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/824646
2017 HARLEY-DAVIDSON 750 STREET ROD FULL TEST P124 7 0 5 on the tank. Really, the only downside of riding the Street Rod in town, even if you're allowed to lane-split like every- where in Europe, but Stateside only in California, is heat. Riding in jeans meant I repeatedly had my left inside leg roasted by the rear cylinder's rocker cover, and the fat silencer meant that I had to hook my right leg around it to reach the ground at rest, taking care in doing so not to scorch my jeans on it. Not ideal and quite possibly the shorter riders which the Street Rod in many other ways seems designed for, will have a problem here. However, the great-looking styling and general sense of coolness, coupled with that iconic name on the fuel tank, and the invigorating perfor- mance from that excellent engine which is the main star of the Street Rod show, will surely together combine to make this new model a hit, especially at that killer price. In doing so, the Street Rod and the successor models we can surely expect on this same platform—flat tracker, café racer, you name it—will be a pivotal component in Harley- Davidson CEO Matt Levatich's professed aim to add two million new Harley owners in the next decade, fueled by no less than 50 new models to be brought to market in the next five years. That ambition, which almost cer- tainly only Harley-Davidson of all the world's manufacturers, Japa- nese included, is in a position to achieve, can only be met by radically expanding the spread of customers for the company's products, and that means mak- ing motorcycles like this Milwau- kee Monster that are quite unlike anything with the bar-and-shield badge on them before. However, it also requires Harley-Davidson dealers to come to the party in terms of embracing the Motor Company's brave new direction, and this will require a radical change in attitude from those among them who contributed to the demise of Buell by parking its bikes in the top left hand corner of their floorplans, on the grounds that "they don't appeal to our core customers." Out of sight, out of mind can't be allowed to pertain here, and it'll be interesting to see just how hard Levatich and his men are prepared to come down on uber-traditionalist H-D dealers who try to take the Buell route with the Street Rod and its kind. Because what we have here is a fine piece of progres- sive model development, which, if prominently displayed and properly promoted via test rides and suchlike, will surely attract people to a Harley dealership who would never have darkened its doors before. The Street Rod is Harley's equivalent of the KTM Duke 125/200, a well-priced, cool-looking performance motorcycle designed to attract younger customers to join the Harley-Davidson family. CN 2017 HARLEY-DAVIDSON STREET ROD ($8695) ENGINE: ...... Liquid-cooled, Revolution X V-twin BORE X STROKE: .................. 85 x 66mm DISPLACEMENT: ..............................749cc COMPRESSION RATIO: .................... 12.0:1 FUEL SYSTEM: .....Mikuni Twin Port Fuel Injection, 42mm throttle bodies LUBRICATION SYSTEM:........... Wet sump TRANSMISSION: .......................... 6-speed FINAL DRIVE: ..........................Belt, 30/80 CLUTCH: .......................... Multi-plate, wet FRAME: ............. Mild steel tubular frame FRONT SUSPENSION: .43mm telescopic, non-adjustable REAR SUSPENSION: .....Twin, piggy-back shocks, pre-load adj. FRONT WHEEL TRAVEL: .................. 5.2 in. REAR WHEEL TRAVEL: .................... 4.6 in. FRONT WHEEL: ..7-spoke cast aluminum 17 in. x 3.5 in. REAR WHEEL: .....7-spoke cast aluminum 17 in. x 4.5 in. FRONT TIRE: .........Scorcher "21" Radial, 120/70 R17 REAR TIRE: ............Scorcher "21" Radial, 160/60 R17 FRONT BRAKE: .............. 2-piston floating, 300mm dual discs, ABS REAR BRAKE: ................ 2-piston floating, 300mm disc, ABS SEAT HEIGHT: ................................30.1 in. GROUND CLEARANCE: ..................... 8.1 in. RAKE / TRAIL: ......................27° / 3.9 in. WHEELBASE: .................................54.9 in. FUEL CAPACITY: ........................... 3.5 gal. CURB WEIGHT: .............................525 lbs. S P E C I F I C A T I O N S