Taking inspiration from its championship-winning King of the Baggers factory race bikes, Harley-Davidson introduces new, performance-focused ST versions of the Road Glide and Street Glide.
Like Kyle Wyman’s King of the Baggers Road Glide Special racer, the Road Glide ST and Street Glide ST have been upgraded with some Screamin’ Eagle Performance Parts upgrades. Harley didn’t go so far as to install the same Screamin’ Eagle 131ci crate engine, but the new ST models do come with the Milwaukee-Eight 117 V-Twin with a high-flow intake, high-performance camshaft and a new exhaust to deliver the same level of performance as its CVO models. Harley-Davidson claims 106 hp at 4750 rpm and 127 lb-ft. at 3750 rpm for the ST models.
2022 Harley-Davidson Street Glide ST.
The powertrain is blacked out, with chrome pushrod tubes and machined cylinder fins for contrast, plus Matte Dark Bronze finishes. The wheels are in the same bronze color, which go well with either the Vivid Black or Gunship Gray paint schemes.
Other upgrades include taller preload-adjustable rear shocks, offering 3.0 inches of travel (compared to 2.1 inches on the regular Street Glide and Road Glide). If you want to upgrade, Harley-Davidson offers Öhlins-designed Screamin’ Eagle shocks, the same suspension used on Wyman’s race bike.
When you show up on a CVO, you know you’ve arrived and so do all the peons on lesser machines. “Exclusive and hand-crafted paint and designs are executed to a level of intricate quality that is unmatched in the motorcycle and automotive categories,” says H-D, to “represent the pinnacle of style and design.” For 2022, a new CVO Road Glide Limited replaces the CVO Limited, with CVO Street and CVO Road Glides returning, along with the CVO Tri Glide.
Each CVO gets a burly Milwaukee-Eight 117 powertrain, H-D’s biggest and most powerful factory-installed motor.
Other standard features include premium Harley-Davidson Audio-powered-by-Rockford Fosgate sound systems, a Boom! Audio 30K Bluetooth Helmet Headset and the latest comms: “Mesh Intercom Network protocol automatically connects to a near limitless number of riders while in public mode – no more lost group connections when someone goes out of range – and can connect with up to 16 riders in private mode at a range of up to 5 miles (8.05km).” This headset also meets Apple CarPlay’s microphone requirement for the Boom! Box GTS.
Don’t forget the entire Cornering Rider Safety Enhancements package, which includes lean-sensitive ABS and traction control systems.
Perhaps no other manufacturer harnesses the power of its history better than Harley-Davidson. But more than being able to tap into the company history, Harley is equally in tune with the custom scene and unique builds its loyal fan base has pumped out over the years. The 2022 Low Rider and Low Rider ST are perfect examples of Harley blending its heritage with the custom scene, all while adding modern twists.
Both motorcycles share the same Softail platform, meaning you get hidden rear suspension and a more comfortable ride. That better ride is further bolstered by Harley (finally) adding a shock with a respectable amount of travel (for a cruiser anyway) – 4.4 inches! It’s the same one found on the Heritage Classic 114 and Fat Bob 114.
Low Rider S
Style-wise, you get flashbacks of Harleys from the ’80s when looking at either of these bikes. The black and gold combination reminds us of a time when long, curly perms were all the rage. Fortunately for us, only one of those trends is making a comeback for 2022 (hint: not the hair). Then feast your gaze down to the wheels and the gold color adds a nice pop and contrast to the black features found mostly everywhere else. The round headlight on the S model, flanked by the minimal but obvious nacelle is a clear throwback, but look at the gas tank and you’ll see the font – including the drooped H in the name – is directly from the ’80s, too.
All of those style elements give way to the Milwaukee-Eight 117 V-Twin living down below. The most powerful M8 engine to be fitted from the production line short of the CVO models, the 117ci (1923cc) air/oil cooled V-Twin boasts a healthy 125 lb-ft of torque at 3,500 rpm for instant thrust the moment you twist the throttle. Horsepower numbers are actually down a little compared to the CVO and other ST models (more on those in a separate post), 103 hp at 4,750 rpm, but really, in the V-Twin world torque is what really counts anyway. Nonetheless, since there’s no such thing as too much power, the Screamin’ Eagle catalog is already full of options to make the M8 117 flex its muscle even more, if that’s your thing.
