H-D Forums Asks: ‘Let’s See Those Solo Street Glides!’

No passenger seat, no sissy bar, and a chrome luggage rack has to be one of the hottest ways to set up a Street Glide.

Even the biggest, baddest Harley-Davidson motorcycles are just begging to be customized, right off the showroom floor. Some bikes get customized for performance, while others are modified to look better in the eyes of their owner. They can also be tweaked to carry more cargo or be more comfortable.

It seems like no brand of bikes is better suited to customization. The factory offers a wide variety of parts, and there’s a thriving aftermarket selection, too. Even with all of these options, it’s still possible that someone out there is running the setup you want.

That’s one of the many things that make H-D Forums such an invaluable resource. Case in point, check out this thread by yandeltx. He wanted to see what a Street Glide would look like with a solo seat, a luggage rack, and no sissy bar.

As it turns out, plenty of our members are running that very setup. They were more than happy to share their photos in the thread. After seeing several bikes set up like this, it might be one of our favorite looks.

A Street Glide may be the ideal bike for long-distance solo touring. Even with the fork-mounted fairing, it feels light and nimble, especially true when compared to other Harley-Davidson touring bikes.

If you ride solo, giving up the big, comfy backseat of the Ultra Limited is no big deal. However, most will readily admit that they miss the additional cargo capacity offered by the Tour Pak.

Mounting a small luggage rack in place of the passenger pillion offers a great opportunity. A small luggage trunk can be fastened to the rack. This offers plenty of space — almost as much as a Tour Pak. Combined with the saddlebags, there’s almost nothing you can’t fit on board.

If you’ve ever wanted to increase the cargo capacity of your Street Glide, this is a great solution. Best of all, it’s totally reversible. Using just your seat mount thumb screws, you can swap your Street Glide from carrying passengers to carrying luggage — and it looks great either way.

Photos: H-D Forums members

Cameron Vanderhorst

Cam VanDerHorst has been a contributor to Internet Brands' Auto Group sites for over three years, with his byline appearing on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Corvette Forum, JK Forum, and Harley-Davidson Forums, among others. In that time, he's also contributed to Autoweek, The Drive, and Scale Auto Magazine.

He bought his first car at age 14 -- a 1978 Ford Mustang II -- and since then he’s amassed an impressive and diverse collection of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, including a 1996 Ford Mustang SVT Mystic Cobra (#683) and a classic air-cooled Porsche 911.

In addition to writing about cars and wrenching on them in his spare time, he enjoys playing music (drums and ukulele), building model cars, and tending to his chickens.

You can follow Cam, his cars, his bikes, and his chickens at @camvanderhorst on Instagram.

Instagram