The Motor Company recently unveiled the Harley-Davidson Nightster. And my first impression is pretty darn positive.
If you found the Harley-Davidson Sportster S to be kinda meh, then you might find this bike to be something a little more interesting. While it’s not a wild departure for the brand, it is something that moves in what I see as the right direction.
Let’s take a closer look at this motorcycle and talk about why it could be worth your money.
The Harley-Davidson Nightster Brings a New Revolution Max Engine and Some Killer Styling to the Lineup
Okay, so what is the Nightster? In terms of the Harley lineup, the bike sits in the Sport line under the Sportster S. It has an MSRP of $13,499, and is designed to capture a new era of rider for HD. In other words, The Youths.
As an aging Youth (I’m a Millenial), I’ll say this bike could do it. It has that low-slung, sorta cafe, sorta custom style that a lot of riders (including myself) like right now. Harley could have a winner here. The price tag isn’t rock bottom, but then I didn’t expect it to be. We’re talking Harley after all.
But what really, IS the Nightster? It’s a sleek performance cruiser with the classic Sportster silhouette with an updated powertrain, tech, equipment, and more.
The gem of this new bike is the Revolution Max 975T engine. This liquid-cooled 60-degree V-Twin engine was designed to provide good torque at low RPM and still give you power through the rev range. The numbers here are 90 hp and 70 lb-ft of torque.
Okay before we go any further, I need to talk a little bit more about this engine. The bike uses it as a stressed member of the chassis. What this means is that you don’t have a traditional hoop-style frame cradling the engine. This reduces weight and makes the bike thoroughly modern. It’s not innovative for the industry, but it’s a good move by Harley, which tends to use yesterday’s technology and then charge tomorrow’s prices.
The bike still weighs 481 pounds, which is no featherweight ride, but for a Harley, that’s light. The seat height is a low and super-approachable 27.8 inches. It also comes with a lot of good features like dual-channel ABS, traction control, Drag-Torque Slip Control System (mimics a slipper clutch), and three ride modes: road, sport, and rain.
One last thing I’ll note that I like a lot more than the Sportster S is that the Nightster appears to have (at least to my eyes) more of a mid-foot-control setup.
This puts the rider in more of a sporty riding position, at least in my mind. Because of this, it’s preferable. Pair that with Harley’s smart move of NOT using the disgustingly huge exhaust you see on the Sportster S for the Nightster, and you have a handsome machine.
Learn more at Harley-Davidson’s website.
You know the bike is allright when the millenial tells you so. Good one.
Ha! I really dig it.