2020 Harley-Davidson Road Glide Limited Review First Ride

Harley-Davidson has its eyes set on the future. With promises of a streetfighter, ebikes, a new adventure bike, and the recently released LiveWire, there’s a lot of change occurring with The Motor Company. But as we have come to learn over the years, American cruiser and touring riders aren’t typically the quickest to embrace change, and for those, the fact that the Road Glide Limited remains very similar to the model it is replacing, the Road Glide Ultra, will be good news.

Related: 2020 Harley-Davidson CVO Street Glide First Ride Review

If you want to read about all the differences between last year’s Road Glide-based grand touring motorcycle and this year’s, check out the 2020 Harley-Davidson Road Glide Limited First Look. In this piece, we speak about the updates and differences in the way the new Road Glide rides.

While paint, wheels, engine finishes, and other aesthetic components may be different from the Ultra to this year’s Limited, there isn’t a whole lot of update to the bike’s riding systems. You’re looking at that same 114ci Twin-Cooled Milwaukee-Eight motor, the same gear ratios, the same suspension and cornering clearance, and the same brake hardware. The only change that affects the way these bikes ride is the larger rims. Moving from Impeller Cast Aluminum wheels in 16-inch rear, 17-inch front, the 2020 Limited now has 18-inch Slicer II Cast Aluminum wheels front and rear.

Related: 2020 Harley-Davidson CVO Tri Glide First Ride Review

Going from a 16-inch to an 18-inch rear raises the back end and changes the bike’s stance. But the sidewall on the 18-inch tires is shorter, making the overall tire diameter change by only 0.6 inch. This lifts the rear end 0.3 inch, hardly a notable difference. Up front, the bike moves from a 17-inch wheel and tire to an 18, but again, the tire sidewall is smaller and the tire’s diameter remains the same at 25.2 inches, so front handling remains unchanged.

As we rode this bike at the launch, I was surprised and impressed to find the lean angles on both sides significantly better than the recently tested Low Rider S, and with the Limited’s 26-degree rake, the bike is quite nimble at low and midrange speeds. Riding through sweeping turns at highway speeds, the bike was comfortable and stable, tilting into the turns with little resistance and easily holding the intended line. Push the bike a bit more aggressively however, and its chassis felt flexible, undulating from front to rear and softly discouraging any more hard riding. Still, the Limited will surprise you at how fast you can send it through a twisty canyon road. Even better, when you bring it outside of its comfort zone, it will let you know.

H-D Connect is a new feature for 2020, though not specific to this model. This is a subscription-based service that comes free for a year with your new bike and allows you to connect your motorcycle to a proprietary smartphone app. From there, you can monitor the bike’s battery, riding statistics, get alerts when a service interval is coming up, and track your bike’s location, getting alerts if the bike moves or tips over when you’re away. This is not available everywhere H-D is sold however, so if you live outside the US, check with your local dealer to make sure this option is available to you.

The Gorilla Glass touchscreen—new last year—works great, but navigating through the system with the toggles on the handlebar feels outdated. There is no simple play/pause button for music while connected to your smartphone, so riders have to find a roundabout way to perform that simple action, like pausing on their device or muting the bike’s audio. It’s just a small interruption in an otherwise premium experience that feels like it should have been considered and fixed a while ago.

Although it isn’t a standard feature on the Road Glide Limited, Harley-Davidson’s Reflex Defensive Rider Systems (RDRS) is an optional improvement for the touring line. Cornering enhanced electronic linked braking, ABS, two-way-adjustable traction control (Rain and Standard), and tire pressure monitoring are included, as is H-D’s new Drag-torque Slip Control to help manage rear wheel slip and engine-braking. The RDRS system is standard on CVO models, trikes, and the LiveWire, but costs an extra $995 to install on other touring models.

The Road Glide Limited is every bit the grand touring machine that H-D has claimed it to be. Plenty of storage space for two people to take a weekend getaway, heated grips, cruise control—all the touring comforts and accessories you need are already there. Not a lot changed from the Ultra to this model, but that’s not a bad thing. More black finish options, paint options, and a little bit more premium detailing define the 2020 update.

Pricing for Limited model ranges from $28,299 to $32,399, from the Vivid Black base model to two-tone custom color with black finishes throughout, but there are plenty of options in between to get just the paint and color combination you want.

The Ultra would run you $27,689 in Vivid Black, so the prices are definitely comparable, but you get more premium feel and about twice the paint and finish options with the Limited. The ride really doesn't change from bike to bike, so you’re really investing in aesthetics and paying a little more to have the latest and the greatest.

Helmet: Arai Defiant-X

Jacket: Alpinestars Brera Airflow, Black

Gloves: Alpinestars Oscar Rayburn Leather Glove, Brown

Pant: Alpinestars Copper Denim, Black

Boots: Gasolina El Tigre Boots, Cordovan