Coming down the Chiriaco Summit just south of Joshua Tree National Park, I could feel searing rays from the eastern sun raking my right flank like a row of hot needles. A quick glance at the Street Glide’s notebook-size touchscreen showed an ambient temp of 105 degrees—at 11:30 a.m. Still three hours to go.The choice to jump on Interstate 10 near the California/Arizona border had proved to be a nightmarish move, thanks to a late-season heat wave, a gauntlet of road construction, and a series of multi-vehicle pileups along the way. It had transformed Google’s supposedly “fastest option” into a four-plus-hour hump colored by the acrid stench of a burning semi that had blown its trailer, rendering the remaining lanes almost useless. Creeping along at 30 mph in 100-degree temps can get your brainpan pretty close to redline, but it could have been worse; I could have been on an air-cooled bike.I had nobody to blame but myself. The redesigned Harley-Davidson Street Glide had been out for almost a year, and was supposedly more powerful, lighter, and more comfortable, yet I still hadn’t gotten any seat time on it. So when Executive Editor Dawes asked if I wanted to put on some miles, I spat out a “hell yes” before he even finished the sentence.Of course there were other reasons, like A) the weather pattern in the Pacific Northwest was beginning its annoying transition to Dreary Rain mode, and B) a Barrett-Jackson auction would be happening in Phoenix later that month. Riding a new bike 1,000 miles to a bitchin’ vehicle show while refilling my depleted store of Vitamin D seemed like a pretty solid alibi, so I sketched out a multiday journey that would cover mountains, desert, and city to see how the new Glide stacked up.Related: 2024 Harley Street Glide Road Glide First Ride Review

The Street Glide’s been a steady member of H-D’s touring lineup for decades and a consistent sales leader to boot, but 2014′s Project Rushmore was the last real revision to the platform, so the iconic bagger finally got a major overhaul this year, with the key change being a fresh Milwaukee-Eight 117 V-twin. The new engine variant, exclusive to the 2024 Street and Road Glide, boosted power to 105 hp and 130 lb.-ft. of torque (claimed), or marginally better than the 2023 unit.

Suspension essentially carried over from last year’s model, with a 49mm Showa fork (with Dual Bending Valve internals) good for 4.6 inches of travel, though the rear Showa shocks now offered 3 inches of travel (up from 2 inches). While the rest of the main chassis was unchanged, the new Glide also benefited from upgraded Brembo braking components with larger 320mm discs paired to four-piston calipers upfront and a 300mm disc out back, and the entire bike was a reported 18 pounds lighter than last year.

Then there’s the all-important styling redo, which, given the Street Glide’s universally recognizable profile, had to be a heck of a balancing act. How do you walk that tightrope between respecting heritage while modernizing an iconic design? Brad Richards and the rest of H-D’s design team seem to have opted for a holistic approach, integrating classic cues like chrome beer-can fork covers and the trademark 6-gallon teardrop tank with updated subtleties, which come into focus if you look closer.For one, the tank is now formed with lighter gauge steel to reduce weight, and its outer edges slightly beveled, a dynamic treatment that carries through to the recontoured saddlebags. The iconic batwing is still there of course, but it’s reshaped with sharper lines, and holds just one LED headlight, with the biggest change coming in the form of two integrated strips on either side serving as both LED turn signals and running lights. The mirrors, too, are no longer on stalks, but integrated inside the fairing—a look that adds sophistication without hindering function. The result is a less cluttered visage, but the new shapes are grounded in improved aerodynamics as well, says H-D.

From the Harley fleet center in Southern California to my buddy’s crib in Cave Creek, Arizona, was about 400 miles, but that was just slabbing it—which was certainly not my main battle plan. Leaving the edge of the Santa Ana Mountains on an already unseasonably warm October afternoon, I headed toward the San Jacinto peaks to bask in cooler temps and twistier roads near Idyllwild. It’s the less direct route to the desert than the face-melting boredom of I-10, with higher elevations and far more entertaining twists along the way, and in this environment, the new Street Glide felt like a slightly more powerful version of an old friend, with V-twin character tempered by a familiar smoothness and rock-solid stability, even at giddyap speeds and decreasing-radius turns.

