One of the most common – and inaccurate – criticisms of Harley-Davidson is that it never does anything new.
Actually, the company and its products are constantly evolving. But, many years ago, now-retired Chief Engineer Alex Bozmoski told me that, to some extent, Harley wants you to think otherwise.
He explained that when the company designs many of its bikes it wants them to retain a classic look, so that you could take a brand new model, put it right next to a model from a few decades before, and “not really be able to tell the difference from 100 feet away.”
Case in point: the Street Bob. The first Street Bob I ever rode was a 2016 model. Then, in 2018, I spent a summer riding a Street Bob here, there, and everywhere – even to Prague. Finally, this year I spent three glorious weeks in the company of the 2025 Street Bob.
If you were to take all three of these bikes and park them 30 or so metres away, only the most learned Harley aficionado would be able to tell which was which.
But, in fact, they are hugely different from one another. Hell, the 2016 model has a completely different engine and chassis. And the difference between the 2018 and 2025 models is arguably just as dramatic.
First launched in 2006, the Street Bob has always been a good bike, one that I’ve consistently described as one of the MoCo’s all-time greats. I fell in love with the 2018 Street Bob and came away feeling that it was pretty much the perfect cruiser. But now the Street Bob is even better – the best it’s ever been.
How, and why? Let’s get into it.
SOME NUMBERS
| STARTING PRICE | £14,495 |
| ENGINE | 1923cc air/oil-cooled Milwaukee Eight 117 Classic V-twin |
| POWER | 90 bhp at 5020 rpm |
| TORQUE | 115 lb-ft at 2750 rpm |
| TRANSMISSION | Six-speed |
| WEIGHT | 263 kg |
| FUEL CAPACITY | 13.2 litres |
| SEAT HEIGHT | 680 mm |
| TIRES (FRONT) | 19-inch tubeless |
| TIRES (REAR) | 16-inch tubeless |
| BRAKES (FRONT) | Single disc, four-piston caliper |
| BRAKES (REAR) | Single disc, two-piston caliper |
| SUSPENSION (FRONT) | 49 mm telescopic fork |
| SUSPENSION (REAR) | 43 mm coil-over monoshock with preload adjustment |
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The Street Bob is one of those ‘if you ask a kid to draw a motorcycle…’ kind of bikes. It is an archetype in the Jungian sense; it is the universal, collective-unconscious understanding of what a motorcycle IS. It’s a big engine, two wheels, some handlebars, and not much else. In terms of production bikes, it is difficult to find another motorcycle that is as ‘pure’ a motorcycle as this.
As the name implies, it is Harley’s take on a bobber – a style of motorcycle first developed in the 1940s and ‘50s, when American bikers stripped their machines of unnecessary elements to make them lighter and, thereby, faster. The Street Bob blends this with ‘60s and ‘70s chopper culture, offering up a bare machine with ape-hanger ‘bars and mid-set pegs. It looks uncomfortable and – initially, at least – it is.
Throw a leg over the bike’s low 680mm (26.7 in) seat, and things will probably feel wrong if you’re coming from many other bikes. The ergonomics here are what journalist Rich Taylor once described as “angry monkey seating position.” Legs as if seated in a chair. Arms parallel to thighs. Shoulders slightly hunched, especially as speeds pick up. It’s awkward.
On this front, the Street Bob is unlikely to be the bike a Harley salesman would choose to try to convert riders of a different brand. However, once you get your mind around the whole Harley thing you start to realize that the ergonomics are different, but that ‘different’ is not ‘bad.’ As mentioned, I rode a 2018 Street Bob to Prague and back. There is a kind of zen to be found in the riding position. And the tiny fuel tank (13.2 litres) means you’re never sat there for long.
The weight of the Street Bob’s planet-sized V-twin hangs low, so although the bike is anything but light (293 kg in running order), its heft is entirely manageable. With hands wrapped around the thick grips, there is nothing to obstruct your view – just you and the road, man.
Glance down and you’ll see a handy circular dash, with analogue speedo and an LCD read-out. This dash offers a surprising amount of information, but the means of navigating it can be a pain. It took me five minutes to set the clock.
ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION
The engine has always been at the heart of Harley-Davidson’s design philosophy. That may not sound too revolutionary – an engine is one of the most important parts of any bike – but for the Harley-Davidson MOTOR Company, a motorcycle is a shrine to its engine. All other aspects of the vehicle are effectively there to facilitate, pay tribute to, and enhance the character of the engine.
