VOL. 51 ISSUE 24 JUNE 17, 2014 P63
I reached for the front brake with
two fingers and it came back to
the other three fingers was a bit
scary, but by then I was commit-
ted to the ride and eventually got
used to it. In fairness, the bike I
rode later in the day at least didn't
require me to use my entire hand,
but these bikes will never be
confused with motorcycles that
stop well. But it is what it is and
what can you really expect from
a single two-piston disc – front
and rear (292mm front, 260mm
rear). There's also no ABS op-
tion, though none is needed:
These brakes have the bite of a
toothless kitten so they won't get
you in trouble.
The liquid-cooled V-twin sits in
a single-backbone, double down-
tube steel frame and the pack-
age ends up offering 5.7 inches
of ground clearance, which is
more than the lowered Sportster.
It's all made fairly comfortable by
a semi-plush suspension set-up
that features 5.5 inches of travel
up front from its skinny 37mm
fork, and 3.5 inches at the rear
from its dual shocks. In the city
,the Street 750 does an adequate
job of soaking up bumps and pot-
holes, but it may lack a bit of feel
at higher speeds. Although we
rode out into the Texas hill coun-
try on the outskirts of Austin, the
roads weren't twisty enough and
You like the way it looks? The bike
comes in three-color variations:
Vivid Black, Black Denim and
Mysterious Red Sunglo. The Black
Denim and Mysterious Red Sunglo
will run you an extra $495.
we weren't going fast enough
to find the shortcomings of the
suspension. Again, they do what
they were designed to do – offer
comfort at cruising speeds.
We ended up riding the Street
750 for some 130 miles and
while the bike's ergos felt pretty
good for my 5-foot, 8-inch frame
early on, I'd have liked a bit more
space by mile 25. The Street 750
is a bit on the cramped side as its
bars seem narrower as the ride
grows longer, its seat is extreme-
ly low (Harley offers taller op-
tions in its accessories catalog),
and the footpegs start to feel like
they are in the wrong place; they
also feel wide apart for some rea-
son. That's the opposite of the
mirrors, which are so close that
you want to keep pushing them
away. They also give you a better
view of your own shoulders than
what's behind you. But there I go
nit picking.
Again, a lot of this comes from
trying to build a small motorcycle
that's not intimidating to first-tim-
ers. It's called compromise.
Either way, I found myself hav-
ing to stretch my legs quite a bit
on the return trip to Austin, but
this isn't likely to be a bike that
will be ridden long distances.
Thus, Harley's slogan for the new
Streets of "The Street Is Where I
Live" is a good one. That's likely
where most of them will stay. Ad-
mittedly, we were riding the bikes
in 90-degree Texas heat, but I'll
admit to be a bit spent when we
were finished.
That being said, I came away
fairly impressed with the Street
750 as far as the engine package
goes. Yes, it was a bit cramped
but – again – it wasn't made for
long-distance riding. It was made
for jaunts to the local club, a
ride to the university, a weekend
cruise to the watering hole up
the road. For that it will fit the bill
nicely.
The part I found a bit disap-
pointing was the overall finish
