The Goodwood Test: Harley Davidson Low Rider S

Heritage

Harley-Davidson has been building big V-twins for more than a century, so there’s a lot of history behind the Low Rider S. But if you’re talking about big, black, bikini-faired Harleys designed with an eye for performance, the S-for-Sport’s inspiration is surely the XLCR Café Racer, which flopped on its launch in 1977 but is now fondly remembered for its style, if not for its speed.

The Low Rider S is a bit of a Milwaukee mongrel. As the name suggests it’s a development of the standard Low Rider, one of Harley’s best loved models, which dates back to the eponymous original that was a far more successful product of 1977. But while the standard Low Rider comes from the Dyna family of rubber-mounted V-twins, this newcomer joins the Fat Boy S and Softail Slim S in a family of S models, all powered by the 1801cc engine from Harley’s exotic Custom Vehicle Operation special editions.

Design

The Low Rider S is sporty only by Milwaukee’s famously laid-back standards, but it’s basically a hotted-up version of the standard Low Rider, and is sufficiently aggressive to justify that S in its name. Its near-flat handlebar sits behind a bikini fairing, and combines with the ultra-low seat and mid-mounted footrests to give a riding position that is slightly sportier than the standard model’s.

Key feature is the aircooled, 45-degree V-twin powerplant, which Harley calls a Screamin’ Eagle Twin Cam 110. It’s basically the standard Low Rider’s Twin Cam 103 lump (103 is its capacity in cubic inches) bored-out from 1,690cc to 1,801cc. The S-model also gets a high-performance air filter sticking out on the right, and a new twin-pipe exhaust. That is finished in black, as is just about everything else including the fairing, gas tank and tailpiece. There’s also plenty of black on the upgraded suspension set-up of beefy telescopic forks and twin rear shocks, both from Showa of Japan.

Performance

The Low Rider S is a classical hot rod, designed primarily for straight-line thrills. The big motor’s peak output is only about 80bhp, but its low-down grunt makes the S-bike seriously quick. When you wind back the throttle at low speed, you’re shoved against the seat-back as the Harley’s sweet throttle response and huge reserves of midrange grunt send it charging forward like a rampaging buffalo. It rips through 100mph almost as quickly as you can keep hooking gears, and stays smooth thanks to the engine’s rubber mounting.

The chassis backs it up, providing excellent high-speed stability along with respectably light and neutral steering for a bike with cruiser style kicked-out front forks. Like most Harleys the S-model is heavy (over 350kg with gas) but its suspension works well, delivering decent ride quality plus control in the bends. There’s plenty of stopping power from twin front discs with radial calipers. For a cruiser there’s even good grip and ground clearance, although solid bits touch down if you get too enthusiastic in corners.

Passion

The S-model’s storming straight-line performance and capable chassis impress, and its character very much adds to the experience. Even at idle there’s something distinctly malevolent about the thing, with that huge rubber-mounted engine jiggling about. When you blip the throttle if smooths magically, while the slurping from the air intake by your right knee is drowned by the din from the shotgun pipes. Magical – and that’s before you’ve even experienced the shoulder-wrenching acceleration.

This Harley is also respectably practical, provided you don’t want to carry a pillion. The bikini fairing gives some wind protection without generating much turbulence; the big tank is good for over 150 miles; the seat would let you ride that far in one hit. Cruise control comes standard, contributing to the long-legged feel. At almost £15,000 the S-bike ain’t cheap. But it costs much less than the exotic CVO models that share its engine, and delivers an adrenaline hit to compare with any previous aircooled Harley streetbike.

Price tag of our bike: £14,995