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2015 Harley-Davidson Street 750 Is a Bit Rough Around the Edges - EICMA 2014

We sort of feared that Harley-Davidson will not be that eager to have the bigger of their all-new Street machines in Europe this year. Finally, when we saw that the official website posted a price for the German market, we knew that at least the Street 750 will be sold in Europe. Well it's here at EICMA 2014 and at first sight it looks quite good, but then, it has it's flaws...
Harley Davidson Street 750 at EIGMA 2014 39 photos
Photo: original photo by autoevolution
Harley Davidson Street 750 at EICMA 2014Harley Davidson Street 750 frontHarley Davidson Street 750 sideHarley Davidson Street 750 happy riderHarley Davidson Street 750 at EICMA 2014Harley Davidson Street 750 at EICMA 2014Harley Davidson Street 750 at EICMA 2014Harley Davidson Street 750 at EICMA 2014Harley Davidson Street 750 at EICMA 2014Harley Davidson Street 750 headlightHarley Davidson Street 750 wheelHarley Davidson Street 750 at EICMA 2014Harley Davidson Street 750 left sideHarley Davidson Street 750 engineHarley Davidson Street 750 exhaustHarley Davidson Street 750 at EICMA 2014Harley Davidson Street 750 gas tankHarley Davidson Street 750 at EICMA 2014Harley Davidson Street 750 at EICMA 2014Harley Davidson Street 750 at EICMA 2014Harley Davidson Street 750 at EICMA 2014Harley Davidson Street 750 at EICMA 2014Harley Davidson Street 750 belt transmissionHarley Davidson Street 750 transmissionHarley Davidson Street 750 at EICMA 2014Harley Davidson Street 750 at EICMA 2014Harley Davidson Street 750 left handleHarley Davidson Street 750 acceleratorHarley Davidson Street 750 gaugeHarley Davidson Street 750 at EICMA 2014Harley Davidson Street 750 at EICMA 2014Harley Davidson Street 750 at EICMA 2014Harley Davidson Street 750 turn signalHarley Davidson Street 750 speedometerHarley Davidson Street 750 rough handlebar clipHarley Davidson Street 750 rough plasticsHarley Davidson Street 750 rear suspentionHarley Davidson Street 750 filter case
The fact that Harley’s demographic is getting older is no longer newsworthy. That’s the way things go, especially for an iconic manufacturer which continues to adhere to the old-school bike-making recipe. Not that this necessarily means a bad thing… but when your customers are dying or simply no longer buying bikes because of old age, you’ve got a serious problem.

Open up to younger riders

Since offering a Road Glide for Sportster 883 money is impossible, Harley-Davidson had to come up with a bike to capture the imagination of younger riders and make them reach for their wallets. But someone smart enough at the MoCo understood that the local, traditional markets were not enough to compensate for the general trend, and opening up to the younger demographic in emerging economies could be the key. Hence a cheaper, still “all-Harley” small-displacement was designed.

The 2015 Harley-Davidson Street 750 could be one of the great choices for a first bike for a teenager. Even more, new riders could step up from their entry-level quarter-liter machines to a Harley Street 750. Truth be told we were surprised to find the Street 750 for under €8,000 in Germany. Alright, not exactly the cheapest bike, but a brand new Harley for this money surely sounds appealing.

In the US, the MSRP is around $7,500 which makes it an affordable new machine, too. As far as the price tag is concerned, Harley has managed to deliver, and this is a good debut.

Tech facts

The new Street models are powered by Revolution X v-twin engines, a 749cc liquid-cooled one in the case of the Street 750. A 6-speed transmission was used to convey power from the single-port injected engine which can deliver as much as 59 Nm (43.4 lb-ft) and about 40 kW (53 hp).

Some say that these figures set the 2015 Harley-Davidson Street 750 on the rather lazy side, especially as the wet weight of the bike is 222 kg (490 lb). In case Harley’s 4.7l/100 km (60 mpg) combined city/highway combined mileage turns out to be true, then the range provided by the 13-liter (3.4 US gal) should make the Street 750 a fun bike.

When a rider sits on the saddle, the seat height is around 654mm (25.7”) which should not put any rider in trouble. Even if the 2015 Street 750 is not exactly the lightest of the pack, with such a firm foothold we can expect that even the skinniest riding ladies will not have a hard time keeping the bike upright at the traffic light stops.

The down side

While the Street 750 looks like a proper Harley from a distance (and in the promo videos), same thing cannot be said after we saw it here in flesh and... plastic.

The materials and finishing details are two things that can set you down a bit. In the photos attached bellow you’ll see that beauty is not in the details here. Most bits like the switchgear, their casings, the handles and other caps here and there are made from rough edged cheap molded gray plastic.

The metal clip that attaches the handlebars to the fork has a similar story regarding its manufacturing process and it’s a piece you’ll see each time you take a glance at the digital/analog speedometer.

We’re not going to whine about the non-Harley sound the 750 makes, because after all, this is a city bike that doesn’t need to hurl like a demon. All in all, if you’re aiming to enter the Harley Davidson world, this is the cheapest way to go for now and if you’re already their client but looking for a smaller model, you might also want to give the Sportster Iron 883 a try if cheap plastics aren’t floating your boat.
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