Harley-Davidson has revamped the flagships in its Grand American Touring Motorcycles lineup, which is now led by the 2026 Street Glide Limited and Road Glide Limited. To celebrate, I took a two-day ride on the two new Limited models from Charleston, South Carolina, to Daytona Bike Week.
2026 Harley-Davidson Road Glide Special.
The Street Glide Limited and Road Glide Limited, nearly identical twins other than the fairings, replace the Street Glide Ultra as the standard-issue full-dressers, each with an MSRP of $32,999. At the top of the Harley-Davidson food chain is the luxurious CVO Street Glide Limited, priced at $51,999. Now that we’ve gotten money and marketing out of the way, let’s go riding.
2026 Harley-Davidson Street Glide Special.
The 2026 Harley-Davidson Road Glide Limited was my steed for the 250 miles I covered the first day, with a Street Glide Limited reserved for the 200-mile day-two ride. Before getting into the minutiae, I’ll say that the two new Grand American Touring models encapsulate as much pure Harley-Davidson soul as anyone could expect. While technology has evolved and more features have been added, these bikes exude 100 years of their ancestors’ DNA.
Milwaukee-Eight VVT 117 powerplant.
Sure, the cable-actuated clutch still requires a strong hand to operate, and finding neutral is still a challenge, yet the new Milwaukee-Eight VVT 117 motor and 6-Speed Cruise Drive are a lovely combination and pull like a demon out of the hole.
Variable valve timing (VVT) gives the Milwaukee-Eight 117 a broader powerband, improved low-end torque, and improved fuel efficiency when compared to fixed valve timing. The cylinder head cooling has also been redesigned.
While the acceleration is not overwhelming when rolling hard on the throttle at highway speeds, there is certainly enough torque (131 lb-ft at 3250 rpm) and horsepower (106 @ 4600 rpm) to keep up. I rode one-up with empty cases, so performance will diminish a bit if the Limiteds are carrying a passenger and loaded panniers. If you find that a problem, there are four stages of power upgrade avenues from The Motor Company’s Screamin’ Eagle catalog, along with a 131 ci crate engine.
There are four ride modes to adjust how 117 will put power to the pavement: Road, Sport, Rain, and Custom. Sport delivers more snap than Road, which is what I used on the highway. In traffic, Road gets the nod due to being less snatchy. Rain mode substantially reduces power, as one might expect, so save that for slick pavement. I never got around to the Custom settings, as Road and Sport handled my requirements nicely.
Rider safety enhancements are a laundry list of alphabet soup. Straight Line/Cornering Electronically Linked Brakes (ELB/C-ELB), Straight Line/Cornering ABS (ABS/C-ABS), Straight Line/Cornering Traction Control (TEC/C-TCS) with modes, and Straight Line/Cornering Drag Torque Slip Control (DSCS/C-DSCS).
Over the 450 miles in two days, mostly on highways, I never felt any interference. There was little in the way of twisties to test the electronics in challenging twisties. However, the open road provided opportunities to test the linked braking system. It does an excellent job of stopping at any speed using only the front brake lever.
I very much like the addition of Vehicle Hold Control (VHC). It is easily enabled once stopped by an extra squeeze of the front brake lever. Riders see an “H” indicator within a circle showing it is engaged. It is designed to hold the bike on a hill, allowing the pilot to move forward from a standing start without rolling backward. It’s nice not to have to hold the brakes manually when stopped at a long red light.
The Street Glide Limited and Road Glide Limited share the same restyled, illuminated Tour-Pak, which is roomy enough for two full-face helmets, features a 12-volt outlet, and offers a comfy passenger backrest. Tour-Pak lighting is by LED and integrated into the rear carrier surface, serving as running lights as well as brake lights. Storage capacity increased nine percent compared to the 2024 Limited, for a total of 144 liters. The panniers and top case are key-locked and operate with silky smoothness.
Up front, both Limited models feature newly designed lower fairings and adjustable vents to allow or deny airflow to a rider’s legs. They are quite functional and beautiful to my eyes.
Fit and finish on these two tourers equals anything on the road. The mechanical parts are perfectly done. The new wheels rock 10-spokes that split into 20 near the rims. They are cast aluminum with black inner spokes and contrasting bright machine-finished spoke edges and rims. Even the plastic parts and their workings are flawless. The nail polish-like paint is magnificent, and it all blends into a stunning look and feel. I didn’t have a CVO Street Glide Limited on hand for comparison, so one can only imagine what has to happen to justify a $19,000 price jump.
Harley-Davidson has done the cockpit and dashboard beautifully with a 12.3-inch TFT color display. Skyline OS functions nicely, featuring embedded navigation, voice recognition, and Apple CarPlay, though no Android Auto. I found the infotainment system easy to use, and it offers all the data I could want in the way of trip information and statistics. Little lag time between commands and system responses adds to the positive vibes the Skyline OS gives off.
As I wear a helmet, I prefer sound via a Bluetooth headset. However, those who like to blast sound down the road will be delighted with the 4-channel amplifier pumping 200 watts into four Rockford Fosgate speakers. Two 6.5-inch speakers are fairing-mounted, and two 6.5-inch speakers are mounted toward the lower edges of the Tour-Pak luggage carrier. They hit hard, and the sound is clear. Regardless, I still like to keep my music to myself.
