REVIEW 2015 Harley-Davidson Street 750

By Ed Tahaney - June 1, 2015

The 2015 Harley-Davidson Street 750 is a scrappy street fighter that is a perfect motorcycle for newbies and former bikers looking to reenter the motorbike scene. It’s a champ for commuters looking for a daily rider that won’t cost a fortune to maintain and it’s also good for weekend warriors looking to make short runs up or down the coast.

The XG 750 is small, lightweight and a breeze to master for easy riders looking for a little V-Twin excitement at a decent price. The latest from Harley-Davidson is a flexible city bike that is good for splitting traffic lanes on the Hollywood Freeway and tough enough to roll through the busy streets of Los Angeles.

But for me, the XG750 excels as a boulevard cruiser and is comparable to many of the finest liquid cooled bikes from Italy and Japan. It’s definitely made for short riders too and the seat is super duper low at 25.7 inches. There’s no storage space underneath the seat and there’s room for maybe a burrito next to the bike’s ECU. Riders 5’10 and over should consider an 883 Sportster or a V-Rod Muscle for a much better fit.

The stock black handlebars are low and wide with a cruiser-like riding position. Everything else on the Street 750 is comparable to the components you will find on similar bikes by Ducati, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha.

The Street 750 weighs in at 489 lbs. and that’s not too heavy to push, but heavy enough to not get blown around on the highway either. The low center of gravity of the bike makes it easy to keep it balanced and the handling feels good and strong on the street. It also feels light and nimble cruising between cars and trucks in heavy traffic.

The Street 750 is built at Harley-Davidson’s factory in Kansas City, Missouri. The motorcycle comes bone stock and is available in Vivid Black, Black Denim and Mysterious Red Sunglo. We tested the later with a highly recommended Screamin’ Eagle exhaust ($350) plus an air cleaner kit ($150) upgrade.

The all black versions definitely look raw and are just begging to be customized. They come with a skinny 17-inch front Scorcher tire and a chubby 15-inch rear one with basic, blacked out, 7-spoke aluminum rims.

The instrument cluster is small and consists of a single, round speedometer on the handlebar that’s basic and easy to read. The key ignition and fork lock are located under the center of the handlebars.

The teardrop tank holds 3.5 gallons and is perfect for holding a magnetic aftermarket tank bag. There’s also a dummy light that comes on when you are down to 0.8 gallon. Depending on how you ride, the XG750 averages around 41 mpg with a range of roughly 100 miles between fill-ups.

The Revolution X, V-Twin 749 cc engine is liquid-cooled with about 55 horsepower. It packs a decent, runty punch at 44.5 ft. lbs. @ 4000 rpm of torque. It sounds good too, especially when you flick the throttle between third and fourth gears.

The overall ride is strong and sufficient with a final drive belt which is smoother than a chain but more enjoyable than a shaft driven motorcycle. The transmission is 6-speed and the gears are easy enough to navigate for first timers. Single disc brakes are standard and ABS is not available on the Street 750.

The front brake feels weak when you are slowing down from higher speeds to a quick stop in traffic. Fortunately, Brembo now offers an aftermarket brake kit that addresses this braking power issue.

Photo gallery by Joseph Yoon

Overall, the Street 750 is the kind of bike that will make you take the long road to and from the office. It’s not quite a XR750 but something completely different and new.

Prices start at $7,499 and it comes with a two-year warranty with unlimited mileage, which is about the time you will probably need to be ready to trade up to a Sportster.