Who wants to test these $600 one-piece racing leathers? No hands went up; $600 is about half what most quality suits cost. Obviously, this was a case where the oldest and weakest member of the herd should volunteer to be sacrificed – also the one who does the least track riding lately.
Sedici Corsa One-Piece Race Suit
Sedici is Italiano for sixteen, but it’s the proprietary gear brand of COMOTO, “America’s largest powersports aftermarket retailer,” which brings with it economy of scale and low prices.
+ HighsThe price is right, BobMuch better quality and construction than you’d expectA couple of features expensive suits lack
– SighsThe hide’s not quite as supple as some, but it’s very closeSlightly baggy fit in shoulders and kneesThere’s no beer-gut accordion panel option
I used to like to ride on the street in one-piece leathers back before they became quite so specialized and snug-fitting, but usually nowadays, I reach for the Aerostich instead just because it’s so much easier to get in and out of, and because I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be sliding down a public road at 120 mph.
Also, because it seems to be only a recent thing that one-piecers have zero pockets. Is it too much to ask for one interior breast pocket for my credit card and license? Everything built in the last decade forces me to dig out one of my old fanny packs for everybody to fashion-critique.
Sedici Corsa One-Piece Race Suit
Editor Score:84.0%
Aesthetics
8.0/10
Protection
9.0/10
Value
9.5/10
Comfort/Fit
8.5/10
Quality/Design
8.5/10
Weight
7.5/10
Options/Selection
9.0/10
Innovation
8.5/10
Weather Suitability
8.0/10
Desirable/Cool Factor
7.5/10
Overall Score
84/100
I’ve definitely owned some very nice one-piece leathers in the past, though, so I’m probably as qualified as anyone to pass judgment. I think my favorite was the suit Alpinestars sponsored me to in the mid ‘90s when they were breaking into the US market. It’s still hanging on the rack. Inside, there’s a big `RS Taichi’ label. Must’ve been an Italo-Japanese translation problem? Ixnay on the ag-tay…
When you see Yamaha’s MT-09, your gaze doesn’t go away very quickly. You end up staring at it. Granted, there’s not much to look at, but what is there is eye-catching. From the hunched shoulders of the gas tank to the creases and natural lines of the frame, you can’t help but look at it. But what keeps your vision stuck on it is the face you see staring back at you when you look at it head-on.
2022 Yamaha MT-09 SP
This one’s the uprated version of MO’s 900(ish)cc naked bike champ, complete with an Öhlins shock and cruise control(!) What’s not to love?
Editor Score: 86.5%
Engine
17.5/20
Suspension
13/15
Transmission
9/10
Brakes
8.5/10
Instruments
4/5
Ergonomics
9/10
Appearance
8.5/10
Desirability
8.5/10
Value
8.5/10
+ HighsUltra-comfortable all-day street bike that can do it allFun, playful engineNow with cruise control!
– SighsBrakes could be a little more powerful and/or offer more feelLow ground clearance (when pushing it harder than you probably should)TFT display is average at best
I’m not going to sit here and pretend that face is going to win any beauty contests, but it very well might win a staring contest. It’s blunt, tiny, and looks like a cyclops with gills running across either side. Every time I look at it I wonder what the design meeting back at Yamaha was like when they all agreed to put that design into production. It’s, uh, polarizing, to say the least.
Whatever your stance, superficial stuff like looks fades to the back of the mind once you actually ride the bike. The combination of the 890cc Triple, the comfortable ergonomics, and the sporty handling and suspension just works. So much so that it surprised us by winning top honors last year in MO’s 2021 Six-Way, 900(Ish)Cc Naked Bike Shootout, beating the likes of BMW’s F900R, Ducati Monster, Kawasaki Z900, KTM 890 Duke, and Triumph Street Triple R. We knew it would do well, but to beat out even the 890 Duke – another bike we all love – took us by surprise. The MT-09 is good, of that we had no doubt, but it certainly isn’t perfect. For one thing, it couldn’t quite carve a corner like the KTM. A fairly basic shock is partially to blame for that. But it also doesn’t have cruise control. Yamaha deliberately chose to stick that feature on the up-spec SP model.
