’ve many memorable rides through twisty roads, enjoyable because of the solid mid-corner feel, reliable steering and grunty, throaty corner exits — and the fact hustling such a big bike through corners like that is a buzz.

The Roadster is a lot smaller and lighter than those big girls at 259kg (claimed, ready to ride), but feels like you could stand up on the seat mid-corner it’s so solid. While the brakes won’t haul you up like a set of monobloc Brembos will, they are not meant to — and they do allow hard enough and consistent braking into corners.

The Roadster won’t have you setting new back road records, but it does deliver a satisfying strop through twisty roads and is arguably more fun than a full-house sportsbike, because it’s very useable — on a sportsbike, the lack of challenge can be boring.

Shorter footpegs would just add to the thrill here, though I suspect the long footpegs are Harley-Davidson’s way of setting the tone for what they expect you to do with this bike. If I owned one, I’d be looking at some aftermarket pegs or take to them with a hacksaw for more ground clearance. Not too much, though — the frame and/or exhaust are next in the firing line.

The footpegs necessitate the “Harley sidestep” when you pull up on this bike — you need to swing your leg around the footpeg to get it down cleanly. I got used to it pretty quickly.

If you aim at dragging an elbow, this isn’t the bike for you. If you want a Harley with more agro than the rest of the Sportster range, however, then this is the answer to your prayers.

Harley knows the 1200cc Evolution air-cooled V-twin is aging, but it has achieved that age with a magnificent ability to satisfy the rider both aurally and with its ability to be treated nice or treated bad, yet still produce predictable, juicy amounts of torque.

It is an engine new-ish riders won’t be intimidated by, but experienced riders won’t tire of easily either, especially when some more of those caged horses are released with some accessory airbox and exhaust mods — Harley-Davidson knows its customers don’t leave their bikes stock for long, and you can find new ways to get more power to the back wheel here.

Harley-Davidson-sponsored rider Matt Mingay was on hand to show it has enough grunt to get the front wheel in the air, if you get the launch exactly right, and it’s fair to say most Harley riders aren’t looking for that sort of performance. The fleet of new riders this bike is hoping to attract certainly are, though, and Matt’s wheelies make the point that the bike is capable of this, but it takes some seriously good technique to get it in the air.

Our day’s ride wasn’t a long one, so this is very much a first impression of this bike — anyone writing otherwise from the short day’s launch is kidding themselves (and you). But first impressions are always important ones.

My first impression of its handling as I linked together a series of corners on Paddys River Road is that its solidity and settled nature mid-corner, although hampered by a predictable lack of ground clearance, was the building block of something really fun.

This road has some serious bumps, and the Roadster deals with those bumps very firmly, bordering on harshly at the rear end, depending on how heavy you are. Its ride is otherwise very good, and as we skimmed from corner to corner in a conga line of giggling journos, it was easy to remain on line, dodging airborne gravel in our open faced helmets.

The sound of 10 or so Harley-Davidson Roadsters opening the taps in quick succession on corner exit is a sweet one — I can only imagine a more liberal approach to the exhaust would enhance that sound!

We flicked from peg to peg through the valley, with uphill sweepers my favourite place to be. The bike sits stoically on the line you select for it, but it forgives small changes without punishment. It’s no sports bike, but its general approach to sporty riding is a good one, done with a very Harley-Davidson flavour.

The bike looks magnificent, paint-wise the styling department has done a really good job, and while I’d prefer a bike with this price tag, $19,495, hiding its wiring a bit better, and with a tidier approach to attaching the footpegs, it certainly looks like a hipster’s wet dream, particularly when you check out some accessories. But is it priced right?

Non-Harley lovers may baulk at that price, especially when you look at what else you can get for under $20K these days — such as the Moto Guzzi 1200 Sport, Indian Scout, Yamaha XSR900 and Ducati Monster 1200 for instance. However none of those have Harley-Davidson on the tank, and none are built in America.

You aren’t simply paying for the badge — the reasons the badge is worth so much are evident on this bike, with the quality paint, bulletproof engine and history that paints the picture of such a machine, all there.

There are bikes with more technology behind them, but in this new genre, the Harley-Davidson Roadster is a solid new player, even with more competition than in the class the brand has dominated for decades. The fresh attack is welcome though, and the bike is easy to ride like most Sportster-based machines, but with a racier look and feel than previous versions. Bring back Harley-Davidson Sportster racing: this bike would be a weapon!

Perhaps as exciting as this new model, a marked departure from previous modern Harleys, is the promise of what is to come. Harley is thinking fresh, and the Roadster is a model the American giant would never have even thought of building ten years ago, even though it could have.

For now, the Roadster is a bike Harley diehards can love, once they get used to the very un-cruiser-like ride position and fresh gauges. Riders new to the brand and after something stylish are certain to venture in the dealer’s door after spotting my favourite colour scheme, Velocity Red Sunglo, in the window. This alone will most likely prove the price tag right after all…

I really enjoyed riding it on our short day. It is a happy bike, making the rider feel good, enjoy riding on more than one level and shuffling one hard through the corners is an enjoyable challenge you don’t need warp speed to access. If the photos and video of this bike are enough to speak to you, chances are the price tag is right for you. Ride one and you will know for sure.

SPECS: 2016 HARLEY-DAVIDSON ROADSTER
ENGINE
Type: Evolution air-cooled
Capacity: 1020cc
Bore x stroke: 88.9mm x 96.8mm
Compression ratio: 10:0110
Engine management: Electronic fuel injection

PERFORMANCE
Claimed maximum power: Not given
Claimed maximum torque: 97Nm at 4250rpm

TRANSMISSION
Type: Five speed
Final drive: Chain
Clutch: Wet, multiplate

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame: Steel
Front brakes: Twin discs
Rear brake: Single disc
Wheels: Five-spoke cast aluminium

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Rake: 28.9 degrees
Trail: 140mm
Claimed kerb weight: 259kg
Seat height: 785mm
Ground clearance: 150mm
Wheelbase: 1505mm
Fuel capacity: 12.5 litres

OTHER STUFF
Price: $19,495
Colour: Vivid Black
Test bike supplied by: Harley-Davidson Australia, harley-davidson.com.au
Warranty: 24 months, unlimited kilometres