that received a crash course in
high-end suspension technology
from KTM via its WP subsidiary
in furnishing the suspension of
all the KTM products built by
Bajaj in India since 2011, as they
continue to do. Smart choice!
Trail on the Street Rod has
also been reduced substan-
tially versus the Street, from
4.2 inches to 3.9 inches for a
tighter-handling package, while
the wheelbase is also slightly
reduced from a rangy 60.2
inches on the Street to a not
much sportier 59.4 inches on
VOL. 54 ISSUE 19 MAY 19, 2017 P119
the Rod. That's in spite of a
longer swingarm giving extra
traction and a more forward
weight bias, working a pair of
gas-charged, preload-adjustable
coil-over shocks carrying an
external piggyback reservoir to
increase fluid capacity and thus
improve ride quality in offering
4.6 inches of travel (against
3.5 inches on the Street). Dry
weight is a hefty 504 pounds
dry as shipped, or 524 pounds
on the road with the three-gallon
fuel tank brimmed, though it's a
surprise that the Street Rod in
fact has a 48/52 static rear-
Street Rod, and 40.2º on the
left. The 3.5-inch front split-
spoke cast aluminum wheel
now carries twin 11.8-inch brake
discs versus just a single such
disc on the Street, gripped by
two-piston calipers sourced
from Brembo, with a single one
of each for the 4.50-inch rear
wheel. ABS is standard.
The seat height is raised by
4.1 inches to 29.6 inches on
the Street Rod, all of which
model's lights are LED except
for the quartz halogen head-
lamp. The only instrument is
a single 3.5-inch round clock
DESPITE ITS EQUALLY PORKY
504-POUND DRY WEIGHT
THEY STOPPED THE ROD
BRILLIANTLY EVERY TIME.
To prove its
sportiness,
Harley-Davidson
Europe held
its Street
Rod launch
in the curvy
mountains of
Spain. In the
U.S., H-D chose
Florida.
wards bias even with the longer
swingarm.
Specially developed Michelin
Scorcher 21 radial tires, incorpo-
rating the Harley-Davidson name
on the sidewalls, a first for any
bike manufacturer as far as I'm
aware, were designed specifical-
ly for the Street Rod, the 120/70
R17V front matched to a 160/60
R17V rear which replaces the
15-inch rear on the Street. This
helps increase cornering clear-
ance from a cruiser-esque 28.5º
either side on the Street to 37.3º
on the exhaust-side right on the