The Yamaha MT-09 SP is an example of how minimalist design can still be polarizing.
Twenty-five years ago was three years before Al Gore conceded a too-close US presidential race to George W. Bush, as we collectively decided to kick the global warming can down the road a bit further. Honda’s first bike with a catalytic converter was also three years in the future – the VFR800FI. Just before all that hit the fan, 600cc Japanese inline four-cylinders were all the rage: carbureted, basic, cheap, and expendable. Ninety horsepower in a 420-pound package was all you really needed. And in 1997, the top 600s were still even pretty good streetbikes. The MO crew was positively giddy over all of them.
1997 600cc Sportbike Shootout
By Motorcycle.com StaffMar. 15, 1997
Photography by Jerry Lowe and Tom Fortune
Forget 750s or open-class sportbikes, the real battle for supremacy is waged in the 600 class — these are the best-selling sportbikes made. Here, manufacturers pump huge amounts of money into research and development to produce the quickest, fastest, best-handling machines possible. This space-race for the 600 title has led to machines that out-perform liter bikes of just a decade ago. But which 600 is best, and more specifically, which is best for you? Read on, and join us for a thorough thrashing of the world’s best 600cc sportbikes.It was the best of times, for sure: Motorcycle Online recently rounded up the best 600cc Sportbikes produced, dusted off our leathers and fired checks out of the corporate account like a cheap six-shooter, appropriating funds to rent Los Angeles County Raceway’s quarter-mile drag strip, Willow Spring Raceway’s Streets of Willow, as well as taking over Graves Motorsports’ shop for the better part of a week to have the bikes dyno’ed and track prepped. Lastly, we brought in AMA Superbike star Shawn Higbee and reigning Willow Springs Formula One Champion Chuck Graves to assist Editor-in-Chief Brent Plummer and Associate Editor Gord Mounce in the testing. The point? To carve as many canyons as possible, shred a bunch of tires and fry three clutches at the drag strip? That’s what the four of us thought until Managing Editor “Big” Tom Fortune brought us all back to reality: “This is a street bike test. Remember, tens of thousands of people around the world are going to plunk down their hard-earned money on one of these machines, and in many cases, it’ll be their only bike that they have to live with for years to come, through various conditions such as sport touring, commuting and canyon riding. And less than three percent of the machines will ever see a racetrack. You will evaluate these bikes with that in mind!” That said, we headed to Palomar Mountain, and the testing began…
Harley-Davidson is expected to announce more 2022 models on Jan. 26, including its top-of-the-line Custom Vehicle Operations models. While the full list of 2022 CVO models remains to be determined, we expect a new Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide Limited will be part of the announcement.
The confirmation comes to us after we got our hands on the installation manual for a secondary amplifier kit, required by Harley-Davidson’s Rockford Fosgate-powered audio systems that use six to eight speakers. The installation manual, dated Jan. 26, 2022, makes multiple references to a 2022 FLTRKSE.
In Harley-Davidson parlance, the FLTRK is the Road Glide Limited, while “SE” denotes a CVO model. The manual also provides instructions for “2021 and later” FLTRXSE (CVO Road Glide) and FLHXSE (CVO Street Glide) models, suggesting they will also be a part of the 2022 lineup. The FLHTKSE CVO Limited is mentioned for model years “2014 and later,” which makes it unclear if there will be a 2022 model.
While it’s possible this is a typo, we don’t believe it to be the case, as “FLTRKSE” is mentioned several times. It is also the only model that specifically says 2022 instead of “… and later”, which implies that it is a brand new model. There’s even a dedicated section describing the steps to install the kit to the FLTRKSE’s left saddlebag, while the instructions for the CVO Road Glide and CVO Street Glide are separate, and describe installation to the right saddlebag. A typo would not explain these distinctions.
