2017 Touring Range from Harley

Harley-Davidson’s new Milwaukee-Eight (click here) engine finds its first home in the firm’s 2017 touring range. Here’s what else is new on those bikes next year.

All the firm’s touring models get revised suspension front and rear. That includes ‘emulsion technology’ rear shocks that offer 15 to 30 percent more preload adjustment than before. A single knob makes the adjustment. The 2017 touring range includes the Road King, Road King Classic, Street Glide Special, Ultra Limited, Ultra Limited Low, Road Glide Special and Road Glide Ultra.

Paul James, Harley-Davidson Director of Motorcycle Product Planning, said: “Pre-load can now be adjusted to match the load of rider, passenger and gear without tools or an air pump. Once set, the pre-load will not leak down or require further adjustment.”

At the front there’s new Showa SDBV suspension, which is claimed to deliver ‘the damping performance of a racing-style cartridge fork’ while reducing weight.

Scott Miller, Vice-President of Styling and Product Development Strategy, said: “These are the most powerful, most responsive and most comfortable Touring motorcycles ever offered by Harley-Davidson. The unmistakable look, sound and feel of Harley-Davidson Touring motorcycles rise to even greater heights with the improvements we’ve made this year. You truly have to ride it to feel it – so we’re inviting all riders to go to their local dealer and take a test ride.”

As well as the revised touring range there’s a line of Screamin’ Eagle Performance products on offer, all ECE certified, including several exhaust options. There will also be Stage I, II, III and IV tuning kits for the new Milwaukee-Eight engines.

The firm’s CVO models also get the new Milwaukee-Eight engines, in 114CID form. For 2017, the range includes the CVO Limited, the CVO Street Glide and CVO Pro Street Breakout.

The older High Output Twin Cam 103 will be standard across Harley’s 2017 Softail range, while the firm’s S-Series cruisers get the Twin Cam 110.