Launch the Glide from a full stop and you’ll find yourself easily out in front of traffic—and although torque is plentiful down low, the counterbalanced M-8 117′s wonderful spread of power is doled out gradually, not aggressively. Or at least that was the case in Road mode, where I spent most of my time basking in the high level of traction control and ABS; switch to Sport mode and acceleration response wakes up considerably, with TC and ABS intervention minimized. Not that you need Sport for every occasion; I found all that was required to blast around dawdling offenders was a quick twist of the throttle. This 117 engine’s hefty midrange has tons to give, and even on kinkier roads was more than up to shoving the bike out of corners without having to drop many gears. And talk about unstressed; 90 mph equates to a bit over 3,000 rpm in sixth gear.Another surprise was the Glide’s fuel mileage, which proved not just consistent over several days, but remarkably efficient. We averaged 48 mpg, which included in-town trips as well as high-speed highway stuff. (Another handy update that made our stops smoother was the now-attached fuel tank cap that no longer requires a key to open.)

Based on experience with past Street Glides, I’d already expected the new model to have a similar easy-steering quality, and its lighter mass only helps the case, with the bike going into corners with less muscle than you’d expect from an 811-pound machine, especially at speed. And the rider triangle—always a great match for my 5-foot-6 frame—has been tweaked this year, with the handlebar moving forward and slightly wider, but the seat and floorboards unchanged. The low, reshaped seat, neutral bar height, and slightly forward floorboard relationship felt roomier than before, but again, a good fit for my stubby limbs with lots of leverage at the controls. Pick up the pace and the Glide still gives you lean angle to spare, though the floorboards will remind you when you’ve gone too deep.The fork-mounted fairing translates into good front-wheel feedback while slaloming through backroads, and the retuned front Dual Bending Valve suspension is up to tackling all but the deepest pavement ripples. While the rear Showa shocks (both now emulsion-based) do a noticeably better job of soaking up gaping road imperfections than in the past, on really big stuff, the available 3 inches of travel are still used up fairly quickly, at which point your tailbone will feel it. The only adjustment is for preload, accessible on the left shock (after removing the saddlebag), so fine-tuning the ride is all about firming up the rear.

There are a couple of other nitpicks. Although gears engage solidly, with a firm feel at the shift lever (the downshift from neutral to first is still a loud KER-THUNK), the cable-actuated clutch has a somewhat stiff pull at the lever, making it harder to finesse the friction zone in situations like splitting lanes. I might not have called this out on past models but now we’re talking about a $26,000 bike, and the refinement on an important touch point like this could be better. Even making it adjustable (like the brake lever) would help.What about those new brakes though? Good news on that front: The Street Glide’s lighter weight combined with the larger discs and up-spec calipers also translates into noticeably better stopping power from the now-standard electronically linked brakes. Using either the lever or the pedal gets you a combined braking effort, and a solid bite, though with a somewhat dull feel. Cornering ABS is also now standard issue, and another bonus here is that the brake lever is adjustable, making modulation that much easier for different sized hands.

The next day proved to be a test of heat tolerance (both mine and the bike’s) with the descent onto I-10 and the blast furnace of the Sonoran Desert. We’d be looking at a WFO highway grind for several hours and with temps forecasted to peak at 107 degrees, so the fastest route seemed like the best option. No need to tempt heatstroke. Adjusting the vent, I hit cruise control and cranked the tunes.That new air vane at the center of the fairing definitely helps smooth turbulence in the cockpit when it’s open (and angled), but I do wish the actual windscreen was taller for better protection from wind blasts. Once I hit that traffic jam, all I could think of was how much I appreciated the Street Glide’s new cooling system, or as H-D calls it, “optimized thermal comfort.” In short: Bravo. I can’t think of a better (or worse?) set of conditions in which to test radiant engine heat, and the liquid-cooled cylinder heads on the M-8 117 engine worked exactly as advertised. The system uses a lower frame radiator to push coolant to the exhaust valves, while a fan behind the radiator forces the air below to isolate the cockpit from heat. My legs still got fried, but it was from the sun’s rays, not the engine.

With those hours of highway droning also came lots of time to delve into the new touchscreen occupying most of the horizon in front of me. You can’t overstate just how significant an improvement the massive 12.3-inch TFT display is over the outgoing Boom! units and previous analog instrumentation, and it serves up a mind-boggling amount of info, from electronic rider aid status, to ride modes (Road, Sport, Rain, and Custom) to crucial bike data. You can toggle between Cruise, Sport, and Tour displays, with Tour essentially giving you a giant map to view (with turn-by-turn directions if you activate the $350 navigation feature) and the whole shebang runs via a new operating system called Skyline OS. Although the screen itself is glove-friendly, I found it way more efficient to work the buttons and switches on the handlebar—they’re ideally positioned and faster than lifting your hand up to the screen. Another nice touch is the nifty tray below the screen where I could juice up my iPhone with a USB-C plug. Even better, the screen is compatible with Apple—and to a limited extent, Android—devices, though to fully utilize CarPlay you need a compatible headset.