Here at MO we’ve become fans of the new kid in the action camera room – Insta360. As the brand name implies, its specialty is 360-degree cameras which allow the user to capture all the action surrounding the camera, and decide after the fact which elements of the action they’d like to feature in their video. The beauty of this is that you never miss the action because the camera was mounted or pointed in the wrong direction. We’ve previously tested Insta’s One X, One R Modular 360 camera, and the tiny GO 2 pocket action camera.
Insta360 One X2
Version 2.0 of Insta360’s original 360-degree camera makes it easier than ever to make sure you don’t miss the action, wherever it is.
+ HighsSleek, easy to handle packageFantastic smart phone and desktop appsNever miss a shot again
– SighsVulnerable in a tumbleOptional lens covers rumored to introduce glareStandard video limited to 1440p
The One X2 is version 2.0 of Insta360’s first consumer camera, the One X. That camera made capturing unique perspectives of all the action easy with video modes like Bullet-Time, Hyperlapse Time Shift, and Deep Track automatic subject tracking in post. Flow-State stabilization worked very well and was a huge boon for motorsport video. The One X had oodles of potential for changing the action camera game because of the advantages of a constant 360° field of view, but was let down by buggy file stability and a somewhat difficult to use two button camera interface with a dated LCD screen.
The One R addressed the file instability issues of the One X and added a color touch screen and modularity with a standard action camera 4k lens. It was also first in the action-camera space with a one-inch sensor lens option capable of shooting up to 5.3k, giving it the flexibility of being a 360 camera, standard action camera, and a higher-resolution low-light capable action camera all in one. The form factor was a more traditional chunky square camera body, and the One R camera itself was wider between the two 360 lenses compared to the One X. A wider camera in the 360 world means a more noticeable stitch line where the AI software stitches the two images from each lens into one.
Which brings us to the Insta360 One X2, which really is what the One X should have been from the start – an easy-to-use 360 camera with robust files, a modern, color touchscreen to control the camera and display vital information, and a sleek pocket-friendly profile for fans of iPhones.The incredible smartphone software and robust yet easy desktop software remain. How does the One X2 stand up to the demanding world of being mounted on screaming, vibrating, speeding motorcycles? Smash the video link below to find out. So far, after many months of that kind of abuse making a bunch of moronic videos, the One X2 has become an invaluable piece of camera gear.
Yamaha has filed designs that reveal what the production version of the Ténéré 700 Raid will look like. The Ténéré 700 Raid was shown at EICMA in prototype form as an even more off-road capable version of the Ténéré 700. While the prototype was essentially a Ténéré 700 modified with Genuine Yamaha Technology Racing (GYTR) performance parts, the designed filed with the European Union Intellectual Property Office appears ready for series production.
The filed design is a combination of the prototype and the production Ténéré. The frame, suspension, brakes, and tail look identical to the production Ténéré 700. The design even loses the prototype’s dirtbike-style fender, using the production model’s tire-hugging fender instead. Even the tires appear to be the same Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tires employed on the production model instead of the prototype’s more rugged off-road rubber.
The prototype had machined engine covers, but the engine used in the design looks more like the CP2 motor used on production models like the Ténéré 700 and MT-07. The design’s exhaust also looks identical to the existing production Ténéré. From looking at the similarities, one could assume this is just a mild redesign of the Ténéré 700.
Reader, as you likely know, we here at Motorcycle.com test a lot of bikes. It’s kind of our job. As such, there’s always a continual rotation of motorbikes coming and going from our respective homes. Naturally, where would you put a motorcycle at your home? In your garage, of course. The cars can live outside, hun. The garage is reserved for motorbikes.
Here’s the thing: I don’t have a garage at my house. It pains me to say it, and it even pains me to write it. But it’s true. As someone who has always had access to a garage from birth, to finally own a home and not have a garage is not an easy pill to swallow. There’s a lot of backstory as to why I don’t have one, but this is a product review, not a therapy session. Anyway, as such, bikes that are in my possession for any length of time inevitably live under my carport, exposed to the elements, prying eyes, and, inevitably, the dust and grime kicked up from the many leaf blowers used by the gardeners around the neighborhood – including my own.
