2019 Harley-Davidson FXDR 114: Drag Racing Fighter Jet?
The all-new Harley-Davidson FXDR 114 aims to be a straight-line brute that can also cut corners. But did they pull it off?
Harley has been on a roll lately, churning out new and exciting models seemingly every week. Among the most intriguing is the 2019 Harley-Davidson FXDR 114. A bike MoCo likes to call the love child between a drag racer and a fighter jet. More specifically, it’s somewhat of a mashup between the departed (and beloved) Dyna and V-Rod models. But is this truly the kind of ride that can offer up both brutish power and canyon carving capability? Well, according to Motorcycle.com‘s recent ride review, mostly.
The specs of the power cruisin’ Harley-Davidson FXDR 114 are already well known, so we won’t bore you with that. What we want to know is, how do these numbers translate to the riding experience? Well, for starters, H-D nailed the seating position, at least in terms of “high speed launches.” And you’ll want to do that a lot, because the Milwaukee-Eight’s smooth, low-end torque made it a “blast [to ride] around town.”
Big beefy brakes and an aggressive rake combine to “do their job stopping the bike in a straight line” once that fun has to stop. And despite its fat tires, prodigious length, and aggressive rake, the Harley-Davidson FXDR 114 actually steers “better than you’d expect.” Credit the abundance of lean angle for that. Still, the massive rear tire does hinder that a bit, and reportedly “causes the bike to want to stand itself up.”
Overall, Motorcycle.com found the Harley-Davidson FXDR 114 “a fun bike to ride,” with “a fantastic motor with loads of torque available at low rpm, making it a blast to ride around town.” Just not quite the drag racing fighter jet Harley says it is. If nothing else, it’s also a fun preview of just how great another new H-D model, the Streetfighter, could turn out to be!
Join the H-D Forums now!
