2009 Harley-Davidson Road Glide
First Reviewed August 16, 2009 Found in Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Reviews, Touring
The 2009 Harley-Davidson Road Glide retains its Shark Nose image, its power, and its touring comfort while providing the added benefits of stability and ride quality with the integration of the new frame. The good news doesn’t stop there either as minor upgrades throughout the bike take an already good platform and make it great.
While style tweaks and new models tend to dominate the headlines of biker magazines and bring traffic into Harley-Davidson showrooms, the company decided to enhance the entire lineup of touring motorcycles with a completely redesigned frame and swingarm. This new backbone is welded robotically and was engineered to provide better structural support for bikes like the ’09 Road Glide while actually reducing the number of component parts which make up the frame. The goal of the touring motorcycle engineering team was to enhance the line so that there was no discernable wobble or vibration at any speed. The older frame was known to fall victim of sympathetic vibration at certain speeds which goes against everything which touring bikes are about….comfort.
The 2009 Road Glide is fitted with the standard 96 cubic-inch air cooled Twin Cam engine that is common to all Harley-Davidson touring bikes except those grafted into the CVO family. This tried-and-true powerplant gives this touring bike all the acceleration needs for cross-country trips or a quick scoot to the local market. The Isolated Drive System compensator has now been integrated into the rear hub rendering a much cleaner look. This feature is supposed to lend a smoother ride, especially on acceleration. Electronic throttle control means that there are fewer cables on the Road Glide and lends for a trimmer, cleaner look.
US $16,895.00
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As mentioned before, a series of minor upgrades brings the overall quality of the Road Glide to the next level. One of these is the tweaking of the dampeners in the front shock absorbers. Such a move makes sense as a new frame is going to carry weight differently whether accelerating, braking, or negotiating curves and resetting the dampeners accordingly goes without saying. The rear shocks are still adjustable to compensate for both the weight of the rider and whether or not a passenger is commonly along for the ride or not. Speaking of passenger comfort, the exhaust system on this Harley has been reworked so that it passes under the frame. This allowed the designers to manipulate the flow of the stainless steel exhaust pipes in such a way that it keep well clear of both drive and passenger legs and virtually eliminates the dreaded leg burns which have long been the bane of touring bikers.
The ’09 Harley-Davidson Road Glide is equipped with Brembo Brakes for better stoppage which are attached to the 17” front and 16” real wheels. The rear tire itself is wider having grown to 5” and complements the new frame well.
'09 Road Glide Specifications
The ‘ 09 Road Glide in available in six colors schemes which include: Vivid Black, Black Pearl, Dark Blue Pearl, Red Hot Denim, Red Hot Sunglo, and Mirage Orange Pearl.
Reviews of the 2009 Harley-Davidson Road Glide can be found below. Please feel free to write a review of your own to shed some light on the overall value of this bike for others who may be considering buying one used. Be sure to add your review in the right spot as the ’09 CVO Road Glide and ’09 Road King have their own separate review sets and are often confused with this particular bike. Email us a photo of your bike to pictures@hdreviewspot.net and we’ll be sure to add it to the ’09 Road Glide Photo Gallery so others can get a good concept of what these bikes look like when not dolled up for a photo shoot.