In the Street Bob, the object of our adulation is the Milwaukee Eight 117 Classic V-twin. Harley loves a word salad, so I’ll break all that down for you.
The air-oil-cooled Milwaukee Eight V-twin engine was first introduced in 2016 for Harley’s Touring line-up. Only the fourth ‘big twin’ engine in Harley history, it is markedly better and more tractable than its predecessor (the Twin Cam platform). In 2017, the engine was introduced to the company’s cruiser line-up for the 2018 model year, along with a complete overhaul of chassis.
If you are not au fait with the Church of Jesus Harley Latter-day Davidson, none of this will really mean anything to you. But transforming the Street Bob from a 1687cc Twin Cam-driven Dyna to a 1753cc Milwaukee Eight-powered Softail was kind of a big deal. Revolutionary within context. But all this was effectively hidden by ensuring that the bike still looked almost exactly the same from a certain distance.
The “117” of the engine name refers to cubic inches, because America. In freedom-hating countries, that translates to 1923 cc. That’s more engine capacity than a Toyota Corolla, and more than the Street Bob had when it was transformed for the 2018 model year. These days, peak outputs are 90 bhp at 5020 rpm, and 115 lb-ft of torque at just 2750 rpm.
Finally, “Classic” is a new addition to the Harley nomenclature. Sticking to its habit of ‘hiding’ revolutionary changes, in 2025 Harley quietly started offering three differently tuned versions of the Milwaukee Eight for its cruisers: Classic, Custom, and High-Output.
The Classic engine promises “smooth street performance with a flat torque curve” and has the lowest peak outputs of the three, exchanging numbers for usability. In addition to the Street Bob, this tune is also available on the Heritage Classic.
The Custom engine offers a little more oomph and is “engineered for intense acceleration and effortless highway cruising,” according to Harley-Davidson. This tuning is available on the Breakout and Fat Boy (once again, I’ll point out that Harley model names sound like the names of condoms).
Lastly, the High Output engine is, according to the MoCo “ideal for riders who crave high performance in the upper rev range.” This is the configuration that sits in the Low Rider ST and Low Rider S.
Within all this, performance can be adjusted even more, thanks to another new-to-Harley feature: riding modes. There are three to choose from: Sport, Road, and Rain. You can probably guess how those affect throttle response: slightly aggressive, normal, slightly sluggish.
Riding the Classic-configured Street Bob, I was happy keeping things in Road. I’m not philosophically against the more aggressive throttle response of Sport but, equally, I didn’t find it necessary. Harleys have always had arm-snapping torque; that’s one of their key selling points. This wasn’t something that needed to be fixed. But, hey, Sport mode is there for you if you want it.
Related to how torquey Harleys can be, I can see how Rain mode might actually be desirable in certain cases. Especially when paired with another new-for-2025 feature: traction control.
Over the years, I’ve spun many a Harley’s rear tire on wet asphalt, so I can’t tell you how delighted I am that this feature has finally made it to H-D’s cruisers. Unfortunately/fortunately, all the time I spent with the Street Bob was sunny, so I can’t really speak to how well it works.
In the warm, dry, waning days of summer – or early days of autumn, depending on whether you adhere to meteorological or astronomical definitions of seasons – the Street Bob’s engine was as wonderful as I’d remembered it from 2018, but also better.
Power delivery is gravitational – incredibly strong and torque-rich, but smooth – and available pretty much from idle. That said, the engine seems more willing to be revved than I remember, and gears feel longer. Sixth gear now feels very much like an overdrive gear. Riding single-carriageway A roads or highways, you’ll never feel the need to wander above fifth.
The bike’s engine can easily be pushed far beyond what its ergonomics comfortably allow. Whereas the upright, catch-all-the-wind seating position encourages relaxed, back-road exploration, the Street Bob’s powerplant is happy to give so, so, so much more. Not surprising, perhaps, since the Street Bob’s engine is the same that powers the much larger (and even heavier) Street Glide Ultra – a touring bike that I’ll be reviewing in the future.
Meanwhile, “slick” and “buttery” are probably not words you would use to describe the bike’s six-speed transmission. There’s a very positive clunk of gears engaging. It makes sense that people often refer to Harleys as tractors. Although, that insult ignores the fact that tractors are awesome.
But also, the Harley transmission isn’t so bad as that. It’s actually pretty smooth. Smoother than ever before. Just not race-bike polished.
