FLTR Road Glide

Story by Mark Barnett, Photos courtesy of Harley-Davidson Photography & Imaging

The Road Glide’s ancestry dates back to 1980 when it was called the Tour Glide and powered by a Shovelhead motor; it rocked the Harley world by having its fairing firmly attached to the frame unlike anything before it. The rest of Harley’s touring bikes past and present have either a windshield or fairing attached to the front forks so that it turns with the handlebars. Harley riders have a strong sense of tradition and the old Tour Glide didn’t sell that well. It disappeared from the line up in 1997 but made a triumphant return to the line up in 1998 with a much more streamlined version of the fixed, non-moving fairing.

Riders are in two camps over the FLTR. Those who came into the Harley world from riding Goldwings or BMWs feel much more at home with the FLTR, the fixed fairing being the norm for other makes. Harley-Davidson traditionalists like the look of the regular “Bat Wing” fairing on the Ultra Electra Glides and Classics. The two are very different and there is no real way to decide which one is best for you other than testing them both. The FLTR fairing windshield is much further away from the rider and typically you look over it, not through it. But some riders don’t follow this rule and mount tall shields to look through. I’ve found that the windshield height is critical on this fairing, so plan to play around with it a little. I have seem long time “Bat Wing” riders switch to FLTR’s and like them. You definitely get a little lighter steering when the weight of the fairing is held by the frame and not the front end.

The FLTR has become very popular with customizers, particularly in California where they are lowered, have their wheels changed, usually to a 21-incher in the front, and wild paint applied. Harley saw this happening and quickly put out their own Screamin’ Eagle version of the FLTR in 2000. The bike does respond well to customizing and some of the most awesome modified dressers have been Road Glides.

As for the rest of the bike, the Road Glide is part of the touring family which gets the rubber-mounted frame. There are no balancers in the engine, the engine is allowed to move in a vertical plane, being held by a series of stabilizers which prevent any side-to-side movement and isolate the rider from any vibration at all, except at idle where they do shake. For 2009, like all models in the touring family, the Road Glides received an all new, stiffer frame, different wheel sizes, a wider rear tire, different exhaust, and more cornering clearance.

To me this model has always been one of Harley-Davidson’s most attractive bikes, after the 1998 upgrade, not necessarily before. I rode them before that as well, since I started out on BMW’s in the 1970’s and the Tour Glide was the closest to those when I started riding Harleys in 1980. The fixed fairing always felt right to me, though recently I’m able to jump on and appreciate either.

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