2016 Harley-Davidson Road Glide® Special

Control

• Project RUSHMORE – Control: Here are some of the innovations Project RUSHMORE led to: the Reflex™ Linked Brakes with ABS, the Daymaker™ LED headlamps and fog lamps, brighter brake lights, and a steering head with stiffer front forks. Locked-up tires are now history even when there’s wet pavement. We’ve made it feel even better to lean your way through a turn. Now you can see better. And we’ve made you more conspicuous to the cage-driving public. Because one thing we all agree on is this: bikes that work better make riders who ride better. Take a ride. See how good you can be.
• Six-Speed Cruise Drive® Transmission: You want a ride that rumbles, not begs for mercy when you lean on it a little. The Six-Speed Cruise Drive transmission provides smooth, quiet shifting and reduces engine speed on the highway, so you get a better match between engine turnover and road speed. And the Isolated Drive System makes acceleration flow in a smooth, steady stream from your wrist right down to the pavement. It's a rare ride when a bike responds like this, and a low growl goes a long way when you're opening up the road ahead.
• Brembo® Brakes: Confidence. Control. High-performance dual disc Brembo brakes offer consistent stopping power at all speeds. The 4-piston front and rear caliper with dual front rotor brake system is state-of-the-art and top-of-the-line. It's just another way The Motor Company puts a high level of detail into their bikes to give you peace of mind throughout your journey.
• Dunlop® Multi-Tread™ Blackwall Tires: The 180 mm back tire is engineered to do more than fill out the rear fender and put a bigger patch of rubber on the road. Dunlop Multi-Tread technology uses harder compounds at the center and softer on the sides for a tire that still knows how to knuckle down on corners. Perfect for making this bike agile on every curvy stretch of road. And the way it feels going through an abrupt off-camber turn will put a grin on your face that'll last to the next state line.
• Dual Daymaker Reflector LED Headlamps: Here are the stats: up to 67% in spread (light across the road) and 25% in punch (light down the road). These are the numbers. What they translate to on the road is not feeling like it's time to park the bike when the sun goes down.
• H-D® Smart Security System with Hands-Free Fob: The factory-installed next-generation security system features a hands-free fob that automatically arms and disarms the vehicle's electronic security functions as you approach and walk away from the bike. Stick the fob on your ignition key ring and let it do all the work. It's this attention to detail and security that make Harley-Davidson® motorcycle unique.
• Steering Head and Front Forks: Whether it’s a big sweeping curve or a set of tight turns, a Project RUSHMORE motorcycle feels rock-solid in the corners. We stiffened up the front end, increased the fork diameter to 49 mm (an increase of 18%) and retuned the damping for a smoother ride. The responsiveness is dialed in.
• Ergonomically Designed Hand Controls: It’s hard to enjoy the ride or keep your eyes focused on what’s coming down the road when you’re fussing and bothering with the switches on your handlebar. So when we built the Project RUSHMORE motorcycles, we worked over the hand controls on our touring bikes with as much passion as we worked over our engine. We made the shape more ergonomic and located and angled them to fall right under your thumbs. We added left-hand cruise for easy activation, toggle switches to control infotainment functions, and an easily locatable trigger switch to control and scan through functional readouts. And we improved the feel to give you a confidence-inspiring click at every push of a button. Even the dash panel switch got better. And it’s all prewired for parts and accessories, which even lets you customize with less fuss and bother.
• Reflex Linked Brakes with ABS: No doubt about it, there are times when you need to haul things down in a hurry. And you don’t get to pick those times. Or decide whether or not they occur when you’re on a flat, smooth, dry, perfect stretch of pavement. That’s why our touring models feature the Reflex Linked Brakes with ABS. ABS turns a locked-up front wheel or a rear wheel skid into a relic from riding’s history. And the front and rear brakes are electronically linked to provide exactly the right amount of brake to each tire no matter what the road condition is. No matter how good you are, this will make you a better rider.
• High Flow Airbox: Our design philosophy can be summed up pretty simply: form follows function, but both report to emotion. This airbox is a prime example of that. It’s the most functional airbox we’ve ever put on a Harley-Davidson touring bike. It lets the engine breathe better for more power, but it’s also designed to give you more legroom and provide better airflow around the rider. Emotion? That’s the part you feel when you look at it sitting right at the center of your V-twin engine.
• High Output Twin Cam 103™ Engine: Asking riders if they’d like more passing power is like asking them “Would you like more beer in the pitcher?” when they've reached their final destination at the end of a long, dusty ride. Everybody wants it, and the High Output Twin Cam 103 engine is 103 cubic inches of Harley-Davidson V-twin you can rely on to deliver it. The airbox delivers increased intake airflow and the cam optimizes phase and duration. The result: better low-end torque and faster 60 to 80 mph 5th gear roll-on to get you around that 18-wheeler. In the tradition of the Flathead, Knucklehead, Panhead, Shovelhead, Evolution® Twin Cam 88® and Twin Cam 96™ engines that came before it, the High Output Twin Cam 103 engine is raising the bar for the feeling an engine delivers to the rider. There’s a reason we’re called the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. Once you send some fuel to this engine, you’ll have no doubt whose it is.
• Project RUSHMORE – Engine: As every rider knows, the engine is at the heart of the experience of riding a motorcycle. The amount of torque and horsepower it delivers over the RPM range is in direct proportion to the feeling it gives you when you roll on the throttle. We know what riders want from a motorcycle engine because we’ve been building them for 110 years. Project RUSHMORE gave us the opportunity to dial it in just right. We conducted thousands of road tests with real riders giving us feedback to build the next iteration of the legendary Harley-Davidson engine. The consensus was: we want more. More low-end torque, more passing power, more perfection in the tone of the exhaust note, more of the feeling we ride a motorcycle for. And last year, we unveiled the engines that deliver it. This is the next level of Harley-Davidson V-twin engine. And it proves, once and for all, the customer is always right.
• Twin Cam 103 Engine: The knowledge of what makes an engine truly move a rider runs deep at The Motor Company, and it was put to good use when we created the Twin Cam 103 engine. We sweated bullets perfecting every cubic inch, pushing design and technology forward. And we did it all without compromising one bit of Harley-Davidson's unique styling. Evolved, yet carrying on the legacy of the Flathead, Knucklehead, Panhead, Shovelhead, Evolution and Twin Cam 88 and Twin Cam 96 engines that came before. The performance and durability are a direct result of the untold miles logged on the V-twin since 1909 and the proud heritage that comes from a century's worth of commitment to life on two wheels.

