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2017–2020 · Tourer · Buyer's Guide
Connected Torque In A Fairing
The Road Glide Special is built around its frame-mounted sharknose fairing, and that one decision shapes everything else. The fairing carries its own weight instead of hanging off the steering head, so the front end stays calm when a truck passes or an open plain throws a crosswind at you. Behind it sits the 1745 cc air-cooled 45° V-twin, rated at 89 hp and 111 lb-ft, running a six-speed box and a belt. The Special trim adds the BOOM! Box 6.5GT infotainment, Reflex Linked brakes with ABS, and a black powder-coated engine under chrome covers.
This is a bagger that takes itself seriously as a tourer. With 64.0 in of wheelbase and 853 lb wet, it settles into a long, level rhythm and holds it, which is exactly what a rider wants on a four-hundred-mile day. It ages the way a chrome-and-belt Harley ages: mechanical, honest, and easy to keep looking right, with an aftermarket deep enough to rebuild its character twice over. The honest caveat is the electronics package. You get ABS and nothing beyond it, no traction control and no ride modes, and the front fork offers no adjustment at all.
Spec sheets don't ride bikes, but they set the baseline.
| Power | 89 hp (66 kW) |
|---|---|
| Torque | 111 lb-ft (150 Nm) |
| Displacement | 1745 cc |
| Engine | 45° V-twin |
| Cooling | Air-cooled |
| Gearbox | 6-speed |
| Final drive | Belt |
| Fork | Telescopic |
| Front brake | 300 mm |
| Front tire | 130/60B19 |
| Rear tire | 180/65B16 |
| Wheelbase | 64.0 in (1625 mm) |
| Seat height | 27.0 in (685 mm) |
| Wet weight | 853 lb (387 kg) |
| Fuel capacity | 6.0 gal (22.7 L) |
Equipment check
Chassis
Comfort
Connectivity
Lighting
Safety
The first thing you notice is how low it sits under you. At 27.0 in the seat puts your boots flat on the pavement, and the 853 lb only exists while you are walking it around the parking lot. Above a jogging pace it vanishes. At idle the big V-twin sends a slow, heavy pulse up through the floorboards, and you hear the beat before you feel it in your hands. That pulse smooths out once you are rolling, and by cruising speed your palms and mirrors go quiet, which is the part that actually decides whether you finish the day fresh. Behind the fairing the air is clean and your helmet stays still. The 6.0 gal tank sets a comfortable rhythm between stops. It feels big and deliberate, and after an hour that stops being a compromise and starts being the point.
I haven't put my own miles on this one for a test. What follows comes from years of listening to people who actually live with Road Glide Specials: talk at bike nights, conversations that start beside a parked bike at an event, and the mail riders send once they have a season or two behind them. Across all of it the accounts line up far more than they split.
Torque comes up before anything else. Riders describe a motor that answers from just off idle, so a pass or a loaded two-up run means rolling the throttle rather than hunting for a gear. Refinement sits right behind it, raised by fewer people but in the same even tone: quieter and less shaky than the big twins many of them traded in, with none of the character they came to Harley for gone missing.
Styling collects nearly as much comment as the motor. Owners talk about the blacked-out engine under chrome, the chrome exhaust and bag hardware, and a low stance that arrived that way from the showroom instead of costing them a shop visit. They like the looks it pulls, moving or parked. The touchscreen with navigation, phone pairing and audio earns steady approval for being clear to work. Distance is where the rest of the praise sits, with the seat, the upright posture and the wind shelter named again and again by riders who finish long days in decent shape, and the bike holding a composed line once speeds come up.
Weight leads the other column. Over 850 lb ready to ride shows itself any time the pace drops to walking speed, and owners say tight maneuvering takes planning and forearm. Engine heat is the next recurring one, with riders pointing at what the air-cooled twin puts onto their right side in stop-and-go traffic. The suspension takes criticism on broken pavement, firmer than these riders expect from a touring machine. Push the pace and hard parts touch down sooner than some would like. The screen, well liked otherwise, washes out under a bright sky and goes hard to read from certain angles.
Secondary clutch actuator failure (Recall 18V734)
The secondary clutch actuator cylinder may leak fluid internally, causing loss of clutch disengagement and potential control issues. Affects 2017–2018 models.
Premature lifter or oil pump issues
Some early 2017 Milwaukee-Eight 107 engines suffered lifter noise or oil pump failures, potentially leading to top-end damage. Later years largely resolved.
Infotainment screen visibility in sunlight
The 6.5-inch touchscreen can become unreadable in direct sunlight, a common complaint among owners.
Where this Harley-Davidson Touring Road Glide Special FLTRXS pulls ahead of — or falls behind — its rivals on the numbers, and the typical bike in its class on character.
Power
Torque
Displacement
Wet weight
Seat height
Forget spec-sheet bragging. Here's who the Touring Road Glide Special FLTRXS is actually built for.
Sound, presence, and the ride there without a beating. This one carries the brand weight you want and stays steady enough on the interstate that you arrive ready to enjoy the week.
Made for A1A — Florida Atlantic Coast · Black Hills / Sturgis Rally Hub · Daytona Main Street / Bike Week
Big days suit it. Real weather protection, a 6.0 gal tank, and a rock-steady chassis make park-to-park runs easy, but you ride it two-up on ABS alone with no traction control.
Made for Beartooth Highway · Blue Ridge Parkway · Going-to-the-Sun Road
It will do a Blue Ridge day happily at a flowing pace, though 853 lb and floorboards set the ceiling. Buy it for the comfort and the sound, not for quick direction changes.
Made for Black Hills · Blue Ridge Parkway · Cherohala Skyway
If you're cross-shopping the older generation, here's what changed.
Previous generation · 2015–2016
Sound, Style, Highway Soul
Compare to the previous model →If this one isn't quite the fit, these are the bikes worth riding back-to-back against it.
Any price note compares both bikes at the same age — the youngest age both have on the used market — against this Harley-Davidson Touring Road Glide Special FLTRXS. “cheaper/pricier” is what that bike costs second-hand, not how worn it is.
