When Harley-Davidson Europe invited us to ride their latest Sportster, we were skeptical. They wouldn't tell us anything about it—revealing only that it was part of their Dark Custom line, and that we’d like it.
After all, we're not really your typical Harley folk. But a quick look over our stats revealed that the bar and shield is the fifth most represented marque on these pages.
So we said “Yes”—and breathed a cautious sigh of relief when details of the new Roadster emerged, just days before departure.
For the uninitiated: Dark Custom is a range within the HD line, launched in 2008. It's aimed at a new generation of customer—with bikes that are minimal, raw and open to interpretation. Bikes like the Forty-Eight, or the best-selling Iron 883.
The Roadster takes this a step further. Its sits higher and straighter than any other Sportster, with inverted forks and dual front discs. It’s not your old man's Sporty.
I asked Harley’s people: Why did you create the Roadster? Paul James (below), head of product planning, said: “The brand can stretch in ways we haven’t tried yet.” The inference was clear: There’s a larger audience out there, and Harley wants to speak to them.
Brad Richards (Styling, Creative and Design Director) and Ben McGinley (the designer behind the Roadster) were even more upfront. Their ultimate goal was to build a rider's bike, with the 1956 KHR flat tracker cited as an influence.
Styling
The Roadster's biggest draw card is its balanced stance—which is mostly down to its suspension and wheels. It's sporting similar preload-adjustable, emulsion-style rear shocks to the Forty-Eight—but with increased travel.
The forks are 43mm and inverted, with cartridge damping. And burly new triple clamps make for an aggressive front-end, along with dual stoppers and a trimmed front fender.
The wheels are cast alloy units: 19 inches up front, with an 18-inch rear for an extra kick in the tail.
They're a unique design that warrants close inspection; an offset and split pattern that mimics traditional laced wheels.
Harley-Davidson's designers have cherry picked ideas from the 60s right through to the 80s to stylize the Roadster.
Up top is the same 3.3 gallon (12.5 liter) 'walnut' tank as the Iron 883. Right behind it is one of my favorite bits: The newly designed seat. It's got a definite muscle car aesthetic, with a mix of perforated and solid upholstery, and horizontal pads said to echo the look of old motorcycle jackets.
The rear fender uses the standard Sportster stamping, but with the shortest trim in the range.
The cockpit area tickled my fancy too. It's one of the cleanest I've seen on a factory motorcycle—with a tiny, tucked light and a small, round dial.
The dial really is a standout feature, combining an analogue tacho with a digital speedo and readout. It's integrated with the top bar clamp, which includes a discreet row of 'idiot' lights. My only criticism is that the LED display was tricky to read in bright sunlight (something that Harley-Davidson is apparently aware of and working on).
The bars are also unique to the Roadster. They're the standard Harley 1-inch affair, but with a bend that points ever so subtly towards a café racer setup. I’m not a fan of the stock grips, but I'll take the neat Sportster mirrors, and I'll live with the bulky (yet effective) switchgear.
Finishing touches include rear turn signals that double up as taillights, a license plate bracket that can easily be ditched, and simple twin barrel mufflers. There are also slatted finishes on the exhaust heat shields and belt guard, for that race look, and a finned timing cover bearing the '1200' motif.
Colors on offer include Vivid Black (gloss), Black Denim (matte), Billet Silver / Vivid Black and Velocity Red Sunglo, each with different color pinstripes running down the center. Only the tank and tail are colored: everything else is done in either matte or gloss black, with a subtle lick of chrome to cap it off.
I picked red as my favorite livery, only to be told by a Harley-Davidson staffer that it's not a very popular color among the regular clientele. It's perhaps telling of who the Roadster is aimed at.
There's very little plastic and a generally solid build quality (though different style fasteners in various places had my scratching my head).
It's a mash-up of styles that somehow works, resulting in a bike that rides the line between café racer and street tracker. Look at the Roadster from the side, and it reminds you of the Harley flat-trackers of old. Glance at it from the front, and you might mistake it for an older British bike.
Numbers
Revised styling aside, the Roadster (officially listed as the XL 1200CX) is still a Sportster. That means it has the same frame, motor and drivetrain as the rest of the range.
At its heart is the Sportster's rubber-mounted, air-cooled, 1202cc Evolution v-twin mill. Harley-Davidson doesn’t publish horsepower figures, but lists the torque as 97Nm at 4250 RPM. And that's really what this engine's all about: boatloads of midrange torque.
