Harley Unveils 2025 Models, With Cruisers in the Spotlight

Harley-Davidson has just released its annual big reveal of the 2025 model year lineup, and The Motor Company has taken a decidedly broad approach this time around, with new releases, revisions, or improvements to nearly every one of the segments in its portfolio, hitting the cruiser, adventure, touring, and sport categories. The new year updates range from minor to substantive, and include the introduction of two new models, the 2025 Street Glide Ultra, a fully-decked-out long-hauler, and the road-focused Pan America 1250 ST, which the brand calls an “adventure sport motorcycle.” The Motor Company’s six-model cruiser collection gets a big refresh by way of new Milwaukee-Eight 117 powertrains (in different iterations) along with robust tech and minor styling updates, while the Sportster S model also sees improvements on the suspension and tech front. Harley also announced the 2025 collection of its limited-production CVO motorcycles, which this year offers three models.

With the Ultra Limited gone, in its place Harley has introduced the new Street Glide Ultra, building on the outgoing model’s foundation but swapping in elements from the Street and Road Glide redesign we saw last year. That means the new Ultra packs on the larger Milwaukee-Eight 117 powertrain with its enhanced intake and exhaust flow, rated at 105 hp and 130 lb.-ft. of peak torque, a notable increase over the outgoing Milwaukee-Eight 114-equipped Touring models. The M-8 117′s new cylinder head cooling system also mitigates engine heat to both rider and passenger, and other new features aimed at more comfort and convenience for two-up, long-haul travel. H-D says the Street Glide Ultra is now the most capable regular-production Grand American Touring motorcycle.

Related: 2025 Harley-Davidson Touring Models and Trikes First Look

But there are some truly new parts here that are exclusive to the Street Glide Ultra; for example, a new tall touring windshield, designed as a complement to the bike’s aero package, which includes a new fairing design with a central vent, new fork-mounted air deflectors, and mid-frame deflectors. The new touring shield is clear and rides about 4 inches taller than on the standard Street Glide, and fork-mounted adjustable deflectors are also larger as well. The mid-frame deflectors attach to the frame under the seat and direct heat away from the rider, while the central adjustable vane in the fairing allows the rider to dial in airflow for comfort while balancing air pressure behind the fairing to minimize helmet buffeting.

Newish bits also include rear Showa dual outboard emulsion shocks with a longer 3.0 inches of travel, though we saw those on last year’s Street Glide as well. Preload adjustment can be made to these by removing the right saddlebag and adjusting the threaded adjuster with the provided spanner tool.

The redesigned one-piece comfort seat is exclusive to the Ultra model, however, and is shaped to rotate the rider’s hips to a more neutral position. Other welcome touring elements include new heated handgrips and, of course, the King Tour-Pak luggage carrier with wraparound passenger backrest pad and luggage rack. As expected, the new Street Glide Ultra is also lighter (831 pounds as shipped) than the outgoing Ultra Limited, thanks to a new lighter-gauge steel fuel tank and lightweight aluminum triple clamps (which also appeared on the 2024 Street and Road Glide models) so we can expect snappier braking, acceleration, and handling. Wrapping up the list of convenience and safety features are the SGU’s four new selectable ride modes, which should pair nicely with the included Rider Safety Enhancements already in place.

The other newbie appears in Harley’s Adventure series, and you could sort of see this one coming: a reimagined Pan America 1250, stripped of extraneous off-roady bits and slimmed down for streetfighter duty. Is there a Bronx on the horizon? Close enough; the new 2025 Pan America 1250 ST takes a more streetable approach. In Harley’s words, it’s a “dynamic adventure sport motorcycle…designed to appeal to riders ready to exchange a sport bike or streetfighter for an agile bike with more comfort and longer distance capability.”

To get there, H-D gave the Pan America 1250 ST a comfortable upright rider position along with premium suspension and braking components while still retaining the flexible liquid-cooled Revolution Max 1250 engine. To boost pavement performance, the Pan America ST fits 17-inch wheels shod with Michelin Scorcher Sport tires, a lowered and recalibrated suspension, a new lower seat, a lighter weight exhaust, and a quickshifter.

There was no need to mess with the liquid-cooled Revolution Max 1250 powertrain apparently, as 149 hp and 91 lb.-ft. of torque seems to answer the intended use, though a new exhaust does eliminate the mid-chamber found on Pan America 1250 Special to reduce weight. The ST gets a new suspension arrangement too, with the 47mm Showa fork being a Balance Free unit with electronic preload and manually adjustable compression/rebound damping; out back you get a Showa Balance Free Shock with electronic preload and manually adjustable compression/rebound damping, both of which contribute to lowered height to enhance center of gravity and boost handling. Suspension travel is reduced by 0.75 inch from 7.5 inches to 6.75 inches, compared to the Pan America 1250 Special model, but the Adaptive Ride Height feature remains.

