2024 Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic: A Comprehensive Guide On Features, Specs, And Pricing

The 2024 Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic 114 is one of those relatively old-school machines in its own right. It owes its design to a much older stock, the Hydra Glide dresser circa 1950s. Since the advent of the original Softail line that first saw the light of day in 1983, and the first Heritage that rolled in 1986, this model has been a staple offering across a whole range of different powerplant generations.

This latest Heritage generation carries the Milwaukee-Eight engine like a gem in a setting while maintaining that hard-tail/hydraulic-front look that held it in such good stead over the decades. The engine plays into the dated look overall quite nicely, but there’s no beating that faux-rigid rear end to set the stage as an homage piece, or the modern ride delivered by the pivoting swing-cage structure that pulls double-duty to really sell the look. Stock saddlebags and a barn-door windshield give the Heritage Classic 114 some usefulness as a grocery-getter or as an old-school-style light tourer.

What’s New For 2024

Harley-Davidson rolls its venerable Softail Heritage Classic design family over into 2024 with some new paint packages and more choices between blackout and chrome finishes the whole bike over. Plus, it drops the Mil-8 107 plant in its entirety, so all MY24 Heritage Classics come with the 114 cubic-inch engine for its beating heart. ABS also rolls over as the only electronic safety net on the whole machine so far. This bike would benefit from H-D’s Reflex Defensive Rider Systems, so there’s some room for improvement. As for the rest, it more or less follows the well-established Heritage Softail design from the ’80s with the large, old-school windshield and stock saddlebags that have always set this ride apart from the pack.

2024 Highlights

• Fat front end with windshield and pimp lights
• Heritage models now come with the Mil-8 114 exclusively
• Stock saddlebags for secure cargo capacity
• Nice selection of colors and undercoat options
• ABS protection comes stock

2024 Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic 114 Performance And Capability

H-D steps up its game in the engine department with the larger and more powerful 114 cubic-inch version of the Milwaukee-Eight. The 2024 Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic 114 produces 94 horsepower and 119 pound-feet of torque. That’s up over the 87/110 output from the base-model Mil-8 107 mill to give the Heritage a measure of performance, even if this family has never really been about output as much as it has been about that old-school look. The Milwaukee-Eight engine drops the dual-cam valvetrain in favor of a single-cam design like the older engines, so the nosecone area also returns to a more classic, more compact design.

A quartet of external pushrods actuate the rockers up top, which open a pair of valves per rocker for a total of four poppets per head. This is where the “Eight” in the engine’s name comes from, and it ensures efficient aspiration and evacuation of the combustion chamber. Horsepower maxes out at 4,750 RPM, but the torque tops out at 3,000 RPM with much of the torque available lower in the range to give it a solid holeshot, even with its extra equipment.

Power flows through a slip-and-assist clutch for some anti-hop protection at the rear wheel with a softer pull weight and broad friction zone. This gives you very granular control, which comes in handy when negotiating a parking lot. A six-speed transmission does its thing with a carbon-reinforced belt final drive that is both quiet and low-maintenance.

Performance Specifications

Design And Styling

The Heritage line has always been about capturing the look of yesteryear, so the Softail platform was the natural choice right from the very start of this branch on the family tree for its faux-rigid rear end and old-school geometry, but it doesn’t stop there. The front fender is full-length, complete with chrome trim, skirt, and script. Beercan fork skirts make the fat front end seem even fatter, with even more visual weight added by the detachable windshield and passing lamps that ride just outboard of the central round headlight. The screen lends some pilot protection, which is about as good as it got back in the day before the widespread use of fairings, to make this an old-school tour bike once you factor in the stock bags.

Atop the five-gallon, teardrop-profile fuel tank rides a classic console in blackout or chrome depending on your color choices at checkout, with the classic round analog gauge and array of idiot lights to complete the instrumentation. At this time, the Heritage Classic comes with none of the RDRS features or infotainment support.

The seat slings your butt at a low 26.3 inches off the deck, which is very confidence-inspiring at stops and slow-speed maneuvers, even for shorter riders. It also comes stock with a pillion pad and fold-up passenger footpegs so you can share the fun with a friend right off the showroom floor.

