Video Review: 2021 Harley-Davidson Street Bob 114

We recently spent two weeks testing the new Milwaukee-Eight 114 powered Harley-Davidson Street Bob. With mini ape handlebars, mid-mount ‘pegs and narrow spoked rims the Street Bob is a great looking, fast and sweet handling ride, as we found out.

Tech Talk 2021 Harley-Davidson Street Bob 114

Harley-Davidson say the Softail chassis offers the look of a classic hardtail frame, but is underpinned by modern suspension for a smooth ride and outstanding handling. A single coil-over shock located between the frame and swingarm is out of view below the seat.

The rear shock sits in a completely hidden spot from the outside, giving it the old-school hardtail look.

The chassis design is optimised to reduce weight without sacrificing stiffness. The rigid-mounted Milwaukee-Eight V-Twin engine further stiffens the entire chassis and contributes to a platform that delivers strong acceleration and responsive handling and braking performance.

The whole chassis has been designed to be rigid.

The twin pipes hide all the emissions gear well.

The Milwaukee-Eight V-Twin engine design with 45-degree cylinder angle maintains classic Harley-Davidson look-sound-feel. Because it is rigid mounted in the frame, the engine is equipped with dual counter-balancers to cancel primary vibration at idle for improved rider and passenger comfort.

The 114 Milwaukee-Eight V-Twin maintains the classic Harley appeal, but also acts as a stiffening point for the chassis.

Four-valve cylinder heads (two exhaust and two intake valves per head, eight total) promote airflow through the engine and contribute to power output, and dual spark plugs ensure more complete combustion to maximise power and efficiency. Advanced cylinder head design, dual knock sensors, and precision cooling allow a 10.0:1 compression ratio for strong torque output and acceleration, while a single camshaft helps reduce mechanical noise so a richer exhaust tone can predominate.

Harley have gone with a simple dash setup.

They have also kept the LED headlight looking retro.

Harley say the Street Bob 114 model is a tough-looking bike that was intended to be ridden hard. The lightest-weight Softail model equipped with a Milwaukee-Eight 114 engine, the Street Bob 114 motorcycle is a quick-and-nimble ride with power to spare – 9 percent quicker 0-to-60 mph and 13 percent quicker 60-to-80 mph in fifth gear than the previous Street Bob model with Milwaukee-Eight 107 power.