You may have picked up the fact that the MY24 Street Glide comes standard with all the stuff that was previously available only as very expensive options. That includes a full suite of rider safety aids, including Cornering Linked Brakes, Cornering ABS, Cornering Traction Control, Cornering Drag Torque Slip Control, Tire Pressure Monitoring, and Vehicle Hill Hold. And if you need tunes en route, the audio system has been upgraded with a new four-channel 200-watt amplifier and 5.25-inch Rockford Fosgate speakers (which, incidentally, sound lovely when cranked up in full song through the desert, but eventually get drowned out at speeds over 70 mph). None of that’s free of course; MSRP for the 2024 base model is $25,999, while the 2023 went for $21,999.But bitching about the price ignores the fact that the outgoing model had none of the IMU-enabled features, on top of the new model’s improved power, suspension, comfort and infotainment capabilities.

Within an ever more competitive touring segment, Harley’s smart redesign lifts the Street Glide to well above par. The new engine is powerful and balanced. The bike works well dynamically. And the updated styling is cohesive and attractive—though anecdotally, we heard mixed reviews during our days in the desert. But then styling is always a subjective topic; die-hards will bemoan the new lines, the big ass screen, and most of all, tweaks to the beloved batwing, but in our view, the design manages to stay mindful of the past while adopting—ever-so-slightly—a more modern attitude.The bottom line is that in this latest iteration, the Street Glide improves upon its long-haul bona fides to stay relevant in the second decade of the 21st century. I can’t think of a better bike to ride 400 miles to an auction.

Accessories for the Long HaulBaggers are essentially touring bikes with more style and attitude, but at the end of the day, they’re still meant for traveling. Harley saw fit to outfit our otherwise stock FLHX with accessories from two new packages it has introduced to help owners personalize the new tourer to their particular style.

Our bike got elements from both the Day-Tripper Package and Long-Haul Package to enhance the Street Glide’s capabilities in different areas. Since I didn’t need a Tour-Pak (sold separately), only the 4-point docking hardware kit, Sundowner seat, mid-frame air deflectors, heel shifter, and passenger footboards came from the Long-Haul. From the Day-Tripper I got the H-D Detachables sissy bar and backrest pad, to which H-D also added the Onyx Weekender travel bag.My pick of the lot is the Sundowner seat, which was firm enough to provide good support yet also doled out nice cush when I needed it, and offered a nicely shaped nose section, which was especially comfortable on the longer stints. The Onyx Weekender bag was the perfect gear hauler, with a huge clamshell opening that swallowed up everything I could throw at it, a nice assortment of exterior pouches and even space for my laptop. It mounted easily to the backrest with a stout series of straps and buckles.This combo would probably be even more appealing to riders traveling two-up; I had way more space than needed. The other H-D kit option is the ST Package, which focuses on boosting performance on the FLHX. More info at harley-davidson.com.Barrett Jackson Auction

The halfway point of the ride was Barrett-Jackson’s 2024 Scottsdale Fall Auction, where we got to drool over an incredible lineup of vintage classics, Euro supercars, American muscle cars, and flawlessly fabbed resto-mods. B-J auctions have become fairly wide-ranging lifestyle events that draw thousands of attendees, and it was a full house on our Saturday visit, with a huge Exhibitor Marketplace, stunt shows, and lots of auction action on the block.Celebrities often swing by too, as was the case this time when Sammy Hagar idled his custom 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari onto the auction stage. The Red Rocker’s supercar would go on to sell for a whopping $4.65 million, which apparently set a new world auction record. That’s all groovy, but we were more partial to the Ferrari 365 GTB4 Daytona Coupe down the hall that went for a mere $506,000. All of a sudden our $12 can of beer seemed like a bargain.As for motorcycles in either the Exhibitor Hall or on the docket? It was slim pickings: Vintage and collector bikes seem to be more of a Mecum Auctions thing, and there were very few two-wheelers—vintage or otherwise—on the docket at Barrett-Jackson, though I did see a row of new Indian motorcycles lined up in the vendor area, presumably as advertisements for the brand.Uh, Harley, are you listening?2024 Harley-Davidson Street Glide Specs