7 Facts about the 1983-92 Harley-Davidson FXRT Sport Glide
Once upon a time, not every bike in the Harley-Davidson stable was retro styled. The FXRT Sport Glide, and its variations were designed to go head to head with BMW and the Goldwing in both comfort and handling, and it looked as modern as anything in the 1980s.
1. Class of 1983
With a streamlined, modern frame mounted fairing, Teutonic-looking hard saddle bags, sophisticated anti-dive fork, and enclosed chain drive, the 1983 Harley-Davidson FXRT Sport Glide was a match for any other tourer on the market. Even with the old Shovelhead (in 1984 it got the Evo motor), this bike was lighter than a Goldwing and just as quick in traffic. The Sport Glide was spun off of the Super Glide and featured a 5-speed transmission, and rubber mounted motor for relaxing cruising with little vibration to tire you out. If you dig up any of the old magazines from the era, they all raved about this new style bagger for 1983. Less than 1,500 of these bikes were produced in 1983 before the Evo-powered 1984 models debuted.
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2. Pursuit Glide
Could you put together two worse words in the name of the bike than Pursuit Glide? In 1984, Harley chooses to build a police bike based on the FXR chassis and used the most modern fairing they had for easier freeway travel, and the FXRP Pursuit Glide was born. Because of the more aerodynamic shape, the FXRP had a better top speed than the old cop bike with its big flat windscreen, and better handling thanks to the FRX chassis.
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3. The Grand Touring Edition
Technically the Grand Touring Edition is in the FXRD family, not the FXRT, but they are obviously related. For 1986 the Motor Company added a tail pack, lots of chrome, bagger style dual exhausts, fairing mounted instruments, and a fancy stereo, then slapped on special paint and Grand Touring Edition emblems on the tank and fairing. Only about 1,000 are reputed to have been made, and who knows how many survived. Even today, if you want to tour but without the huge weight of a full dress rig, the Grand Touring Edition is a great bike. Think of it as the business casual tourer.
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4. Equal Parts Sport and Tour
One of the reasons the FXRT Sport Glide remains so popular is because of its great combination of touring bike comfort, with that sweet handling FXR frame. Obviously, this bike has had all kinds of tweaks, but that stout upside down fork and twin six piston caliper set up only improve on the factory's solid engineering efforts.
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5. Dave Zien's Million Mile Bike
This 1991 FXRT Sport Glide has done over a million miles with former Wisconsin state senator Dave Zien in the saddle. He claims it has set 119 world records, and even though he is a politician, I tend to believe him. A few of those records include 11,000 miles in 11 days, 31,000 miles in 31 days, and 113,800 miles in one year. Sure, almost every single piece of the bikes has been changed over the years, with the motor having been rebuilt more than 10 times, but it sure seems like he got his money's worth. The bike was later loaned to the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum for long term display.
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6. Stock or Custom
If you look around the internet you'll find all manner of custom Sport Glide touring bikes around. The unique shape of the fairing and bags stands out among a sea of more common baggers, but still gives you plenty of real estate to apply your custom paint to them. The FXRT chassis is perfectly capable of taking on bigger inch motors and more power as well. Look out though, there are FXRT purists out there who will give you the hairy eyeball for modifying what many feel was a perfect bike from the factory.
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7. Still a Good Buy and Prices are Going Up
Plug in some information in the NADA guide, which is flawed, but still a good tool, shows the 1987-1992 versions of the FXRT worth from $8,000 to $10,000 in excellent condition. But in order to get your hands on a 1986 FXRT, you are looking at over $14,000, and over $15,000 for the FXRD Grand Touring Edition. 1985, 1984 and Shovelhead powered 1983 versions all are in that same ballpark too. The 1988-92 Sport Glide is a great bike to buy and ride and if the early bikes are any indication, you just might make a buck on it in the long run.
Do you have an FXRT Sport Glide? Did you used to have one, many years ago and want to reminisce?
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And if you need help keeping your bike piling on the miles, check out the HDForums How To section.
