Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/143888
"' t1""""4 ~ Q,) ..0 e Q,) > o Z Harley-Davidson's King of the Highway, the FLT Tour Glide, has undergone several impressive changes for '83. Im~ression: Harley-Davidson FLT Tour Glide Justone point shy of perfect By Chuck Clayton Photos by Tom Mueller & Clayton Man does not live by dirt alone. I like all kinds of motorcycle riding, and the best I've found that can be done without changing clothes is all-day road riding. Last March we rode a new 11 OOcc water-cooled shafty to Daytona and wondered . If any motorcycle could ~at the fun of that one. Well, I thmk 14 I found the answer. The Harley-Davidson Tour Glide that the factory loaned us was a 1983 model, first off the assembly line. Often new, run-of-the-mill production motorcycles have problems, but this one did not. The finish was flawless, show-quality candy apple red ($105 extra). All of the details that we disliked on the 1980 T -model are corrected. The 1,340cc V-twin is mOre powerful and sounds like it, now that the national noise standards are settled. Only one problem remains to be cur~d by the owner. He has to replace the ham-can air cleaner with a more compact unit. Dealers are still forbidden to alter any of that stuff for a customer. The 1983 top-of-the-line "King of the Highway" is lower this year and the suspension is stiffer. This got rid of the yacht in drydock look of earlier Tees and greatly improves the handling. We rode the machine to Road America raceway in Elkhart, Wisconsin, and had a fun time flinging it through the broad turns for several laps. I could ride it around the whole course !it ~5 m~h or faster~ except for one haupm, WIthout scanng myself. That's what I want for road-riding: a motorcycle that can thrill .without chilling. I want to keep riding for a long, long time. This test bike was fitted with the last of the Goodyears, but later production will wear Dunlop tires. A machine as sporting as the '83 T doesn't need white sidewalls, anyway. After riding the rest of the new Harley models around the course a time or two, I decided to stick with the Tour Glide. Although the motor had under 100 miles on it, I wanted to ,see how fast it is. When we reached the shutoff markers at the end of the Elkhart straight, the speedometer needle was off the dial and the tach was touching 5,000 rpm. About 100 mph. Not fast enough to win the Superbike races, but plenty of speed for any emergency. Safety is a big concern for us road riders. I think the new Tour Glide is the safest motorcycle I ever sat on. The Harley management all ride their motorcycles fr~quently, often with their wives or children on behind. They wouldn't want a wobble any more than you would. That is' why the brakes, the forks, the frame are