Both bikes are great looking and given that the specs are so similar it really comes down to taste. I have to say that the Harley Street looks like it may be more comfortable than the Royal Enfield Continental GT.
Royal Enfield Continental GT or Harley Davidson Street 500??
2
Having a bit of a difficult time talking myself onto the Street 500 with the Royal Enfield Continental GT sitting right there in range.
I mean the Enfield has a slightly larger 535cc engine, is arguably styled much more tastefully and costs $7200, only $500 more than the Street 500s MSRP of $6,700...
the enfield puts out 29 HP in a 405 lb (wet) package for P/W of 13.9, not exactly setting the world on fire but similar to the Street 500s 480 lb wet weight coupled with 32 BHP gives the Street 500 a P/W of 15 lbs/HP.
So for the Enfield you get a stunning bike, better performance and a true modern classic all for a similar price....
![]()
![]()
I mean the Enfield has a slightly larger 535cc engine, is arguably styled much more tastefully and costs $7200, only $500 more than the Street 500s MSRP of $6,700...
the enfield puts out 29 HP in a 405 lb (wet) package for P/W of 13.9, not exactly setting the world on fire but similar to the Street 500s 480 lb wet weight coupled with 32 BHP gives the Street 500 a P/W of 15 lbs/HP.
So for the Enfield you get a stunning bike, better performance and a true modern classic all for a similar price....
1 - 20 of 34 Posts
4
the ergos on the enfield are actually not that bad as you would expect from a cafe styled bike....
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Oh, come on now D.T., a Sportster may be antiquated technology and a relic, and performance lacking when compared to a similar sized non-HD bike, but it is a QUALITY antiquated relic. At least give credit where credit is due. Maybe we have different perspectives on quality?
I happen to like my "antiquated machinery", and I was fully aware that it was not top of the line performance and handling when I bought it. But I don't need more power, or better handling, or better brakes for the type of riding I do. Now, you mentioned in another reply that the VRod is not your ideal bike as it is too heavy, too long, etc., but yet you bought one and apparently enjoy it?... no difference, really, eh?
All I can say is it would be a very boring world if we all liked the same thing and rode the same bikes. Variety is the spice of life, right?
Ride on and keep the shiny side up!
I wouldn't consider any of the air cooled Harleys to be high quality motorcycles. Far from it. Harley cuts all kinds of corners on brakes and suspension. They just throw more material at problems instead of doing some engineering, you wonder if their engineers know about CAD programs the way they build their crap. They put effing Locktite on everything, even the darn brake bleeder nipples (and they use a ridiculously small hex head on them, it's almost impossible to bleed the rear brake on a V-Rod at least without rounding the stinking nipple), instead of addressing the vibration that causes things to work loose. Fasteners are automotive sized, needlessly large and heavy for what they are required to fasten. That whole bike should have been buried and replaced by 1977. It was obsolete even before then.Oh, come on now D.T., a Sportster may be antiquated technology and a relic, and performance lacking when compared to a similar sized non-HD bike, but it is a QUALITY antiquated relic. At least give credit where credit is due. Maybe we have different perspectives on quality?
I happen to like my "antiquated machinery", and I was fully aware that it was not top of the line performance and handling when I bought it. But I don't need more power, or better handling, or better brakes for the type of riding I do. Now, you mentioned in another reply that the VRod is not your ideal bike as it is too heavy, too long, etc., but yet you bought one and apparently enjoy it?... no difference, really, eh?
All I can say is it would be a very boring world if we all liked the same thing and rode the same bikes. Variety is the spice of life, right?
Ride on and keep the shiny side up!
I bought the only version of the V-Rod that Harley ever made, really the only bike they have made in three decades, that I would have even considered and that is the Street Rod. It has a unique frame never used on any other V-Rod, so it has plenty of cornering clearance, additional suspension travel at the rear so it rides nice, braided brake hoses on the front so you have great brake feel and less rake than other V-Rods for better steering. The riding position is normal, meaning a slight lean forward to the bars and the foot pegs mounted below the seat/tank (or in the case of the V-Rod the air box cover) junction. None of this feet forward, drag your heels on even a mild corner nonsense while your vertebrae are compressed by the ride from the slammed rear suspension.
I would not have wasted my money on any other V-Rod because they are too low, steer miserably and ride harshly due to the whimpy 3 inches (76 mm) of rear suspension travel. The engine is a gem, but the rest of the bike is primative. At least with the Street Rod Harley for one shining moment got it mostly right. In fact, I steers better and rides as well as the 2013 FJR 1300 I tested last year. You can't say that about any other bike Harley makes.
1 - 20 of 34 Posts
