Moto Review: 2025 Harley-Davidson Street Glide Ultra

Motorcycles
June 27, 2025
Dan Gunay

The 2025 Harley-Davidson Street Glide Ultra is a freight train of torque, tech, and long-haul swagger, built not for commuting but for conquering. It’s Harley’s idea of a grand tourer: floorboards wide enough to host a family BBQ, a dashboard ripped from a luxury SUV, and a Milwaukee-Eight V-twin that thumps out Harley’s greatest hits in deep baritone. From its expansive infotainment system to its wind-cheating fairing and roomy saddlebags, the Street Glide Ultra blends traditional cruiser styling with contemporary touring tech. It’s not just built to cover miles – it’s built to make the journey feel effortless and iconic.

The 2025 Street Glide Ultra isn’t subtle, and it doesn’t care to be. Draped in a deep Whiskey Fire over Vivid Black two-tone paint scheme, it announces itself with a presence that borders on theatrical. The upper half of the bodywork – batwing fairing, fuel tank, and Tour-Pak – is drenched in a glowing, almost liquid led that shifts in the light like molten candy. Up close, the paint has real depth, the kind you stare into, not just look at. And while the colour scheme feels retro at heart, it’s executed with a level of finish that makes it feel modern and expensive – because it is.

The fairing, long a defining feature of the Street Glide, has been subtly reworked. Still fork mounted, still wide and iconic, it now blends sharper lines with integrated LED headlight and wind tunnel-refined curves that improve airflow and reduce buffeting. The windscreen is fixed, but it sits higher than before, giving touring riders better protection without ruining the silhouette. The lower fairings were reshaped with closable vents channel air when needed, and offers small storage cubbies for smaller items.

What ties the whole package together is how Harley manages to make something this large feel cohesive. The dual colour wheels and blacked out accents aren’t just for the looks – they let the paint speak while keeping the visual weight low. Details like slim saddlebag guards, redesigned tank badging, and even the console’s brushed inserts reflect a level of design restraint Harley sometimes ignored in the past. Everything looks intentional. Even the Tour-Pak, which remains massive, integrates neatly with built-in armrests, an USB port, and a backrest that doesn’t mess up the lines.

Then there is the tech – because the 2025 Street Glide is anything but a barebones cruiser. At its center is a massive 12.3-inch touchscreen that domintes the dashboard with bright, sharp graphics visible even in direct sunlight. The interface supports Apple CarPlay natively, letting you seamlessly connect your iPhone for navigation, calls, music and voice control. Android users aren’t left out, but they will have to settle for Bluetooth Audio and phone functions without the full app integration.

Physical controls flank the screen on both sides. Tactile buttons and a joystick that can be operated comfortably with gloves, offering quick access to volume, mode changes, and menu navigation without having to fumble with the touchscreen while riding. The system pumps out sound through a 200-watt amplifier and two strategically placed speakers, delivering concert-hall clarity even with road noise in full effect. Additional features like integrated Bluetooth for helmet communication and built-in navigation round out a package designed to keep the rider connected, entertained, and informed on long hauls without ever compromising focus or safety.

The Street Glide doesn’t just look like it’s built for long hauls – it feels like it the moment you swing a leg over. The seat is a plush throne, designed to keep rider and passenger comfortable through hundreds of miles, with just enough cushioning to soak up highway buzz without turning into a marshmallow. The riding geometry is quite relaxed, floorboards are wide and positioned to encourage the natural stance. Passengers get their own backrest and armrests, making even the longest rides feel like a road trip in a luxury sedan rather than a battle with the elements.

Storage is another area where this bike goes all in. The hard saddlebags each offer about 24 litres of lockable, weatherproof space – enough for your daily essentials or a weekend’s worth of gear. But the real star is the Tour-Pak top case, which swallows an impressive about 140 litres of cargo. That means room of two full-face helmets, jackets, or whatever souvenirs you pick up along the way. The top case includes a built in USB port for charging on the go, and the entire box is designed with secure latching and weather seals that keep everything dry, no matter the miles or the weather.

At the heart of the Street Glide Ultra is Harley’s tried-and-true Milwaukee-Eight 117 V-Twin, now the standard engine across the touring lineup. Displacing 1,923cc, it delivers a broad wave of torque – 122 lb-ft at just 3,250 rpm – right where you want it for effortless roll-on acceleration. It’s not about to-end horsepower here (Harley doesn’t quote a number), but rather that rich, low-end pull that makes passing, climbing, or cruising all feel effortless. Paired with a six-speed transmission, the powertrain feels smooth and deliberate, with just enough mechanical character to remind you this is still a traditional big-bore Harley – not a soulless cruiser in disguise.

Fueling is refined, and throttle response is predictable and linear, especially in Touring mode, which keeps things mellow and composed. For a more responsive feel, Sport mode sharpens the throttle mapping and wakes the bike up a bit, while Rain mode softens everything down for slick conditions. There is also a suite of rider aids – cornering ABS, traction control, combined braking system, and engine drag torque control – all working quietly in the background to keep you stable when conditions get less than ideal. Harley’s modern touring chassis helps too: a stiff steel frame paired with a well-calibrated SHOWA dual bending valve fork up front and outboard twin shocks in the rear with hydraulic preload adjustment. The result is planted, surprisingly composed ride, even at highway speed with full bags and a passenger on board.

Out on the road, the Street Glide Ultra rides exactly how it looks – big, smooth, and unapologetically confident. At low speeds, you feel its heft, but the wide bars and well-balanced chassis make parking lot maneuvers less intimidating than you would expect for a machine this size. Once you are rolling, the bike settles into a rhythm that’s surprisingly serene. The suspension soaks up expansion joints and rough pavement with composure, the engine hums along with a relaxed thrum, and the fairing carves a bubble of air around you. The floor boards feel a little cramped for big feet, but Harley wanted to offer a tiny bit of sporty feeling with more lean angle without scraping them too easily.

That said, it’s not nimble in the sportbike sense, but it’s steady and predictable – like a tour bus that’s somehow learned to lean. It’s exactly as quick as a 900-pound luxury motorcycle needs to be, and it delivers that speed with unmistakable Harley character. Whether you’re eating up interstate miles or winding through lazy backroads, the Street Glide Ultra never feels rushed or out of place. It just glides in a confident, composed and characterful fashion.

The 2025 Street Glide Ultra is a rolling masterclass in long-distance indulgence – its paintwork gleams like a custom job, the tech feels legitimately modern, and the Milwaukee-Eight 117 delivers the kind of effortless torque that turns six-hundred-mile days into casual suggestions. Yes, at nearly 900 lb and almost $40K price tag, it’s neither light on the scale nor the wallet, and Android users will still gripe about the CarPlay-only full integration. However if you crave plush comfort, cavernous cargo space, and traditional Harley presence, there are few bikes that can match the Street Glide’s ability to eat up miles and make you look good doing it.

Engine	1,923cc, air/oil cooled V-Twin (Milwaukee-Eight 117)
Max Power	Not officially stated
Max Torque	122 lb-ft @ 3250 rpm
Front Brakes	Dual 4-piston Brembo calipers with 300mm disc w/ cornering ABS
Rear Brakes	Floating 4-piston caliper with 300 mm disc w/ cornering ABS
Weight (wet)	899 lbs – 408 kg
Fuel Capacity	6 gallons – 22.7 L
Seat Height	27.5 in – 698 mm
Price (as tested)	$39,799 (CAD)
Website	www.harley-davidson.com/ca/