Yesterday I was able to test ride a Harley-Davidson Street
750. San Diego Harley-Davidson was
hosting Demo Days ’16. They had a great
variety of bikes-everything from Sportsters and Streets to V-Rods and Dynas up
to full dressers. As expected, the
demand for test rides tended toward the larger bikes. Since I have written on the Streets before, I
actually went to the demo rides to try out a Street. I have owned a Sportster and a Fat Boy clone,
so re-riding one of those bikes wouldn’t have been a demo ride anyway.
So after a short wait, we got a short ride brief from the
instructor coaches and HOG road captains, we went to our bikes. First impression was that these are
definitely smaller bikes and marketed well as in-town and commuter bikes. Everything seemed kind of compact and
close. I’m 5’10”, about average for a
guy. The reach to the handlebars and
pegs was easy but probably would have felt cramped on longer rides. The grips and pegs are very basic, bottom of
the line rubber. The bike fired right up and idles easily. Of special note, the clutch lever is much
lighter than I remember my Sportster being.
This is a big improvement for a commuter bike, as I recall lots of “clutch
cramp” when stuck in rush hour traffic and not able to lane split. There is also a lot of engagement “sweep” as
you let out the clutch lever and the friction zone engages. With the torque this bike makes, this is an
improvement from trying to learn or commute on a Sporty.
One reason Harley makes both a 500 and 750 Street model is
the 500 is the bike used for their new riders class. The coach I spoke with said it was a great
bike for the course. I can see this-the
bike just felt well laid out and basic without extras to confuse or scare a new
rider. I’m not sure I would want a 500
somewhere like San Diego, where you almost have to get on the freeway to get
anywhere. While the 750 was able to
cruise with the big bikes the short time we were on the freeway, a 500 would
probably struggle to quickly accelerate on shorter ramps or to get out of tight
spots with a larger rider onboard. I
remember some commutes and rides on my Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic when I was
looking for another gear as I was topping out the power band in 5th.
Of interest, there are few accessories for the Street as a
first year model, but both NY Mike and the employees at SD Harley said more
were coming, including bags. This will
be interesting to see, and an improvement in my mind. As a motorcycle computer who doesn’t like
riding with a backpack, saddlebags or hard bags are a must. Hopefully they will be functional as the rear
fender area behind the shocks isn’t very large-maybe even shorter than
Sportsters.
At $8,000 the Street 750 isn’t cheap, but it is a solidly
built, well-laid out basic cruiser by an iconic motorcycle company. I think it’s a better first bike than a
Sportster, and depending on your long-range riding plans probably a better
commuter. For longer rides a 1200
Sportster with highway pegs and a larger screen would be a better bike, but for
reasonable days and commuting I’d recommend checking the Harley-Davidson Street
out!