With the vast array of electronics, the Street Glide Limited and Road Glide Limited have increased charging power. Their 58 peak amps are a 21 percent increase for 2026. Other rider amenities include TPMS, heated handgrips with a dedicated button on the end of the left handlebar, highway footpegs, and a heel/toe shifter. It’s worth noting that the heel portion is easily removable for riders who want more room on the floorboards.
Harley has upgraded the rear suspension this year. The Showa emulsion shocks are new, and the suspension at both ends has been retuned. Travel is 3.0 inches at the rear and 4.6 inches in the front. Damping is fixed, so the only adjustment is the spring preload. The initial preload setting is performed with the provided spanner tool after removing the right saddlebag. With that out of the way, fine-tuning is available remotely and hydraulically via a knob.
Ride quality is very good on smooth roads, though it becomes rather rough over uneven pavement. I expected more from a Grand American Touring Motorcycle with a price tag over $30k. Again, the Screamin’ Eagle catalog stands ready to take your money if you want to swap the shocks and fork for Öhlins units. Aftermarket companies also offer shocks and cartridge fork kits. If you like the visceral ride, stock is fine.
The age-old question remains: “Should I get the Road Glide Limited with the frame-mounted fairing, or will I prefer the lighter fork-mounted fairing of the Street Glide Limited?”
I can’t answer that question for you, of course. However, if I were choosing one for a cross-country ride, I would go with the Street Glide Limited, though not because of the fairing. The SGL’s lower handlebar is my deciding factor now. Sure, owners can rotate the Road Glide Limited’s bars into a lower position. However, that brings them closer to the rider, and at six feet even, the grips are already close enough for comfort in the stock position.
The cockpits also have different accouterments. The Road Glide Limited has two cubbies within the fairing, with a USB-C power port in the right compartment. The Street Glide Limited’s fairing lacks the expansive real estate offered by the Road Glide Limited. Instead, the SGL has a center drawer under the display with USB-C therein.
I’ve been led to believe over the years that a frame-mounted fairing is more stable, which should give the Road Glide Limited a touring advantage. However, I found little or no noticeable difference in how the two fairings delivered the ride, even at speeds well over posted limits. I prefer the look of the batwing Road Glide’s fork-mounted front fairing, though it’s a classic debate that I will not likely settle.
2026 Harley-Davidson Road Glide Limited (left) and Street Glide Limited.
Over two days and hundreds of miles in the saddle, I encountered varied road types and conditions, with temperatures ranging from the 50s to the 90s. Both the 2026 Harley-Davidson Road Glide Limited and Street Glide Limited performed well and were enjoyable companions. Improvements over past models are nice, especially those related to safety, yet they remain Harley-Davidsons through and through. Except for the usual suspects who reliably complain about anything new, many devotees of The Motor Company’s Grand American Touring Motorcycles will love these two now Limited models.
2027 Suzuki GSX-R1000R + BTR Build Off Winner + Brian Bentley and the Ducati 916
byMotos and Friends by Ultimate Motorcycle
Hello and welcome again to the Motos and Friends Podcast. This episode is brought to you by Leod Escapes. My name is Arthur Coldwells.
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Have you ever wanted to ride a real MotoGP track? Well, here’s your chance! Leod Escapes does all sorts of amazing European tours, including the incredible Munich to Mugello tour at the end of June, or you can try the Core of Catalunya or the Portimão Andalusia trips, both in October. These are incredible touring experiences with the very best that Europe has to offer, as well as riding these amazing tracks on brand new BMW S1000RRs. So for the trip of a lifetime, visit LeodEscapes.com, now!
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In our first segment, Nic de Sena tells us all about his recent trip to Spain to ride the new 2027 Suzuki GSX-R1000R. Suzuki did a slightly different spin on this particular launch where they split the journalists into teams of 3, and had a 6-hour endurance ‘race’ to see how well everyone fared. Nic gives us the lowdown on what it’s like to the new Gixxer and for such long track sessions!
Rider Market from just outside Orlando, Florida, is the winner of the recent Royal Enfield BTR Build-Off competition in the Road Race category. Brian Koster is the Parts Director at Rider Market and he tells us briefly about the machine and parts he selected that made this retro-looking Royal Enfield stand out and take the trophy.
Our guest for this episode is Brian Bentley. A few years ago, just prior to Covid, Brian had a chance to buy a Ducati 916. He’s always been a major fan of the bike ever since it launched in the early nineties. He’d actually been looking for a 748 for a while, but when this great example came to his attention he couldn’t resist. The only snag was that it was completely disassembled. So, Brian did what any reasonable bike-fanatic would do: he loaded all the endless boxes of parts into the trunk of his SUV, headed home to Daytona Beach, and started the build. Brian recounts the story of this incredible machine and what eventually happened to it in the end.
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Here’s quick reminder to check out our monthly digital magazine. It’s filled with everything you want to read on motorcycling, including some things you’ve probably not seen elsewhere. It’s absolutely free and you will find it on the Apple App Store and of course on Google Play as well.
Don’t forget to leave us your comments on our social media—we’re on all the usual platforms at Ultimate Motorcycling. We love hearing your feedback… so good or bad, please let us know what you think. If there’s something you’d like us to cover, we’d love to hear those ideas too!
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