The power's managed by fuel injection, via a 5-speed transmission and a belt drive. We've already mentioned the dual brake discs up front—they measure in at 300mm, with a single 260mm disc doing duty out back. ABS is optional in the 'States, but standard issue in Europe.
There are some numbers that stand apart from the rest of the Sportster range though. The Roadster has a seat height of 30.9”, with ground clearance coming in at 5.9”.
That's a jump over the Forty-Eight's 28” and 4.3”. Unfortunately it's also heavier than its sibling, with a curb weight of 571lbs (259 kg).
Pricing starts at $11,199 in the US, and climbs depending on your choice of color and optional extras (like ABS).
Ride Impressions
On paper, the Roadster certainly looks like the sportiest Sporty on offer—but is it really any more rideable?
To answer this, Harley-Davidson Europe summoned us to the South of France, to ride the Roadster back and forth between Marseille and St Tropez. The tight and twisty mountain roads of the Côte d'Azur seem like an illogical setting for a Harley-Davidson test, but I’m convinced it was a calculated decision.
Because, really, this motorcycle handles better than a Harley has any business doing.
Let's get the obvious question out of the way: yes, the flashy suspension works. It doesn't go 'clunk' on potholes and rough bits of road, and it doesn't wallow much under braking. And it tracks well in corners, aided by the radial Dunlop tires (developed specifically for Harley-Davidson).
The dual disc and ABS setup works well too. It's the reason I’m writing this review, rather than being peeled off the back of a truck.
As for the motor, I reveled in the Harley's midrange torque and long gear ratios—it'll pull strong from low down, without forcing you to cycle through gears like a madman. Flicking through gears does require a solid hand and foot though, and I pined for a lighter clutch.
There's enough rumble from the big V to tick the American muscle box, but no discernible vibes through the bars or pegs.
But what really caught me by surprise is how much of a difference the revised stance and ergonomics make. I've spent limited time on the Iron 883 and Forty-Eight, and neither turn as quick as the Roadster.
It’s partly due to the aggressive posture created by the raised rear end. But it's also down to the relationship between the bars, pegs and seat (or the 'rider triangle,' if you want to get technical).
My wrists hated the low-slung bars while filtering through Marseille's traffic—but as soon as I left the city they began to shine. They put your body weight perfectly over the bike's central mass, giving a more connected ride feel and making it easier to throw the hefty Sportster into corners.
And, once you've hit the apex, rolling on the throttle to pull the Roadster out of the corner is strangely satisfying (in a "don't tell anyone I just had fun on a Harley" sort of way).
I wasn’t nuts about the mid-placed pegs though. They're in a really awkward place when your feet are on the ground, and even though they worked OK when riding, they do create a slightly cramped pose.
I also would have liked the gear shifter a bit closer to the boot—it became a bit of a chore to reach after a while.
The seat worked like a charm though, with a nice bum stop to lock into while at pace. I didn't throw a passenger on the back, but judging by the size of the pillion pad, only petite friends need apply.
As for the padding itself, it's less comfortable over a long day than, say, a Softail's seat...obviously.
Customizing it
Harley-Davidson knows that many custom Sportsters end up as either café racers or street trackers. And if that's your intention, the Roadster's a solid place to start.
Ben McGinley was quick to point out that the most expensive mods are done out-the-box: namely bigger wheels and improved suspension. That leaves the user free to contemplate smaller mods, like handlebars, running lights and whether or not to chop those struts.
As for the rest, all the usual Sportster spacings and mounting points are in play. (Even the shorter Roadster seat has an extended bracket on the end, to enable it to bolt to the stock seat mounting point.)
So any Sportster part will fit—whether it comes from Harley-Davidson's own catalogue, or an aftermarket parts supplier like Speed Merchant, Lowbrow Customs or Biltwell Inc.
Should I buy a Roadster?
So who exactly is the Roadster for? It's pretty simple: anyone who's always wanted a Harley, but doesn't want a Harley.
If outright performance is your thing, you're barking up the wrong tree: there are bikes out there that handle better, go quicker and weigh less.
But if you want a slice of Americana with stump-pulling torque, decent handling and a sharp, tracker-tinged aesthetic, this is the Sportster you've been waiting for.
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