What do you guys think of the new Harley-Davidson Nightster? Let me know in the comments? Are these liquid-cooled engines the right direction for Harley?
Any *Stock air cooled sportster. I have a converted Iron to a 1275 Hammer Performance 3rd stage kit with tuned air and exhaust. It will possibly beat this thing on torque. But the 6th gear and top end hp will give the advantage to the nightster.
For all that it gets right, I just can’t get past the fact HD didn’t bother to cosmetically finish the clutch side of the engine! From one side to the other it looks like two completely different engines.
They have lots of different trim pieces they're trying to sell, so maybe that's part of the marketing - make you want to buy a derby cover. Wouldn't surprise me.
I bought my nightster about a month ago and have put about 1200 miles on it so far. I love it, it’s fun it light and easy to maneuver and can go highway for work commute. The gap on clutch side is meh but it uses the open space for the fan to have good air circulation which I’m ok with an I’m guessing there will be add ons to dress that side up down the line. Also the growl when you hit it is part of what makes it a fun bike.
With it being 2023 Harley introduced the Nighstster Special. Once I test rode one in the Pittsburgh area...I bought the bike on the spot. Was kinda like you going in with a biased opinion but after riding the bike and having the uprgraded tech form the Sportster S...I love this bike!
Ridden both the Sportster S and the Nightster. On the S, I liked the handling and ride quite a bit, loved the power, loved the TFT display. I rode it in Sport and Road mode. Wasn't huge on the riding position (the one I rode had the forwards.) Overall I had a lot of fun on it. The Nightster, LOVED the handling, power was very good, didn't like the analog gauges. I think the handling dynamics, riding position, and comfort were all superior to the S. Looks wise, I liked both but for different reasons. Pipes on both were "meh", but nobody keeps the stock exhaust on a bike so once the aftermarket catches up that's not really a concern. On both, absolutely hated the sound...almost to a dealbreaker point. Not sure if I'd buy an S just because of the riding position, but it may be something I could get used to with a little time. I would absolutely buy the Nightster if they offered it with the TFT screen and the 1250 as opposed to the 975, but the 975 is no slouch. I just think I'd hate knowing there was that much more power and potential out there I was missing out on.
Really good bike, especially S-version. Not so charismatic shit like air-cooled Evolution Sportster engine, but the Evolution Sportster engine didn't pull so long and so fast. So I want to say the Nightster 2022 is some underpowered and too sweet bike for me. But S-version with some engine tricks/modification (maybe turbocharger, bigbore or just a custom mapping) and Supertrapp or V&H exhaust will be great for me.
Great review as always, it sucks I couldn’t demo anything this year. My wife and I missed you at the parade, you’re the best part of it all. It got political but that figures, i’ll tell you next time I see you but anyway we are having a family reunion on the 30th of this month and you are more than welcome to stop by and grab a bite if you’d like or just hang out for a bit. See ya soon. It’s going to be at the rec center down the street
I will do my best to stop by and say hi, but I may be leaving to ride out to sturgis that day or the 31st. I did my ride through town about 5 times at 7 am to 8am 4th of July morning with the music and flags, just to make sure I still did my duty before I caught my flight 🤣 Good to hear from you, and next year we should do a ride at Americade together!
@@MOTOBLADE sounds good, if I don’t see you have a great trip and looking forward to some great videos, and yes I agree about riding together at the Americade. I at least picked up some LED turn signal lights for my bike at the expo. See you soon.
Audio quality doesn't do it justice, mic is tucked inside helmet inside my cheeck padding. Go check it out at a dealer and dig into that throttle. Sounds pretty good to me - not as good as an air-cooled engine or straight pipes - but for a liquid cooled engine I think it's pretty good!
Called liquid cooler engines a movement lol. It’s literally 40 year old technology. Anyway, def like it more than the Sport S. I would of liked for you to show everybody the left side of the bike. As it looks like Harley only did one side of it.
I should have clarified 🤣I meant more of a "movement" for Harley and the cruiser world. I agree with you on the left side looking "unfinished". I show the left side in the walk-around - 4:08.
Man the super low bar for a harley "its so nice it has a sixth gear!" . Quite sad. Glad they have a much better motor design now but man they need a few more bikes that are more with the last 20 years of advancements. The pan america was a nice job in that direction with proper tech and features, just need a few more options. Especially since these things are so overpriced.
The new Harley pan America is very nice. I have a video coming out on that soon. The sportster s would be my recommendation for a sportster with decent speed.
I think Harley is attempting to get away from the name Sportster, that's why this new 975 liquid cooled bike is called the Nightster. I have always liked the old air cooled Sportsters although I've never owned one. I've owned two Heritages and two Tri-Glides and many bikes from Japan over the years. I believe Harley had to move into the 21st century. Harley Davidson would have died if they didn't move ahead. They had to retire the old air cooled Sportsters. I've never rode a 975 Nightster, but I want to. If I could I'd own one, but my wife is disabled due to cancer and we must ride a trike. I think Harley Davidson, within the next few years will use the liquid cooled engines on all their softtail models. It will probably be the 1250cc or they might enlarge the displacement to 1350 or 1450cc. I would like to see such an engine on a Freewheeler. I own a Tri-Glide Unltra(my second one) but I never use the radio, GPS or blue tooth. I might buy a Freewheeler next time and install a windshield and passenger backrest. I like the styling of the Freewheeler, but my Tri-Glide Ultra has me a bit spoiled. Either way, I think Harley Davidson is moving into the future with the new liquid cooled engines. The Pam America seems to be selling well because I see them on the road and I hope the new 975 Nightster is a huge sales success. I want one with the long haul package. The Nightster will never sound like an old air cooled Sportster, but it has a sound of its own. The NIghtster is the future, the Sportster is history. But I guess it is time.
I honestly can’t understand why Harley lost that typical sound, wasn’t that what made Harley. Now they sound like some broken scooter. With an aftermarket exhaust, they still sound crap. Never thought I’d ever say that about a Harley.
While I kinda like how this one sounds, I agree with you. Harley even tried to patent their vtwin sound at one point. It's not the same, and I still prefer a "classic" Harley over this new direction they're going.