Equipment

• California emissions: $200

Feel

• Project RUSHMORE – Convenience: If you want the ride to be truly epic, you have to sweat bullets to make the little things work exactly right. This is what Project RUSHMORE was all about. Now you have saddlebags that can be easily opened with one hand. Compartments that open with one touch. And we’ve increased the storage space on these machines without ruining the sleek, road-eating look of the bike. It all adds up to hundreds of little moments where things just click conveniently into place. Because there can be no imperfections in the quest for the perfect ride.
• One-Touch Design Philosophy: Here’s the rule we laid down for every compartment cover and saddlebag lid on our touring line: if it doesn’t open with the single touch of a button or one hand, while wearing gloves, it doesn’t go on the motorcycle. Because in all our conversations with riders, we've never encountered a single individual who wanted to have to put something on the ground before he could store it in a saddlebag.
• Saddlebag Design: Don’t let the sleek look of these saddlebags deceive you. The look is tight on the outside, but things are roomy on the inside. You want storage and these deliver bigger than ever. The hinges are simple and clean and the lids open with one touch of one hand. The lock is tight and integrated into the latch where you can put the key in without the danger of scratching your premium paint. Welcome to the next level of the bagger.
• Standard Battery Charging Harness: No question a battery charging harness is a must-have on a motorcycle. Now it’s standard. So you don’t have to waste even the ten minutes it takes to install one on some sunny Saturday when you could be riding.
• One-Touch Fuel Door: One button, one touch, fuel door open. Any questions?
• High Output Accessory Connector: Touring means maximum comfort in all conditions and the capacity to add whatever enhances and personalizes your ride. The high output charging system provides an electrical capacity robust enough for your add-ons: heated vests, heated seats, heated handgrips, lights to showcase the engine, you name it. So if you're hell-bent on two-wheeling it, we make sure you've got the juice to do it your way.
• Project RUSHMORE – Comfort: We dialed in the comfort of our machines the hard way: over thousands of miles in all kinds of riding conditions on every kind of street, road and highway ever laid down in pavement. Experienced riders and passengers putting in long hours in the saddle and giving us feedback on every aspect that contributes to comfort on the road. Airflow, heat management, passenger space, back rests, seat textures, legroom and hand controls all went under the hard microscope of the road and got tested and re-tested by real riders and worked and re-worked by us until we were satisfied we had built the most comfortable machines on the road. We all want to go farther, and when you and your passenger are more comfortable in the saddle, you can.
• Standard Cruise Control: Installing cruise control is standard operating procedure on the touring models because riding long stretches of unbroken highway is standard operating procedure among touring riders. Electronic throttle control means no cable cluttering up your handlebar. And the switches are placed where you can easily dial in your speed with your left thumb, give the wrist a break, and keep hauling on down the road.
• Handlebar: There's a handlebar on the Road Glide Special motorcycle that makes the riding position more comfortable for a wider range of riders. The hand grips are now 5 ½ inches closer to the rider. It means no long stretch to reach the bars, allowing you to lie back and rack up the miles.
• Fairing Design Reduces Head Buffeting: Over the years, riders of the Road Glide motorcycle have put in more miles behind its fairing than you could count with a supercomputer. Its fatigue-reducing fixed frame design has made the Road Glide motorcycle the choice of those who live to ride the big miles. It was good, but now it gets amazing. We went into the wind tunnel and out on the road to build the next Road Glide motorcycle fairing. When you experience what we came back with, you're simply not going to believe the ride. No fairing in the history of motorcycling has ever cut through the wind like this one does. It's got triple splitstream vents that open and close to equalize pressure in front and behind the windscreen. In head-buffeting tests, it beats every other motorcycle on the road. Hands down. You've never experienced a ride like this. And that's what Project RUSHMORE was all about.
