Harley-Davidson Nightster: A Beginner-Friendly Riding Experience

I recently had the opportunity to experience the Harley-Davidson Nightster in Thailand with test riders from countries in the region such as Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines…

The Nightster is the newest model from the Harley-Davidson brand and is not yet available in Vietnam. Currently, the Nightster is only distributed in 2 Southeast Asian countries, Thailand and Malaysia.

Familiar design style

The Harley-Davidson Nightster was just introduced about 2 months ago. Despite having a completely new name, the Nightster is actually another variant developed from the Sportster line, which has been around for 65 years. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the Nightster has familiar lines from its “sibling” Sportster S.

I personally prefer the design of the Nightster over the Sportster S. The bike brings a more authentic Harley-Davidson feel with details such as a classic round headlight, a long rear fender with a reverse-mounted license plate, and dual rear shocks…

Like other cruiser bikes, the Nightster is equipped with a larger front wheel than the rear wheel, with a 19-inch front wheel and a 16-inch rear wheel. Unlike the Sportster S, the Nightster uses appropriately sized tires, giving the bike a gentler feel.

Being positioned lower than the Sportster S, the front suspension system is just a familiar telescopic fork that cannot be adjusted. The rear uses dual coil-over shocks with adjustable spring preload. In return, the bike still has Brembo brakes and Full-LED lighting.

Aiming for a sporty riding style, the Nightster doesn’t have a rear seat, just like the Sportster S. I personally understand the decision to remove the rear seat on the Nightster, as most speed enthusiasts prefer solo riding rather than having a passenger.

A little-known detail about the Nightster, unless you are a Harley-Davidson enthusiast, is that the bike’s 11.7-liter fuel tank is located under the seat. The familiar area where the fuel tank usually is actually houses the air filter.

This design helps lower the center of gravity for the Nightster, providing a stable and easier-to-control riding experience at high speeds and when cornering.

In general, Harley-Davidson’s new model still has enough “old” features to make loyal fans of the American brand feel familiar. Users will have to buy additional accessories if they want to carry a passenger.

Multiple riding modes and assistance technology

Although Nightster shares the same DNA with the Sportster S, the Harley-Davidson Nightster gives a completely different driving feel.

The Nightster offers a slightly more hunched riding position, but the rider’s feet still face forward, similar to the familiar style of the Sportster S. In terms of this detail, I think the Nightster creates a more sporty riding feel. The downside is that this sitting posture may cause discomfort when driving long distances continuously.

The first feeling when sitting on the Nightster is low, the seat height of 705 mm allows me to easily touch the ground with both feet. This helps me feel confident when handling a 221 kg bike on rough roads or navigating sharp turns at slow speeds.

Although the Nightster looks bulky and large, riding this bike is quite easy.

Harley-Davidson equips the Nightster with the Revolution Max 975T engine – a downsized version of the Revolution Max 1250T engine used in the Sportster S and Pan America.

Using a smaller engine means that the Nightster may not be as powerful as its “big brother” Sportster S. The figures of 89 horsepower and maximum torque of 95 Nm of Harley-Davidson’s latest model are not too impressive compared to the Sportster S (121 horsepower, 127 Nm).

The bike has a total of 3 riding modes, Rain, Road, and Sport. I skipped the Rain mode and focused on experiencing the Road and Sport modes. Despite using a belt drive, the Nightster still gives a fairly responsive feel every time I twist the throttle.

When traveling on highways, the Nightster doesn’t take much time to reach speeds over 100 km/h. Although the front headlight assembly is aerodynamically designed to reduce wind buffeting, continuous high-speed riding is not comfortable. Of course, cruisers are not meant to be ridden like sportbikes.

Switching from Road to Sport mode was the most surprising thing for me on this bike. The throttle sensitivity is pushed to the highest level, and the bike constantly surges forward with just a light twist of the throttle.

Sharing with Zing, a representative from Harley-Davidson in Thailand said that both the Road and Sport modes produce the same power and maximum torque, but there is a difference in the throttle ratio. In the Road mode, twisting the throttle 10% only opens the throttle by 10%, while in Sport mode, the throttle opens more.

The suspension system of the Nightster is not highly focused on comfort; it still has a certain level of shock absorption, which is easy to notice when I’m driving on rough roads under construction. In return, riding the Nightster through corners at speeds over 100 km/h gives a confident feeling.

For newcomers

It can be seen that the Nightster is a product that Harley-Davidson has clearly positioned for first-time customers who are looking for the American brand and are not yet confident enough to ride more powerful bikes.

The Nightster still provides a sporty riding feel similar to the Sportster S despite using the smaller Revolution Max 975T engine instead of the Revolution Max 1250T.

A smaller engine allows this model to be easy to control, easy to master, and truly suitable for newcomers to Harley Davidson. For die-hard fans of the brand, it seems that more powerful cruisers will overshadow the Nightster.

There is a high possibility that Vietnam will be the 3rd country in Southeast Asia to officially launch the Harley-Davidson Nightster.

When it is brought to Vietnam, the Nightster will compete with the Triumph Bonneville Bobber along with the “big brother” Sportster S. The advantage of the Nightster does not lie in the engine power, but rather in the more accessible price and the Harley-Davidson brand.

Currently, Harley-Davidson Vietnam is distributing the Sportster S with a price range of 639-649 million VND, so the Nightster will surely have a lower price than this figure. Meanwhile, the Triumph Bonneville Bobber is priced at 625 million VND.