Harley-Davidson Sportster S (2021 - ) review

Dating back to 1957 and, from the mid-80s onwards, a hugely popular fixture of the range in both 883 and 1,200cc forms the classic entry-level Sportster has been a difficult bike to replace for Harley-Davidson. Inevitably it’s not pleased everyone with this new direction but it’s a genuinely modern motorcycle with competitive performance, the latest electronics and quality cycle parts like Brembo brakes. Just like the traditional Sportster it replaces it packages all this into unintimidating dimensions while its fat balloon tyres and hot-rod attitude have all the steely aggression you’d want in a bike of this type. Less positively it’s also attracted some criticism for losing its air-cooled Harley character, even if it’s hard to imagine how this might have been retained. Its ride and power delivery are also a little raw, some of the details are a bit crude and it’s pricier than previous Sportsters though this has since been addressed with the simpler, cheaper 975cc Nightster version.

For a 1,250cc, fat-tyred cruiser than Sportster S is surprisingly dinky – perhaps even too small, cute and compact for some. With its ‘bobber’, hot-rod gait, the riding position is fairly upright but with an easy enough reach to fairly flat, wide bars. In combination with the fashion victim bar-end mirrors this does make what is another wise usefully compact bike a bit wide for wiggling through traffic. Footpegs are, meanwhile, placed fairly forwards in true cruiser fashion and there’s a single, thinly padded seat with the option of a pillion pad and pegs if you want them. For short hops it’s adequate but over longer rides, with most of your weight on that thin seat, discomfort creeps in, not aided by a total lack of weather protection.

Sportsters are traditionally junior Harleys, which is to say style conscious machines often for ‘newbie’ or smaller riders with little serious intent for longer rides, touring or the practicality that goes with it. And this new version maintains that theme. Yes, it performs well enough and is decently small and manageable, but it’s no lightweight at 228kg, you can’t split traffic because of those mirrors, in stock trim it can’t take a passenger and it has no weather protection at all. At the end of the day it’s a premium priced, prestige Harley-Davidson so quite clearly not the sort of bike you want to commute year round or in all weathers, either.

At the heart of the new Sportster S is Harley-Davidson’s liquid-cooled, 1,252cc 60-degree V-twin with a form of Variable Valve Timing. Called the Revolution Max it’s a quantum leap over the previous air-cooled, pushrod 45-degree V-twins and provides the massive performance and electronics upgrade you might expect. In more powerful tune it’s also used in Harley’s new Pan America 1250 adventure bike while, going the other way, it also appears in 975cc form in the Nightster and Nightster Special. In this application peak power is 121 horsepower with 125Nm of torque. There are three switchable riding modes comprising Sport, Street and Rain, cruise control and more. Sport is the sharpest mode and, when revved hard, the Sportster is impressively lively and brisk in a way that brings to mind the Indian FTR1200 or BMW R12NineT. It has to be said, though, that its mid and bottom end delivery is a little disappointing and erratic, even in Street mode, which was a surprise as it’s so good in the Pan America. There are no real complaints with its braking, though, with the single, 320mm big front disc grasped effectively by a four-pot Brembo radial caliper with ABS assistance. Considering the price, a second disc would have been nice, though.

With its low-slung bobber look the Sportster S was always likely to have minimal suspension and so it proves. The suspension units themselves are decent quality Showa items, comprising 43mm inverted forks at the front and a linkage-driven monoshock rear, both fully adjustable and the latter with a handy remote preload adjustment knob. But there’s just 93mm of suspension travel up front and a paltry 37mm at the rear, the latter meaning a noticeably jarring ride over the slightest road imperfections and even on higher speed roads like dual carriageways. In its defence we didn’t get around to adjusting any of the settings so there may be some room for improvement, but it still should have been better. That said, handling is decent. The stumpy dimensions and low centre of gravity make it fairly nimble and involving although those fat balloon tyres make steering more of an effort than it would be otherwise.

You wouldn’t expect Harley running costs to be cheap, even on a supposed ‘entry-level’ Sportster, and from the hefty starting price on down you’re off to an expensive start. With the increased power of the new engine the Sportster S is also likely to have a bigger appetite for consumables like brake pads and tyres as well, though at least the traditional belt drive means you won’t have to worry about chains and sprockets. Overall, we expect it to be slightly more expensive to run than the old Sportster, but far less so than modern high-powered superbikes and the likes.

The Sportster S is not only all-new it’s also one of Harley’s most high-performance machines and includes technologies and features like rider aids which are new to the brand, too, so we have to be cautious here. Saying that at the time of writing the bike has now been on sale for over three years with no major problems reported, that more powerful version of the engine in the Pan America has been around for a good while with a similarly clean bill of health and it’s the same for the smaller version of the same used in the Nightster and Nightster Sport. So, overall the omens look good.

All current Harley-Davidsons, including the Sportster S, currently come with a standard two-year, unlimited mileage, manufacturer-backed warranty covering all parts and labour, although, as with the Pan America we’ve also tested recently, this can be extended to a full five years at extra cost. Like that bike, and given the shared engine, the Sportster S’s normal annual or interim services are due every 5,000 miles, which is shorter than many of its rivals but is perhaps to be expected from such a new design.

Although the Sportster S is a bare bones bobber and the successor to Harley’s charmingly basic old 883 and 1200 Sportsters, it’s a truly modern machine with all the latest electronic features and high-end cycle parts you might expect. Accordingly, the brakes are high quality Brembo radials with cornering ABS, the suspension is fully adjustable Showa and there are three electronic riding modes, lean-sensitive traction control plus cruise control. On top of that, there’s a slick, 4.0-inch diameter circular TFT display neatly designed with new accompanying switchgear even if we did find this a little crude and lacking in ergonomic polish in use. Even the mirrors are decent, although being bar-end they can get in the way. On the downside, there’s no pillion seat or pegs, no weather protection or luggage and little by way of creature comforts, although, being a Harley, a whole catalogue full of them are available as extra cost options…

Although classic air-cooled Sportsters were charming they’d had their day. On the one hand this new-school Sportster is thoroughly modern, effective and offers a significant performance boost. But its styling and character are a bit of a mixed bag and you have to balance an impressive riding experience against poor ride quality and a slightly underwhelming power delivery. There are also a few raw details like exposed wiring and some crude design touches and it’s rather expensive. All that said if you want an entry-level Harley that’s truly modern and looks great you won’t be disappointed, though if that’s the goal we’d also be tempted by the Nightster and its near two-grand saving.