The Goodwood Test: Harley‑Davidson Roadster

Heritage

As the most recent member of Harley-Davidson’s Sportster family, the Roadster traces its history back 60 years to the XL Sportster that introduced a new level of Milwaukee-built performance in 1957. That original XL’s 883cc, overhead-valve V-twin engine replaced the side-valve K series design. The lean, simple Sportster could out-drag most rivals away from the lights, was good for a genuine ton, and became an instant hit. In subsequent years it spawned numerous variants, many featuring the tiny “peanut” gas tank that had originally been fitted to Harley’s 125cc two-stroke Model S.

The Roadster’s character and layout have been shaped by Harley’s contrasting fortunes with two more recent attempts to diversify the Sportster line. The XR1200, introduced in 2008 and inspired by the all-conquering XR750 flat-track racer, boasted tuned 1200cc engine, racy chassis and firm suspension, but sold poorly and was soon dropped. By contrast, the Forty-Eight, whose aggressive image came not from power or handling ability but from its peanut tank, lowered suspension and fat tyres, has been hugely popular. This taught Harley that in the Sportster world, retro style trumps performance every time.

Design

With the Roadster, Harley’s designers aimed to recapture some of the raw, stripped-down muscle that helped make the original XL Sportster, and especially drag-tuned variants of it, so successful in its Sixties heyday. As with any Sportster the visual centrepiece is an air-cooled, pushrod-operated V-twin engine, heavily finned and with cylinders at 45 degrees. The 1202cc unit and tubular steel frame are shared with the Forty-Eight, but the Roadster differs with a 12.5-litre peanut tank that looks almost generous alongside that model’s 7.9-litre thimble.

By Harley standards, the Roadster is almost racy with its flat handlebar, relatively rear-set footrests, low-slung headlamp and minimalist front fender. The stepped seat has just about enough padding at its rear to support an occasional pillion. The chassis features the Milwaukee rarity of upside-down front forks, which are matched to twin rear shock units with dual-rate springs. Braking is via twin front discs – twice as many as the other Sportster models get.

Performance

Sportsters haven’t been truly sporty for decades but the Roadster is quicker than most, and sufficiently sweet-handling to provide plenty of entertainment. That big, air-cooled V-twin lump makes a modest 60bhp or so but is admirably flexible. It pulls sweetly from low revs, shakes just enough to have some character, sounds good if not especially loud through its side-by-side silencers, and stays reasonably smooth as the Harley rumbles towards a top speed of approaching 120mph.

Handling is respectably good too. The Roadster requires a deliberate nudge of the bars to get it to change direction quickly, but steers with an admirably neutral feel and feels positively agile for a bike that weighs over 250kg wet, and whose front wheel is a distinctly unsporty 19 inches in diameter. Suspension at both ends is reasonably firm and well damped, and has generous travel by Sportster standards, contributing to a respectably comfortable ride. And although the front brake requires a fairly firm squeeze, it pulls the bike up hard and is aided by an efficient ABS system.

Passion

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that, but you don’t have to be a Harley aficionado to admire the Roadster’s blend of stripped-down style and classical American engineering. Like most Sportsters this bike isn’t designed to be practical, but even that diminutive peanut tank is good for a respectable range of 100 miles. Although the seat is no fun for a pillion, it contributes to the Roadster’s versatility without spoiling the look. Some scruffy detailing can’t spoil a generally high standard of finish, including paint in a choice of four colours.

Harley will doubtless refine the design with a new-generation Sportster one day, as Triumph recently did with its Bonneville range. When that happens, let’s hope the designers manage to retain the simplicity that has long been a key asset and lives on here. The Roadster succeeds in recapturing some of the magic of a hotted-up Harley from the Fifties by blending traditional V-twin appeal with plenty of attitude, sound chassis performance and enough get-up-and-go to make life interesting. In many ways, it’s the best, most complete Sportster yet.

Price of our bike: £10,445 in red, £10,745 in silver/black

Photography by Lyonel Beylot & Stefano Gadda