It’s big bike season here at the resident Jalopnik bike nerd’s house, because Harley-Davidson dropped off this gorgeous Performance Orange Street Glide Special with a big-bore crate engine swap from The Motor Company’s Screamin’ Eagle aftermarket performance line. I’ve spent a little time on big ol’ baggers, but it’s probably the style of bike that I’m least accustomed to, so it’s nice to log some miles on this big orange bastard.
(Full Disclosure: Harley-Davidson saw how excited I was about King of the Baggers concept and asked if I’d like to attend the race. The Motor Company shipped me a nice bright orange Street Glide with the upgraded 131ci Screamin’ Eagle motor to ride to the races last weekend.)
The so-called FLHX Street Glide was first introduced all the way back in 2006, and the big batwing bike has been a popular segment of the lineup ever since. The standard model comes with a 107 ci Milwaukee-Eight engine, while the Street Glide Special comes with an upgraded 114 ci version. The aircooled 131 engine in this tester is a $6,195 dealer-install option. I’ve bought whole motorcycles for the price of just this engine. You’re paying for performance, though, as the 131 engine delivers 121 horsepower and 131 lb-ft of torque from its 2147ccs of displacement.
As Harleys go, you can’t really get much more iconic than this. If you asked the average non-rider what a Harley looks like, they’d probably point to the Street Glide in a lineup. It’s a great looking bike, especially in this vibrant look-at-me shade of H-D orange. I would have no problem riding this bike across the country, maybe twice. It’s very big, very loud, very comfortable, and with this engine it’s pretty damn quick. And that quickness comes in spite of its 827 pound road weight.
This bike is packed with hyperbolic numbers. Bike big. Engine big. Price big. $34,894 as-tested price tag. Ooof. This kills the pocket book.
I’ve already logged 700 miles on this bike, so I have some impressions tucked away for my review, but I’ve got the bike for another few weeks, so I’ve got plenty of time and miles to figure out the answers to everything you want to know about it. So tell me, what do you want to know about this Screamin’ Eagle?
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