Is the Harley still a bike like no other?

Mark Richardson

WHEELS EDITOR

Question: What two things do Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Toyota Prius hybrids have in common?

Answer: They get about the same fuel consumption, and it doesn't matter what you write about them, somebody's going to get ticked off...

Harley-Davidsons cannot be reviewed like other motorcycles.

There's really no reason why not – they have engines and brakes and all the other things that make up a motorcycle – but they have a fanatical following that few other vehicles possess.

As many people love them ("God rides a Harley") as despise them for the poor reputation they used to have for reliability ("Harleys don't leak, they mark their spot") and now have for being the plaything of affluent wannabes (seen Wild Hogs recently?).

The fact is that the traditional Harley-Davidson 45-degree air-cooled V-twin has been around since 1909 and refuses to go away. Harley's done about as much with it as it can – it's a cruiser and a tourer and a chopper and a scrambler and even, in the Buells, a high-performance sportbike.

The company's trying valiantly to woo the next generation with its 60-degree water-cooled V-Rod engine, but it all still comes down to those two cylinders slung beneath your knees and offering a promise of American freedom.

The cruel fact is that the Japanese V-twins do almost everything better than the Harleys thanks to their "blank-page" design and superior development. They're faster, better handling, smoother, efficient and reliable. Oh, and they're cheaper, too.

But that's not what Harley-Davidson is about.

"It comes down to heritage and tradition," says Willie G. Davidson, the company's President of Style. "If that's what you want, then our bikes have it."

Which brings us to the ElectraGlide Classic, not quite the largest touring bike on the Milwaukee fleet (the UltraGlide is a little heavier with its leg guards and rear arm rests and four speakers, etc.) but certainly typical of The Motor Company's current product.

So is it worth the money?

That's a Unique Harley Question for half of all buyers, the people who will never even consider a competitor's machine. These people would pay twice the price for the bike if they could afford it.

But the fact is that Harley-Davidsons have become a lot cheaper over the past year. The Canadian importer, Deeley Harley-Davidson, adjusts its prices three times a year to reflect the loonie's value and the base ElectraGlide Classic now retails for less than $23,000.

(Why can't car manufacturers do the same? Wheels will answer that question in a separate article later this month.)

That's a lot cheaper than its considerably more advanced and better equipped competition, the near-$30,000 Honda Gold Wing and the $27,500 BMW K1200LT.

Yamaha's gorgeous and high-tech Stratoliner S flagship touring cruiser comes in at $22,000 and that doesn't include a topbox (sorry, "TourPak") or CD sound system.

There are some other bikes, but nothing with the popularity of Harley-Davidson, with its massive accessories catalogue and ready-made group of HOG riding friends.

So, now that the ElectraGlide is within range of any competition, then the answer is "yes, of course it's worth the money."

Okay, so how about performance?

That's another classic Unique Harley Question. It used to be that when a kid would wander up to you and your Harley and say, "Hey, how fast does it go?" the only possible answer was "Just as fast as I want it to go, son." And the real answer to that was not very fast at all because anything past 80 km/h would shake the fillings from your teeth.

But that's no longer the case. The current 96 cubic inch (1,584 cc) twin-cam motor, found in my test ElectraGlide, is rubber mounted and remarkably smooth while still maintaining the rumbly quality that's the maker's signature. It was comfortable to ride all day long at the speed of American traffic, plus a bit more for overtaking.

Not much more, though. If you really want speed and handling, either buy the water-cooled V-Rod or pretty much any Japanese or German bike. Or spend lots of money on performance tuning and chassis modifications.

But that would be to miss the whole point. This is an American touring machine, literally a Classic, and it's not intended to race other vehicles but to make its rider feel good about the here and now. It'll power away from the lights with gusto and (probably loud) bravado, and grind the footboards around the corners and demand a large handful of braking pull on the lever.

But cops won't harass you because you won't actually be going quickly enough to break any laws. You'll just think you are.

The ElectraGlide Classic that I rode for 6,000 km to South Dakota and back last month was laden with two adult passengers and bags crammed full. Its engine pinged in furious protest when the throttle was cranked to overtake up to the 120 km/h speed limit in the heat or uphill.

That was the sound of premium gas pre-igniting in the cylinders, pushed beyond their limit. Perhaps the fuel injection system could have been adjusted to compensate, but the bike wasn't going to travel much more quickly.

But most Harleys live at the speed limit or below, rarely overtaking in their long Sunday ride convoys. For such uses, the performance is just fine, thank you.

So the real question is: Does it do what it promises? If you buy one tomorrow, will you be pleased or disappointed?

Only you'll know the answer to that, of course, but some things are fairly obvious.

You'll probably be disappointed by the 40-watt sound system that distorts with the kind of volume needed to compensate for the wind noise.

You probably won't like the windshield, which does not adjust like its competition and which was just a bit too high for my 5-foot-11 frame. Many riders like to peer through the dirty plastic, probably just because they don't know any better, but a windshield top should be set 5 cm below the rider's line of sight for optimum wind protection and clear visibility.

Mine was too high. A shorter windshield is available as an additional option. Why can't it just adjust manually like the Gold Wing's?

And on hot days, you probably won't like the intense heat that rises from the cylinders and cooks your thighs. Other bikes don't do it – why should Harleys?

However, you will like the riding position and comfy seat, especially if you're in the 40-plus demographic who usually buys these bikes. You'll like the engine that lopes along at sensible speeds, and the new six-speed box that lets you cruise at less than 3000 r.p.m.

Chances are you'll like the high-end dealership experience with the million-dollar layouts and the concerned staff, to which Honda and others are currently playing catch-up.

And you'll really, really like the new security system that means the key never leaves your pocket as the bike senses the fob and turns itself on – or locks itself down – automatically with the fob's proximity.

Kawasaki's new ZX14 Concours has a similarly intelligent key fob but that's it for motorcycles. And on four wheels, only the Chevy Corvette has a system that automatically locks itself as the driver steps away.

When you're touring and jumping on and off the bike all day, this is a fabulous accessory. It makes regular keys and equipment seem antiquated.

Wow! I never thought I'd be able to write that about Harley-Davidson. As the company nears its 105th anniversary next year, it's keeping pace in its own way with development, advancing what's important and holding tight to traditional appeal.

Sales keep increasing at record levels. Harley sold an astonishing 349,196 motorcycles in 2006, nearly three-quarters of them in North America.

In Canada, Deeley sold 14,529 bikes for the 2007 model year, which is a 13 per cent increase over 2006. Tourers, like the ElectraGlide, accounted for a 24 per cent increase.

Not everyone will be happy with the price reductions and introduction of modern bike technology. The boomers now buying the bikes and expecting to sell them for their formerly high resale prices will be especially upset, but then perhaps they've just missed the point.

Harley's selling a lifestyle that other manufacturers can still only covet, and if that's a lifestyle you want right now, buying a Hog is one of the easiest ways to get the complete experience.

More videos from Wheels.ca and our partners