‘Look at the size of that!’, ‘Wow, that’s massive!’, ‘What a huge thing!’ all good things to hear, perhaps from the bedroom, but not necessarily a good thing to hear regarding motorcycles, right?
But ‘giant’ sized touring bikes always attract such bold and humorous statements, no matter where they’re put on display. You see outright mass isn’t a problem whilst you waft across kilometres of open tundra, instead, it can become your friend with a reassuring sure- footedness that ‘light’ motorcycles seem to be void of. And if you conjure up in your mind a big touring bike with mass, the chances are you’ll probably be thinking of a Harley-Davidson, or something that looks very similar (like a Harley-Davidson) and there’s nothing wrong with that though because, in my mind, they do still make the best touring bikes. I don’t care about bikes with bigger and/or faster engines and confusing technology because there’s nothing quite like chugging along with a massive Harley V-Twin between your legs and I won’t say ‘throbbing’ because they don’t really do that anymore, especially with their large touring stable machines.
Now even though this new 2014 FLHX Street Glide looks much the same, it isn’t. It’s gone through a lot of mechanical and visual improvements because of you – yes, you. Well not directly ‘you’ but the public in general. They sent many Bookface messages and the like to Harley complaining/moaning about the negative aspects of the ‘old’ Street Glide and Harley-Davidson responded with this, or as they say about the 2014 Street Glide, “It’s fresh, but recognisable.” The whole box of changes for 2014 is labelled the Project Rushmore, er, project, and I’ve no idea why, but it does sound totally ‘A-Meri-Can’. Perhaps Coca-Cola could use that for their festive Christmas tins (get it) or maybe not, but the Yanks do like their badge names more than most, hence this.
Anyway, the Project Rushmore project was set up to improve all eight of their massive touring bikes in the more power, better brakes and upgrades departments, which means the whole bike then? And even though it looks like last year’s Street Glide, which I rode and came away from with mixed emotions (check out previous tests to read over again), this new ‘Rushmore’ version is a much better motorbike on all counts.
The familiar big air-cooled, Twin-Cam, V-Twin has now been punched out to 103 cubic-inch’, or 1,690cc in English/European talk. New cams and a smaller high-flow air box have lifted the torque by 5%, and this 2014 unit now churns out a hefty 142Nm@3,250 rpm. I’ve no idea what the horsepower ratings are and it seems neither does Harley, because they never state them for some reason. But my accurate buttock-metre would predict 70-ish. Yes, yes, I know that’s a bit shite for 1,700cc engine but power isn’t what a Street Glide is about, it’s more about how to eat up the kays in pure opulence like no other touring bike available, besides their other touring bikes. Er, I think I’ve just confused myself more than the winner of the South African 2014 ‘Confused Person’ contest, recently held in Zuma’s garden.
Confusion aside, other changes to improve the ride are much thicker and stiffer forks (up to 49mm from 43mm), much better hydraulic shocks because the old air shocks were about as much use as tits on a fish, so I’m happy with that. And to go with the new suspension are those very cool looking cast wheels that are lighter and stronger and the steering head has been altered in the quest for quicker steering, which was also needed.
To keep these necessary chassis changes in line Harley has severely updated the brakes and now four-piston callipers with ABS take control of this 367kg beast and, for a bike of this weight, these new brakes are remarkable to say the least and bring the Rushmore ‘Glide to a halt in a manner that’s not normally associated with a touring Harley and, therefore, a highly commendable addition, nice one.
Obviously the visual appearance has been changed, well sort of. The Batwing fairing now has a central intake port, which sounds like a woman’s ‘weddin’ garage’, but made me giggle and onlookers giggle when I told them too. New panniers hold more and have a simple one-lever activation system instead of the old complicated affair and superior new instruments, which are dominated by that fantastic 165mm LCD touch-screen planted in the middle. This accepts Bluetooth for your phone, contains GPS navigation and loads of other functions to keep you happy on your travels, all operated by new and, again, less confusing switch gear.
To ride this monster is now a far less physical experience compared to the old Street Glide. It turns unfeasibly quick and is actually quite handy through traffic if you use the crash bars and a built-in width gauge. It’s also a much smoother ride, handles better and stops way, way better than any previous touring Harley I’ve tried. So Project Rushmore has improved everything on or with the 2014 ‘Glide for the better and I enjoyed the highway experience even more now, which is where this type and style of motorbike belongs anyway. The only down side, to poor ol’ me, is the price. R279,000 will buy you the 2014 Project Rushmore Street Glide. Another R11,000 will install the speakers and booster amp in the panniers and then you’ll have the loudest and best stereo ever fitted to any motorbike, and I mean LOUD! Add on around R40,000 for the bigger and better LCD screen and software and a bit more for the Screamin’ Eagle silencers and well - you add it up! Not cheap by far for some (me), but to others it doesn’t matter because they sell every one that lands in SA anyway – so there.
I enjoyed mounting Rushmore and the raw and brash quality of this new Harley and the way it effortlessly devours ground on a long haul so, for me, the Project Rushmore project seems to have worked out just fine – yeehaah.
Bike available from www.hdavidson.co.za also visit www.harley-davidson.com 