Specifications And Dimensions

Chassis And Handling

Mild steel makes up the tubular frame members on the Heritage Classic 114 as well as the rectangular cross-section backbone and swing-cage rear end that makes the magic happen. Rake and trail are at the stable end of the spectrum with a 30-degree rake angle and 5.5 inches of trail that will track well, even in a crosswind. Showa forks float the front end on 49 mm tubes with the Dual Bending Valve tech that delivers real-time, automatic, demand-driven damping adjustments for a ride that’s far superior to plain vanilla shocks, even if it lacks manual adjustments. Out back, the rear shock rides under the seat with a hydraulic preload adjuster for quick changes in response to changing passenger and cargo loads.

There’s just no beating the laced wheels for a classic-style bike, and they come shod in Dunlop H-D Series hoops in a 130/90 and 150/80, both with a 16-inch diameter and “H” speed rating. As for the anchors, a 300 mm disc and four-bore caliper haul down the front wheel with a 292 mm disc and twin-pot binder out back, and stock ABS at both ends as the only safety electronics on the whole machine.

Chassis And Suspension

2024 Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic 114 Price And Availability

MSRP on the 2024 H-D Heritage Classic 114 starts at $22,499. The base Billiard Gray colorway rolls for that price with chrome details. Vivid Black comes in either chrome or blackout, same as the two-tone Red Rock/Vivid Black. The Alpine Green only comes in chrome, while the Atlas Silver Metallic can only be had with blackout paint. In all cases, chrome comes as part of the starting price, but the blackout will set you back a smooth grand.

Pricing And Features

2024 Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic 114 Versus Its Competitors

This kind of homage piece usually finds itself in rare company, but it’s a popular design with competitors both at home and abroad. I didn’t have far to look to come up with the BMW R 18 Classic and the Springfield from domestic foe Indian Motorcycle.

How The Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic 114 Compares To The BMW R 18 Classic

• 	2024 Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic 114	2024 BMW R 18 Classic
  Torque	119 LB-FT @ 3,000 RPM	116 LB-FT @ 3,000 RPM
  Transmission	6-speed manual	6-speed manual
  Driveline	RWD	RWD
  MSRP	$22,499	$17,995
  Horsepower	94 HP @ 4,750 RPM	91 HP @ 4,750 RPM

Beemer hits the roads with its own version of the classic American, pre-fairing bagger in its R 18 Classic. Like a brother from another mother, the Beemer runs with passing lights, and a small windshield up front, and a set of stock bags out back. Blackout paint makes that crucial custom connection along with a pared-down front fender and fat front forks complete with beercan skirts for more custom goodness. The boxer-twin engine packs 1,802 cc and puts out 91 ponies with 116 pounds o’ grunt to land in the same ballpark as the H-D. Also like the Harley, it looks like ABS is the only safety electronics available. The price runs $17,995 for the base-model R 18 Classic to make it somewhat more budget-friendly.

How The Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic 114 Compares To The Indian Springfield

• 	2024 Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic 114	2024 Indian Springfield
  Torque	119 LB-FT @ 3,000 RPM	119 LB-FT @ 3,000 RPM
  Transmission	6-speed manual	6-speed manual
  Driveline	RWD	RWD
  MSRP	$22,499	$22,999

Long-time domestic foe Indian Motorcycle brings its own tribute piece to the market in the Springfield. This bike benefits from Indian’s own deep historical roots with a classic, full-valence front fender, and chrome war-bonnet ornament. Like the others, a set of beercan fork skirts makes the fat front end even fatter, and passing lamps come stock to pierce the night. A large windscreen protects the pilot and is much larger than the Beemer’s glass for better protection. This model comes only with chrome trim and priced just over the H-D at $22,999. Indian publishes the torque figure at 119 pound-feet to tie the Heritage Classic. The factory also adds Selectable Ride Modes to the ABS protection enjoyed by the others for a slim advantage in safety electronics.

He Said/She Said

He Said

My husband and fellow motorcycle writer, TJ Hinton, says,

“Not going to lie, the Heritage is probably my all-time favorite H-D design, and I love that it is now also becoming a performance machine as well with its big new engine. It’s worth mentioning that this is one of the few old designs that survived the recent great Softail resurgence.”

She Said

“The Heritage Classic is my favorite Harley. I prefer the big cyclops headlight, pimp lights, no fairing, and a windscreen, which makes the Springfield my favorite Indian and the R 18 Classic my favorite BMW. The Heritage Classic is the Softail touring model without going up into the heavier touring chassis as you would with the
Road King
. With the Softail chassis, you have a lighter tourer and it performs just that much better if you like to hit the twisties and want that agile spirit. If you wouldn’t consider a Softail bike as a capable tourer in the past, try it again since Harley revamped the Softail chassis a few years ago. It has a much better feel now.”