Harley-Davidson Street Bob Test Ride Review

Performance – Powering the Street Bob is an all-new Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine. The 107 stands for 107 cubic-inch which for us in easy terms means 1745cc. This air-cooled V-twin produces 144 Nm of torque at an early 3000 RPM and revs all the way till 5600 RPM. The low-end is punchy and it becomes dramatic in the mid-range, as it pulls very fast to the top-end. Harley-Davidson never talks about power but it’s around 77 BHP coming quite late at 5500 RPM. But all the gameplay over here is the torque. Most Harley engines are air-cooled with an additional oil-cooler and the same one does the job on the Street Bob. As there’s no bodywork around the engine, the heat dissipation is good too. The Street Bob follows the heritage and hence is belt-driven which means there is a definite loss of power but a very smooth transition. There’s traction control also onboard to keep things in control if you start playing mad.

Harley engines define the V-twin rumble; also know as the potato-potato note

V-twin engines are known to vibrate a lot and don’t match the refinement of triples or inline-4s. But the Milwaukee-Eight 107 is built ground up and now comes with dual counter-balancers. This reduces the harshness throughout the rev range and the vibrations are very well contained too. At the redline, there’s some amount of vibrations felt on the footpegs and handlebar. But you would rather notice the V-twin rumble from the engine. The 6-speed gearbox has crisp shifts but it gets difficult to do clutchless while going all out. The clutch is slightly on the heavier side too but that’s fine as it handles the immediate torque coming from the V-twin.

Riding Dynamics – At first, getting used to the riding posture of the Street Bob was a little difficult. But within a few hours, getting the hang of it became possible. Yes, all cruisers are different and if you don’t ride one, you need to understand the bike first then get a move on. The front-set footpegs and the scooped seat make sure the rider is on the motorcycle with utmost comfort at any possible speed. The Street Bob gets Showa telescopic forks at the front and a Showa monoshock at the rear. The suspension is set up in a way that feedback is just about adequate while not robbing away comfort. At 286 kgs, the Street Bob looks a lot heavy yet does not have any mass to showoff.

Street Bob has perfect weight distribution, maintains the line well but windblast robs away the fun

The modular platform which runs throughout the Softail lineup is very beneficial for the rider. Customising the handlebar, changing the seating posture and a lot more. It makes the Harleys unique as per every person. The 100 section front and the 150 section rubber at the rear grip the road well. While a single 300 mm front disc and a 292 mm disc at the rear do the job with ABS. The brakes offer good feedback but the overall confidence while braking isn’t the best. The Street Bob answers to the maneuvers very quickly but the chassis is set up in a manner that it holds the position much firmly.