• Streamliner Footboards and Streamliner Passenger Footpegs: The Road Glide Special motorcycle is outfitted with full-length Streamliner footboards, Streamliner passenger footpegs and a heel / toe shifter. The look is custom and the function is pure comfort. The footboards are rubber-isolation mounted to separate your feet from vibration. And the heel / toe shift means easier, more comfortable shifting. It also saves wear and tear on the top of your left boot. Because now you can use your heel to shift to a higher gear.
• Two-Up Street Glide® Seat: There's a one-piece, two-up Street Glide seat on the new Road Glide Special motorcycle. It combines a custom look with a design that's built for comfort. No one puts more miles in the saddle to design a saddle than the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. Throw a leg over this one. You'll be good to go for all-day ride.
• Adjustable Rear Suspension: The new Road Glide Special model gives you our premium adjustable CVO level suspension. No tools are required to dial in your ride to accommodate a passenger, increased payload or changing road conditions. It makes adjusting your suspension so fast and easy, you could do it at a stoplight, but for safety's sake we recommend you pull off the road for a minute.

Infotainment

• Project RUSHMORE – Infotainment: More sound. Purer sound. Big, full color touch screens. Switches that are located where you intuitively want them to be and can reach without removing your hands from the grips. Voice activation for your music, phone and GPS. Or as more than one rider asked: “Why can’t the infotainment system on my motorcycle blow away the ones the car companies put in their cars?” We couldn’t agree more. Check out the infotainment system Project RUSHMORE brought to the sport of motorcycling. You won’t believe your eyes. Or ears.
• Jukebox with USB Port for iPod / iPhone: The new Jukebox design on the Road Glide® model includes a USB connection which accepts your iPhone, iTouch, non-iPod imitators, an SD card and other USB compatible devices. Open the door up, plug in and your device becomes a part of your motorcycle. Ready to be operated by voice command or hand controls.
• BOOM! Box 6.5GT Radio: Let’s start with this. The BOOM! Box 6.5GT Radio puts out 25 watts per channel at 1% distortion and features a factory-tuned, optimized equalizer that pumps out more power and can be played louder while maintaining the clarity of your sound. And the speed tuning system delivers more than just volume changes at different speeds. It changes the level of bass and treble to dial in the best sound, whether you’re running at a stately pace down the strip or going hell for leather down an open stretch of road. How do you like the sound of a Harley® motorcycle?
• 6.5-inch Full Color Touch Screen Display: This 6.5-inch full color touch screen puts all your information in front of you bigger than ever. Modern graphics, colors you can dial in, and auto and manual dim. Designed to sit stylishly inside your fairing, it takes screen technology to an eye-popping level of Harley-Davidson functionality. This is more than you expect, but when you’re going all the way, it’s everything you deserve.
• Hands-Free Infotainment: The BOOM! Box 6.5GT gives you voice recognition for hands-free operation of your mobile phone, navigation system and music. Whatever you want, just say the word. Whether it’s directions to the next gas station or a song that fits the stretch of road you’re on, it’ll be served up without missing a beat. It’s also Bluetooth capable. So you can connect your phone to the head unit for a call back to the office you’re not at today.
• 5.25-inch Front Speakers: The sound delivered to your rides comes from 5.25-inch speakers mounted securely in sealed and tuned enclosed speaker housings.