Other improvements include a new Screamin’ Eagle quickshifter to aid in clutchless up- and downshifts, new 17-inch cast aluminum wheels to quicken steering response and a reshaped one-piece seat that lowers height by about 0.5 inch. Brembo braking components appear on both ends, with dual front 320mm hub-mounted discs clamped by Brembo Monoblock radially mounted four-piston calipers and a single Brembo single-piston rear caliper acting on a 280mm rotor. The platform’s five selectable ride modes are on the ST as well, as is the full suite of H-D’s Rider Safety Enhancements like cornering ABS, cornering traction control, front wheel lift mitigation, and more.

The Sportster S got some attention this year as well, though it still utilizes the powerful Revolution Max 1250T engine, a beast of a mill that’s rated at 121 hp and 93 lb.-ft. of torque. The 2025 model gets a slight styling refresh to impart a more aggressive, blacked-out look, particularly on the powertrain, which also sees red lettering on cover inserts to amp up the performance-oriented look. A new tank medallion, gloss black fuel door, and red spark plug wires are added to “communicate a sporting attitude.”

The Sportster’s more impactful tweaks for 2025 happen down below, where the suspension is revised to offer a 60% increase in rear wheel travel without boosting the seat height. Rear wheel travel is increased from 2.0 inches to 3.2 inches, with the Showa piggyback reservoir shock adjustable for hydraulic preload and compression/rebound damping. The 43mm inverted fork has also been retuned to better complement the revised rear suspension, and is adjustable for compression/rebound damping and spring preload; travel is 3.6 inches.

Harley’s cruisers are the recipients of some fairly major improvements this year as well, including a styling refresh, new technology, and perhaps most importantly, a new Milwaukee-Eight 117 powertrain. Yep, the 2025 cruiser models will be powered by one of three new Milwaukee-Eight 117 powertrain variants with new cylinder heads, throttle body, and intake manifold. Thanks to tweaks in intake and exhaust schemes and manipulation in ride mode programming, each will be tuned slightly differently to match “the personality of a specific cruiser model,” according to Harley. All three share the new four-valve cylinder heads and cylinder head cooling system we first saw on the 2024 CVO and touring models, though these air/oil-cooled cruiser engines are lighter, says the company. The compression ratio for all three is 10.3:1 and each engine is Euro 5+ compliant (2024 emissions standards).

The 2025 Cruiser line includes the Low Rider S, Low Rider ST, Breakout, Heritage Classic, Fat Boy, and Street Bob. There is no Softail Standard this year.

All six models also see the addition of new selectable ride modes for 2025, with each mode offering different combinations of power delivery, engine-braking, cornering ABS, and cornering traction control (also all standard this year). The redesigned hand controls bring a new Mode button the rider can use to change modes on the fly. All cruisers also receive retuned front and rear suspensions with progressive springs as well as new all-LED lighting and instrument displays.

The first engine variant is the Milwaukee-Eight 117 Classic, powering the Street Bob and Heritage Classic. This Classic is tuned to deliver a flat torque curve for an easy ride, and is paired with a single muffler and classic round air cleaner for a mellow sound. H-D says the engine is good for 120 lb.-ft. of peak torque and 98 hp, or 4% more power than the outgoing Milwaukee-Eight 114 engine it replaces.

The more powerful Milwaukee-Eight 117 Custom, meanwhile, will be found on the Fat Boy and Breakout models. This version is rated for 104 hp and 126 lb.-ft. peak torque, for a significant increase over the outgoing 114 engine in the 2024 Fat Boy. This engine is coupled with a 2-into-2 exhaust and a bigger intake, which improves power by providing more room for the in-molded velocity stack radius and greater volume of air.

At the top of the chain is the Milwaukee-Eight 117 H.O. which powers Low Rider S and Low Rider ST models, and is tuned for better performance in the upper rpm range with an aggressive sound profile. Here you get 114 hp and 128 lb.-ft. peak torque for a meaningful performance boost—11% more horsepower compared to the 2024 Milwaukee-Eight 117 in the Low Rider S. That’s due in part to the high-performance SE8-511 camshaft developed for the Milwaukee-Eight 121 High Output engine in the CVO Road Glide ST, with engine “redline” intervention going up from 5,600 rpm to 5,900 rpm. The Heavy Breather intake features an exposed forward-facing air filter element and also gives this engine a spirited intake sound on acceleration. A 2-into-1 exhaust enhances engine performance.

Twenty-six years on, Harley’s Custom Vehicle Operation unit is still going strong, with three premium, exclusive models taking the spotlight for 2025. That said, it looks like the new CVOs are taking a bit of a break from debuting innovative new systems and designs; all three bikes, we’re told, will reprise the features and specifications from 2024, just with new paint and finish options.

The CVO Street Glide keeps everything we saw on last year’s model, but adds new cast aluminum wheels with a gloss black/contrast chrome finish and will be available in Poison Berry, Raven Metallic, and tri-color Blue Streak.

The CVO Road Glide model also keeps its bad-ass shark-nose fairing, but adds the same Poison Berry, Raven Metallic, and tri-color Blue Streak schemes.

CVO Road Glide ST model takes its inspiration from the Screamin’ Eagle Factory Team Road Glides competing in King of the Baggers championship, with the exclusive Milwaukee-Eight 121 H.O. engine. New finish options include Rally Red, Mercury Silver, and tri-color Hot Lap.