2019 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Standard

You and your motorcycle. No more, no less. That’s what the 2019 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Standard is all about. Based on the Street Glide and powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 107 V-twin, the Electra Glide Standard does without a Boom! Box infotainment system and accompanying speakers, heel-and-toe shifter, passenger seat or footpegs, and antilock braking (a $795 option) found on the more expensive Touring models. Inside the single-LED-headlight batwing fairing, four analog gauges—no color touch display—house an odometer, trip A and B, and range to empty, plus transmission-gear and other telltale indicators. Black is the only available color, while chrome and polished parts are reduced to a minimum.

On the road, the Electra Glide Standard tracks as steadily as a rock. With cruise control, better-than-average suspension, and excellent triple-disc Brembo brakes, the Standard makes a compelling case for starting simple and adding as you go. Foam covers the speaker holes, for example, so there is space to add aftermarket audio components if you like. A Tour-Pak trunk can be clipped on, as well, provided you purchase the requisite mounting brackets. You can even add a seat and pegs for your sweetie.

Likes: Lowest-priced model in H-D's Touring line; Vivid Black canvas for customization

Dislikes: Must remove left saddlebag to adjust shock preload; cheesy mirror stalks

Verdict: Plain-wrap, no-nonsense, meat-and-potatoes Milwaukee-Eight 107 bagger

“Much as I like the Boom! Box audio system on the models I’ve ridden, there’s no way I tapped into 50 percent of its potential,” Andy Cherney noted after riding the Electra Glide Standard. “Want something to pinch or swipe? There’s probably a bug on the windshield, so have at it.”

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Buy American? Works for some, not all. All four Japanese motorcycle manufacturers produce touring rigs—several V-twins and one flat six—including the Honda Gold Wing, Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Vaquero ABS, Suzuki Boulevard C90T, and Yamaha Star Eluder. And then there is the Electra Glide Standard’s most direct competition, the Indian Chieftain.

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The Motor Company catalogs more than 1,200 factory accessories—from Screamin’ Eagle Stage II, III, and IV engine kits to handlebar and foot controls to a smorgasbord of lighting and seating options—for the 2019 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Standard. So, as they like to say in Milwaukee, make it your own.