Harley-Davidson’s All-New Street 500 and 750

Harley-Davidson will launch its first all-new platform and sixth model family next year with “Street” 750 and Street 500 motorcycles based on a new liquid-cooled Revolution X engine. With very low price tags and seat heights, the Street line is aimed at young-adult urban riders looking for a nimble bike with some room for customization.

The 2014 Harley-Davidson Street 750 joins the Dark Custom lineup.
The 2014 Harley-Davidson Street 750 joins the Dark Custom lineup.

“These are the newest motorcycles to join our Dark Custom lineup, which helped make us the number-one selling brand to young adults in the U.S. for the past five years,” said Matt Levatich, President and Chief Operating Officer, Harley-Davidson Motor Company. “Both the Street 750 and Street 500 were designed with thousands of hours of input from young adults in cities around the world. This input guided both the attitude and capabilities of these motorcycles. They are proof that being customer-led continues to be a core driver of our product development process.”

The Revolution X engine is a 60-degree, liquid-cooled unit V-twin of either 494cc or 749cc and has SOHC four-valve heads, a counterbalancer to reduce vibration, a 6-speed transmission and belt final drive. It’s housed in a new chassis with a 25.4-inch seat height, wide handlebar and mid-mount controls, and both bikes are said to weigh 480 pounds with the 3.5-gallon tank full. Wheels are 17 inches in front and 15 in the rear, with 100- and 140-series tires respectively. The blacked-out styling takes some cues from the V-Rod line, especially the rear fender and radiator. Machined cylinder fins and wheel spokes set the Street 750 apart from the all blacked-out 500.

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Harley-Davidson’s new “Street” model includes the 500 and 750.

In addition to expanding Harley’s lineup to appeal to a broader range of riders, the Street 500 will fill the gap in Harley’s Riding Academy training program left by the departed Buell Blast. By coming in under 500cc and having a low seat height, it meets the required two out of three criteria of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, said a Harley rep (the third is a weight under 400 pounds). Both the Street 500 and 750 will also be sold in other countries where its larger models might cost more or be license restricted. (In the U.S., Harley’s least-expensive current model is the 883 Superlow at $7,999). In fact, Street models for sale in India, Italy, Spain and Portugal will be made in Harley-Davidson’s Bawal, India, factory alongside other bikes made strictly for consumption in that country since the factory opened in 2011, such as the Sportster 72, 48 and Fat Bob. All motorcycles for North America, including the new Street line, are made in Harley’s factories in York, Pennsylvania, or Kansas City, Missouri.

The Street 500 will carry a MSRP of $6,700 and the Street 750 will start at $7,500; both are expected to see dealerships in Q2 of 2014. More information is available at h-d.com/street.

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The new liquid-cooled Revolution X engine in the 2014 Harley-Davidson Street 750.
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2014 Harley-Davidson Street 750 tank and radiator.

9 COMMENTS

  1. Will be interesting to see if it has an ABS option. A Harley with ABS? Well, the point with these is to get butts on bikes, made (mostly) in the USA, not to sell bling to boomers. Worth a look.

  2. Ok, looks like Harley is going to take a serious whack at the 750 and under market. Yeah, the bike is styled like a mini-V-Rod, but where is Joe Lunchbox going to bungee his lunchbox? Riding with a backpack isn’t cool if you’re not a college boy. The scooter crowd might be a marketing target, especially if the fuel mileage is at least 60 mpg. Why buy a scooter when a few bucks more will buy a genuine Harley-Davidson?

    I should work in marketing!

    But, I don’t. Could this new engine be the water-cooled replacement for the Sportster line? It would be easy to enlarge the 750 to 883, then drop the 1250 V-Rod engine in in place of the current 1200.

    • The vast majority of scooter riders wouldn’t take a second look at one of these… When someone chooses a scooter (talking maxi scooter here like a Burgman 650, BMW etc… Not 50cc DUI moped) that decision is always based on convenience, reliability, almost zero maintenance in relation to a typical air chilled Harley, storage capacity, great handling and USUALLY on the fact that it is twist and go… Many times because the rider is getting to the end of their riding career and the maxi scooter is the last step before a trike or complete retirement to cages.. You wouldn’t have to add a few hundred to get one of these bikes over a maxi scooter, instead you would be saving thousands on the initial purchase… A new Suzuki Burgman 650 is over $11,000 currently… One doesn’t drop 11 grand on a new scooter to save a few pennies.

    • I’ve calculated fuel economy to be around 25km/litre. Will have to wait for final figures after someone does a road test in India. I would only take a HD to be serviced by a dealer only which are in major cities only, so for the East your nearest dealer would probably be the Kolkata one. Hope you enjoy your HD as I’m planning to

  3. This could also be marketed to senior citizens as a great size to ride to the senior center and the drug store and the barber shop etc: everything doesn’t have to be marketed to the young rider.

  4. I bought one in May 2017 and have put 11,000 km on it without my commuting on it as I work from home, so typically I ride into twisted roads of the Hills and across highland plains as well as highway rides to Rome and other cities. I think it’s a great bike, feet on the ground – I’m 5 ft 7 in – and feels lighter than it actually is. Nice snappy engine. For the winter, I’ve added a windscreen and sidebags to keep rain gear and extra layers of clothes, so the look has changed, alas, but it’s convenient – and still looks good. Lots of trad HD riders look down on it, and HD management doesn’t really seem to push it as it might, at least not here in Italy/Europe, but few here need those fatass Harleys for highway cruising typical of the US/Canada. Get it esp if you don’t have an attitude.

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