Harley-Davidson Street Rod XG750A First Look Preview
The mid-weight naked motorcycle craze is alive and strong in America. Yamaha has its FZ-07. Kawasaki its Z650. Others have updated previous mid-weights due to this craze, such as Ducati with its Monster 797 and Triumph its Street Triple 675.
Harley-Davidson wants a bigger piece of this market. Its answer? The 2017 Harley-Davidson Street Rod, which is the third member of the Street family that includes the base 750 and 500.
[Visit 2017 Motorcycle Previews]
This Street Rod offers more aggressive styling, and claimed improved handling over the Street 750. The engine’s design was borrowed from XG750 flat track platform, and makes a claimed 18-percent more than the base Street 750, bringing it to around 70 base horsepower.
“The Street Rod will put the thrill in any urban commute,” said Mathew Weber, Harley-Davidson Chief Engineer for the Street Rod. “We’ve paired the potent new High Output Revolution X 750 engine with a revised chassis and up-rated suspension components to make the Street Rod quick, light-handling and easy to ride.”
We’re heading to Daytona Bike Week to ride the new Street Rod, but for now, here are the Ultimate Motorcycling Fast Facts.
1. The Street Rod’s High Output Revolution X 750 engine produces 18-percent more power, and 8-percent more torque than the base Revolution X 750 engine. This equates to around 70 horsepower, and 47.2 ft/lbs of torque.
2. The engine High Output Revolution X 750 is receives multiple upgrades to produce this power. The new single overhead-cam V-Twin engine features a larger air box, a new dual-throat throttle body, revised four-valve cylinder heads and high-lift camshafts, and a higher-volume muffler. The compression ratio is bumped from 11.0:1 to 12.0:1, and the engine redline is increased from 8,000 to 9,000 rpm.
“We’ve improved air flow and then tuned this new engine to maximize mid-range torque,” said Weber. “It really delivers a punch between 3,000 and 5,000 rpm, power you can always feel and use in real-world riding situations. Liquid cooling helps maintain that performance and rider comfort in stop-and-go urban traffic.”
3. The Harley-Davidson Street Rod uses a 43mm inverted fork. For quicker steering, the fork rake angle was tightened from 32 to 27 degrees.
5. The Street Rod gets a much more aggressive lean angle. The Lean angle is increased from 28.5 degrees left and right to 37.3 degrees right and 40.2 degrees left.
6. The Harley-Davidson Street Rod rolls on light-weight, 17-inch Split 7 Spoke Black Cast wheels. As for rubber, the Street Rod uses new Michelin Scorcher 21 radial tires.
7. Dual 300mm-diameter front disc brakes squeezed by two-piston calipers are used for stopping power. Out back, the Harley Street Rod uses a single 300mm disc squeezed by a two-piston caliper.
8. ABS and the Harley-Davidson Smart Security System are factory-installed options for the Street Rod.
9. The Street Rod’s seat height was raised 3.7 inches to 29.4 inches. The seat was also reshaped for added comfort.
10. The 2017 Harley-Davidson Street Rod gets all new controls. A flat, drag-style handlebar puts the rider in a fist-forward posture on the bike. The Street Rod also features new forged foot controls and aluminum foot pegs that are positioned for a comfortable seating position that also makes it easy for riders to get feet down to the ground at stops, Harley reports.
11. Styling upgrades include a color-matched speed screen, a street fighter-inspired tail, and all-new LED tail lamp and turn signals.
12. The Street Rod weighs 519 lbs. wet. This is 30 lbs. heavier than the Street 750.
13. The 2017 Harley-Davidson Street Rod has a starting price of $8,699, $1,150 more than the Street 750. It’s available in three colors: Vivid Black, Charcoal Denim and Olive Gold.
2017 Harley-Davidson Street Rod Photo Gallery
Just did a video on this. Looks promising! https://youtu.be/Z4eTvodJ458
I love everything but #12. 516 lbs with a 750cc motor.
Wet weights:
T120 541 lbs 1200cc
Street Twin 478 lbs 900cc
SCR950 547 lbs 942cc
XSR900 430 lbs 847cc
V7 Classic 417 lbs 744cc
Hopefully there are enough positives in other areas to make it desirable, weight isn’t everything but it can be a big thing. I will say that it may be the best looking bike in the category, or at least even with the Triumphs in that respect.
Stay posted–we’ll be riding the Street Rod Thursday in Daytona!
Yikes! Weighs more than my Tiger1050.
That is Amazing! Harley released a bike designed to compete with 4 other bikes, and ended up releasing a bike that was worse than those 4 other bikes in every way. I particularly like how they had to liquid cool their V-twin in order to generate less HP than Ducati’s Air cooled V-twin. Nicely done Hardly.