Style

• Project RUSHMORE – Styling: Project RUSHMORE is the journey we set out on to take our touring motorcycles to places never imagined before, to turn all the possibilities for what a motorcycle can be now into true Milwaukee steel. We did it our way, as we’ve always done. As riders. Riding with other riders. Thousand of hours, countless road tests, millions of miles. Looking for the technology and innovations that truly make the ride better. We went over the bike fender tip to fender tip. Making it work better. Making it look sleeker. Modern. Clean. Tight. Let your eye take a journey over the machine. This is classic Harley-Davidson style and a sleek, modern look at the exact same time. At Harley-Davidson, form has always followed function. And both have always reported to emotion. Now we’re just doing it on a completely different level.
• Combination Rear Stop / Turn / Tail Lights: The last thing people see when you go by on the Road Glide Special motorcycle is the clean, custom look of combination rear stop / turn / tail lights. You never get a second chance to make a last impression.
• Single AM/FM/WB Antenna: Do you like the look of one antenna for AM/FM/WB? The riders we asked when we were putting the Road Glide Special motorcycle through the Project RUSHMORE process said "Hell yes" to that question. So now it's on the bike.
• Tank and Fender Badges: This isn’t just a motorcycle. It’s a work of art, born out of passion, creativity and long days, late nights and refusing to be satisfied until every detail was perfect. When we added the signature, we did it with metal. Nothing else would be right on this masterpiece.
• Black Powder-Coated Engine with Chrome Covers: The jewel at the center of the Road Glide Special motorcycle is a black powder-coated Twin Cam 103 engine with chrome covers. Yeah, it's a lot of show. But that's okay. Because it's backed up by a lot of go.
• Classic Fuel Tank: Part of the unmistakable style of the Harley-Davidson Road Glide Special motorcycle is plenty of room for showing off your paint. This classically styled, bold 6-gallon fuel tank doesn't just give you a bigger canvas for premium or custom paint; it holds 6 gallons of go so you can eat up a lot more road between pit stops. We know fuel economy is important, but so is style. Sharp, eye-catching colors and precision-crafted Harley-Davidson tank medallions complete the unique look of this tough bagger.
• Pure Harley-Davidson Styling: Feast your eyes on the Twin Cam 103 engine and there's no mistaking its roots. This is authentic Harley-Davidson style through and through with an attention to detail you won't find from any other motorcycle company. Black powder-coated heads and cylinders are highlighted by machined cooling fin tips and chrome rocker covers. It's a jewel machined out of metal. Pure. Dripping with power. From the classic edge of the cooling fins to the clean lines of cases and covers, the Twin Cam 103 engine makes an ironclad statement about holding on to what's right and staying true to what satisfies.
• Enforcer Cast Aluminum Wheels: The new Road Glide Special motorcycle is designed from the ground up to cut a wide swath wherever it goes. This is menacing, hot rod bagger style done the Project RUSHMORE way. Check out the Enforcer cast aluminum wheels front and back. Notice how the brake rotors have been designed to show off more of the premium custom look of the wheels. You won't see any half-measures on this machine. What goes on the Road Glide motorcycle goes all the way.
• Restyled Fairing, Saddlebags and Front Fender: The Road Glide Special motorcycle is loved by die-hard road warriors all over the world for its distinctive, menacing, mile-hungry look. With Project RUSHMORE, we're turning the dial up to 11. We streamlined the outer fairing and gave it a more narrow profile and a more modern, aggressive style. We put new, clean trim on the windshield. We cut back the front fender to show off more of the wheel. And we restyled the saddlebags for a sleek, modern look (without sacrificing luggage space). The end result is a new take on the time-honored art of badass, road-eating motorcycle design. The Road Glide motorcycle rider wouldn't have it any other way.