Speedway Motorsport Shelters
Speedway Motorsport Shelters is a woman veteran-owned company, who built miniature garage-type shelters out of a need to find something to protect their motorcycles beyond what a typical cover could provide. The main benefits of the Speedway Shelters are its weatherproofing, ease of assembly, durability, and affordability.
+ HighsMuch less expensive than building a shed or garageRelatively easy to setupYou can pack it down and transport, if you wanted
– SighsA better locking solution without bolting to the driveway would be niceSure it’s portable, but it’s not really practical to do soPosition the cover wrong and the shell can fall forward (if not bolted down)
More often than not, the bikes I have are filthy, and despite my efforts to clean them before a shoot, there’s inevitably a spot I can’t reach. Who knew dirt and grime really can get everywhere even sitting still? And why not just use a cover, you ask? I have. But with so many different bikes of various sizes, your typical cover either fits loosely on sporty bikes or has a hard time fitting over big tourers. Either way, dust, and grime still find their way underneath the cover, dirtying up the bike.
Then there’s the matter of security. Despite my best efforts to keep bikes parked away from glancing eyes as much as possible (it helps I live in a low-traffic neighborhood) and block them in with a car or two, I can’t help but worry about the security of bikes in my care. Luckily nothing has ever happened, but the paranoia is very real. And before you ask, simply building a garage isn’t going to happen for a laundry list of reasons I won’t get into here. So, another solution would be needed.
Last month, the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) provided the first look at the new “Supersport Next Generation” models that will redefine middleweight racing class.
Starting with the 2022 season, the World Supersport class (and their equivalents in various national racing series such as MotoAmerica) will add new models such as the Ducati Panigale V2, MV Agusta F3 800, MV Agusta F3 Superveloce, Triumph Street Triple RS, Suzuki GSX-R750, and the 636cc Kawasaki ZX-6R. The primarily 600cc models that previously represented the class will continue for one more season, before the Supersport Next Generation models take over completely in 2023.
It turns out, however, that at least one traditional Supersport model will live on in the Next Generation category: the Yamaha YZF-R6. According to a list of FIM-approved parts eligible for competition, the R6 will be classified as a Next Generation model for the 2023 season, continuing to be eligible to race in the World Supersport class along with the new, larger displacement models.
The list of permitted modifications to World Supersport models lists the Yamaha R6 in both the existing Supersport category and, starting in 2023, the Next Generation category.
One important thing to note: the R6 listed on the spreadsheet is not an all-new model but the same bike as the one released in 2017. The production model was discontinued in 2021, but Yamaha continues to make a track-only R6 Race version (pictured at top) and a version equipped with GYTR race upgrades (shown below with a primer white carbon fiber fairing).
A quarter-century ago, we all squinted a lot since the world was so lo-res, pixellated and buzzy. Harley’s 883 Sportster was still the best-selling motorcycle in the US – $5,345 with laced spoke wheels – and all the other players badly wanted a piece of that middleweight cruiser action. Only one of them could beat the 883, though, and it wasn’t the Suzuki. Sad. But kinda fun in a dull, processional sort of way.
Cruise Light!
By Motorcycle.com StaffJul. 22, 1997
You’re shopping for a new bike. You want something cool, but aren’t interested in the efficient sterility of a standard. Something you can ride slowly and just not care. In fact, the slower you can go and still have fun the better. Something with character, a rumbling V-twin, and gobs of torque. The ride is to be your destination. “That’ll be 14,000 dollars, sir,” advises the showroom salesman.Whoa! You didn’t quite want it that bad. How about a middleweight? More along the line of eight thousand dollars, you think to yourself.
A middleweight cruiser is somewhat of an oxymoron. How to achieve that hefty cruiser feel, yet downsize the weight, displacement, and more importantly, price? To explore this enigma we gathered five of the finest little big bikes available: existing iron like Harley-Davidson’s 883 Sportster, Kawasaki’s Vulcan 800 Classic and Yamaha’s Virago 750, along with Honda’s all-new American Classic Edition 750 and Suzuki’s new Marauder 800. Each one has its own answer to the middleweight dilemma.