As has always been the way with Harleys, clutch pull is heavy and requires a decent amount of grip strength. If you ever meet someone who commutes through London with a Harley, odds are they’ll be able to crush walnuts with their left hand.
CHASSIS AND BRAKES
Suspension has also been changed for 2025, with Harley replacing progressively wound springs with straight-rate springs. I honestly can’t spot a difference in overall riding feel.
Although, some part of me feels the bike holds together just a little better in corners. I’m willing to accept though, that I may be imagining that difference. The front still dives with a hard stab of the front brake, for example. I’d need to ride the two bikes back to back to be sure.
And it’s not as if you really buy a Street Bob for canyon carving. The bike can hustle in the right hands but getting wiggly certainly takes more focus and effort than on, say, the Suzuki GSX-S1000GT. Obviously.
And you’ve got considerably less lean angle: 28.5 degrees on each side. The riding position hangs your heel below the peg, so the back of your boot will kiss the pavement first.
Relatively limited suspension travel means that when you hit big bumps, you will feel them. Moving at a spirited pace on the A27, I hit a slightly buckled bit of the road that sent a shock to my internal organs that was so hard it felt like I’d been punched.
As I say, though, you get used to all this. The rawness, the unpolished, Twisted Metal, undiluted experience is strangely addictive.
Brakes are better than they’ve ever been, but, ah… there’s just a single disc up front, being gripped by a four-piston caliper, and the standard single rear disc, gripped by a two-piston set-up. The bike’s weight asks a lot of these items. They manage reasonably well. But see the above statement about not buying a Street Bob for performance riding.
FANCY BITS
Normally, when you talk about technology on a Harley-Davidson cruiser it’s a pretty short discussion. Harley has changed this for 2025 by (finally) loading its cruisers with the sort of tech we’ve come to expect from most modern machines.
There are the aforementioned ride modes, of course. Pair that with cornering ABS, cornering traction control, so-called “Drag Torque Slip Control,” tire pressure monitoring, and cruise control. Harley has also tastefully tucked a USB-C charger just below the tank. Someone at BSA should be forced to look at it, so they can learn how to properly equip a bike with modern features without ruining the aesthetic.
The 4-inch LCD display is reasonably easy to read. Though, as I say, navigating through the menu is a bit arcane. You’ll want to be familiar with your bike before attempting to fuss with things on the go.
VERDICT
There’s not much about the Street Bob to complain about. You can moan about weight or handling or ergonomics, but those are moans that highlight the fact that the bike is not for you – it is not for what you want to do with a bike. But if a bike isn’t for you, that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something wrong with it.
This is a truth that always irks me when people hate on cruisers. Their criticisms are founded in applying the standards of a different segment. But would it be fair to complain that the Ducati Panigale V4 R has no off-road chops, or that the Yamaha Tenere 700 Rally can’t be pushed to 205 mph?
Some people really like cruisers. In the same way that some people really like the band AC/DC. Across more than half a century, AC/DC’s repertoire has been pretty predictable. From a certain distance, some might say it all sounds the same. And, sure, you may prefer to listen to Jacob Collier mooing like a space cow to a bunch of atonal fifth chords, but AC/DC’s still selling out stadiums. People really like AC/DC, and criticising the band’s fans is kinda condescending and unnecessary.
My point is: cruisers have value. And if you are able to appreciate that value, you will find that the Street Bob is, unquestionably, the best it’s ever been, and one of the best cruisers you can buy.
THE THREE QUESTIONS
Does the 2025 Harley-Davidson Street Bob suit my current lifestyle?
Yes. As evidenced by my trip to Prague some 7 years ago, as well as huge ‘round the British Isles’ road trip, the Street Bob is capable of being so much more useful and practical than you might initially expect.
Does the 2025 Harley-Davidson Street Bob put a smile on my face?
Yes, yes, yes, and yes. I have always loved this model. It remains my shining city on a hill – the motorcycle that I am striving toward owning.
Is the 2025 Harley-Davidson Street Bob better than my current motorcycle, a 2012 Kawasaki Versys 1000?
Well, yeah. The Street Bob weighs more; It’s not as comfortable or fast; it doesn’t handle as well; and I’d definitely choose the Kawasaki over the Harley if carrying a passenger. But the Harley is infinitely more desirable and characterful. It speaks to my soul in a way that a moderately priced adventure tourer never can.
Leave a Reply