The big announcements keep coming from Harley-Davidson in their 120th Anniversary year. Hot on the heels of the brand new CVO range comes three special edition Fast Johnnie bikes and a new Icon model, the Electra Glide Highway King.
The latter is the third instalment in the annual Harley-Davidson Icons Collection, and represents an exercise in unabashed nostalgia.
Laced wheels, wide-whitewall tyres, a two-tone windshield, solo suspension seat and carefully curated colours are all inspired by the 1968 FLH Electra Glide model – a bike that ruled the road in an era of paper maps and 15-cent burgers.
Limited to 1,750 examples, the Electra Glide Highway King model combines the flair of the Swingin’ 60s with the comfort and technology of a modern Harley-Davidson Grand American Touring motorcycle.
The Highway King will be offered in two colour options: Hi-Fi Orange (limited to 1,000) and Hi-Fi Magenta (limited to 750). Australia and New Zealand will only receive the Hi-Fi Orange colour option.
The local examples sport hard-shell saddlebags finished in Birch White, while a Black Denim panel on the fuel tank is separated from the primary colour with a Birch White accent stripe.
The tank badge is very similar to the one used in 1968. An Icons Motorcycle Collection graphic and serialisation badge is laser-etched into the console insert. The detachable windshield features a tinted lower section colour-matched to the paint colour.
A solo saddle with a black-and-white cover and a chrome rail, mounted over an adjustable coil spring and shock absorber, is another nod to the style of Harley-Davidson FL models from the 1960s.
Chrome steel laced wheels and wide whitewall tires add to the nostalgic look, as do the brilliant chrome front fender and saddlebag rails, front fender skirt, and ventilator air cleaner cover. An Electra Glide script is placed on each side of the front fender.
A Milwaukee-Eight 114 V-Twin engine delivers power with authority. For the rider focused on performance, this engine accepts all applicable Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle stage upgrade kits.
Standard electronic cruise control holds a steady speed for comfort on long rides, while halogen headlamp and auxiliary lamps provide outstanding illumination while maintaining the nostalgic styling. Reflex linked Brembo brakes offer stopping power.
A full suite of rider safety enhancements by including cornering enhanced ABS, cornering enhanced electronic linked braking, cornering enhanced traction control, cornering drag-torque slip control and vehicle hold control.
Separately, Harley-Davidson also celebrates muscle car culture and its racing heritage with the introduction of Fast Johnnie, the 2023 Enthusiast Motorcycle Collection of limited run bikes, featuring factory-direct custom paint and graphic treatments.
Executed in Celestial Blue with white racing stripes, this fresh new look is offered on the 2023 Low Rider ST, Street Glide ST and Road Glide ST motorcycles, and is limited to just 2,000 examples per model globally.
Enthusiast Motorcycle Collection models celebrate Harley-Davidson riders and are inspired by their stories and legacies. The Fast Johnnie paint scheme taps into iconic design themes featured on high-performance muscle cars and pony cars of the 1960s and 1970s.
That look, of contrasting “racing” or “rally” striping over a bold base colour, and a clever or symbolic character or logo incorporated into the graphics package has found its way into the Fast Johnnie look included here.
The same character, applied to the left side of the fuel tank, also appears on the Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle factory team motorcycles raced in the MotoAmerica King of the Baggers series.
It was inspired by the story of a piglet named Johnnie, adopted in 1920 by Harley-Davidson racer and member of the infamous “Wrecking Crew,” Ray Weishaar, which became a team mascot.
The piglet often perched on a motorcycle fuel tank for a post-race victory lap and is usually cited as the source of the “Hog” moniker that to this day is often applied to anything Harley-Davidson.
On the tank and front fender “Harley-Davidson” script replaces one of the thin stripe elements.
Depending on the motorcycle model, the striping is applied to the front and rear fenders, the fuel tank top and sides, the front of the fairing and the side covers and saddlebags. The Enthusiast Motorcycle Collection logo is on the rear fender.
For further information on these limited edition motorcycles, contact your local Harley-Davidson dealer.