Speaking of dilemmas, what the heck do you do to properly compare cruisers for a shootout? You can’t just call up a racetrack and say, “Put us down for Tuesday, we’re bringing up a bunch of cruisers to test!” They’d laugh us right off the phone. And when we called up our resident fast-guys Shawn Higbee and Chuck Graves to see if they wanted to help evaluate the assembled equipment, through barely stifled yawns they told us that they, um, oh yeah, they had to wash their dogs today. Clearly it takes a slightly more laid-back attitude toward life to truly appreciate the cruiser. So we decided to do the typical cruiser thing — we followed the crowds. We motored up and down one of the world’s most popular boulevards, the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, along with a mandatory jaunt up through the canyons to the Rock Store. We rode around town, down long stretches of freeway, and even took them on a several hundred mile trip. All the while looking for that perfect nothing, the transcendence from the physical, the ultimate vibe, and all that other metaphysical stuff.
So kick back, relax, and throw back a cold one. This time we’ll do all the riding.
Marauder fuel tank comes complete with distinctive logo and cool racing-style filler.
While handling was decent, ground clearance was a touch shy.
1997 Suzuki Marauder 800 With much hoopla and fanfare Suzuki introduced four new models for their ’97 model year — GSX-R600, 1200 Bandit, TL1000 and the Marauder 800. Suzuki’s Marauder screams winner with its inverted forks, gobs of chrome, an 800cc motor, and, best of all, a $6000 price tag. It seems you could have it all.With motorcycles, as with life, things are not all that they seem. While it’s true that the Marauder boasts some very cool features, its total package is in need of further refinement.
I rode in the desert for the first time in the spring of 1969. I was fourteen, and I owned a 100cc Bridgestone. Although I had spent some time on a friend’s Hodaka and had done some trail riding on a 50cc Suzuki, I wasn’t prepared for the experience. On the wrong bike, with the wrong tires, wearing the wrong gear, I fell and then fell some more, and hurt myself in places where I didn’t even know I had places.
The guys leading the ride helped me pick up my bike and straighten out the things I’d bent. They gave me pointers, and said things I mostly didn’t understand, like, “Don’t get cross-rutted,” “You gotta steer with your feet,” and “When in doubt, throttle it out.”
I felt clumsy and scared, humiliated by my lack of skills, and ashamed to be the guy at the back of the pack who was making a fool of himself and slowing everyone down.
Like a lot of your readers, I was intrigued by that new Aprilia Tuareg 660. Also like a lot of them, I’m a little bit scared of my nearest Aprilia dealer being several hundred miles away. I mean, I wasn’t really scared until I read all the comments. Should I be worried about the dealer network so much in the modern era? Up to now I’ve only bought pre-owned Suzukis and Yamahas, and none of them has ever given me cause to go inside a real dealership.
Last summer, KTM got us excited with a new RC 8C sportbike, but our interest waned when we realized it was a limited production track bike that was not street legal. Still, that didn’t stop interested customers from scooping up all 100 units less than five minutes after the pre-order window opened. Not that we were surprised about the strong demand, as it has been years since KTM produced a large-displacement sportbike.
We may not have to wait too much longer, though, as spy photographers have spotted a new 890 Duke-based KTM sportbike prototype out for a test in Spain. The test bike was clad in fairings resembling the bodywork on the RC 8C and KTM’s RC16 MotoGP racer, but the headlights and license plate make it clear this sportbike will be street legal.
Unlike the RC 8C, which had the LC8c engine in a Krämer chassis, the prototype appears to be all KTM, with a frame derived from the 890 Duke. The engine appears to be based on the 890 Duke R’s parallel-Twin architecture, but the engine cases are new, suggesting some substantial internal changes. Looking at KTM’s recent history, we expect another displacement bump from the current 889cc, which is why we’re tentatively calling this bike the RC990 (a naked version was also recently spotted testing, suggesting a new 990 Duke R is also in the works).
Spy photographer Bernhard Höhne tells us the test mule was accompanied by a Ducati Panigale V2 as a reference point, giving us an idea of the level of performance KTM is targeting.
