2024 Harley-Davidson Low Rider S: A Comprehensive Guide On Features, Specs, And Pricing

The Low Rider S rolls into MY2024 with a refreshed mien that includes a new gas-cap arrangement and instrument location that departs from the norm for this family, but is part of an overall effort to update this popular platform. Harley-Davidson’s newish Milwaukee-Eight 117 reprises its role as a solid powerhouse with the usual six-speed transmixxer and slipper clutch, all backed up by a stock traction control feature. ABS rounds out the ride-control electronics to help keep the bike dirty-side down, but that’s the extent of it, no doubt to keep the price from ballooning. A handful of colorways leave you with a decent choice of paint if you’re willing to pay extra for it.

Harley-Davidson’s Low Rider is one of the few designs to make the cut from the old Dyna lineup to the Softail-exclusive spread offered by the factory today. The mid-2016 launch as a Dyna model would run through MY2018 before retiring for its Softail-ification with a 2020 relaunch into the new Milwaukee-Eight-powered cruiser lineup. This brings us to the present day with the Low Rider S, joined this year by a more tour-tastic version of the Low Rider ST that mimics the look of the old FXRT model from the Evolution era.

What’s New For 2024

A handful of small changes in the layout give this bike a new look, even if it remains largely unchanged. Gone is the instrument panel in the tank console in favor of a piece of trim, while the gauge is now up on the handlebar-riser clamp, and the single gas tank filler hole moved to the right side of the tank. Bobbed fenders and a small, café-style front fairing remain staples of the look of the Low Rider S.

2024 Highlights

• Punched-out, 117 cubic-inch version of the base M8 Big Twin
• Updated look and layout
• West-Coast style
• Excellent canvas for customizers
• Modern inverted front forks

2024 Harley-Davidson Low Rider S Performance And Capability

Power for the Low Rider S comes from an up-sized Milwaukee-Eight mill that packs 117 cubic inches (1,923 cc) to push right up against that two-liter milestone. H-D returned to the old single-cam valve actuation, having abandoned the Twin Cam system, so the pushrods have that classic geometry, even if each one now opens a pair of poppets for superior ventilation of the combustion chambers. Bore and stroke mic out at 103.5 mm and 114.3 mm respectively with a mid-range compression ratio of 10.2-to-1 that prefers mid-grade fuel.

The 2024 H-D Low Rider S produces 103 horsepower and 125 pound-feet of torque. That extra power generates extra heat, so the factory added oil cooling to the existing air cooling to handle the extra BTUs. The intake is right out of the custom/performance world with its exposed element and high-flow configuration to make this thing look like a custom build right off the showroom floor.

A six-speed transmission and carbon-reinforced belt final drive complete the drivetrain with a slipper-type clutch that delivers a light pull weight, large friction zone, and adds some backtorque mitigation to the system. The Low Rider S top speed is 120 MPH, and 0-to-60 is four seconds flat, but individual results may vary.

Performance Specifications

Design And Styling

The Low Rider S leans hard into custom country, starting right out of the gate with the bobbed front fender and its uprights that double as protectors for the exposed tubes at the bottom of the inverted front forks. An all-LED headlight rides in a small café-style fairing trimmed down to the point of being more of a glorified headlight housing than a fairing proper. Whatever you call it, it’s a nice detail that reinforces its custom chops.

There were some changes behind the fairing. The gauge displaying speed on the little digital screen with an analog clock for the tachometer that used to be on the tank console is now up on the handlebar riser cap, which is unusual for this family. The single gas cap re-positioned off to the right side leaves the console clean and the tank looking asymmetrical, which is a departure for the family.

Seat height isn’t as low as the name suggests, at 28-inches unladen and 27-inches laden providing you weigh at least 180 pounds to get the suspension all squatted down to its riding height. While it’s true that the seat could be lower, some riders even go the other way and make it taller for greater ground clearance and deeper lean angles. It’s a solo seat, which makes sense given the look the factory was going for, that of an old-school gasser/stoplight burner. The bobbed rear fender finishes off the bodywork with an LED Zeppelin taillight to make it an almost all-LED ride, except for the incandescent turn signals front and rear. Don’t ask me why H-D does that.

Specifications And Dimensions

Chassis And Handling

Mild-steel tubing is the material of choice for the Low Rider S frame with a rectangular cross-section backbone for extra strength. It is MIG welded, and sports forged-aluminum rear fender struts for lightweight strength. Out back, the swing-cage that sells the whole faux-rigid look is also made of steel pipe and MIG welded with forged axle junctions.

Rake is set at 28-degrees which pairs with the 5.7-inch trail figure for a stable ride, even at speed, and with the short wheelbase, promises a very agile ride. The front forks are the single-cartridge type with a 43 mm tube and triple-rate spring, but nothing in the way of adjustments. Adjustable hydraulic preload does, however, come stock on the single coil-over shock hidden up underneath the seat.

Cast wheels round out the rolling chassis with Michelin Scorcher 31 hoops in a 110/90-19 and 180/70-16 on the front and rear respectively. This improves steering performance and stability. Dual, four-bore calipers with 300 mm front discs and a twin-pot anchor and 292 mm rear disc provides ample braking with a good bite. Vanilla ABS comes stock to complete the ride-control electronics.

Chassis And Suspension

2024 Harley-Davidson Low Rider S Price And Availability

MSRP on the 2024 H-D Low Rider S starts at $19,999. That’s for the Billiard Gray that serves as the base color. Interestingly, the Vivid Black package that used to occupy that slot is now a $350 upgrade. The Red Rock sheet metal will set you back another $525, but if you fancy the Sharkskin Blue, be ready to shell out another $650. Freight is still $700, and California buyers will pay the usual $200 “California tax,” but The MoCo has finally dropped the surcharge that plagued Covid-era bikes due to increased shipping costs and such.

Pricing And Features

2024 Harley-Davidson Low Rider S Versus Its Competitors

Chopped, bobbed, and otherwise custom-looking stoplight-burner cruisers are popular around the world, but the displacement puts it in rare company. Looking abroad, there are two likely competitors: the BMW R 18 and the Suzuki Boulevard M109R B.O.S.S.

How The Harley-Davidson Low Rider S Compares To The BMW R 18

• 	2024 Harley-Davidson Low Rider S	2024 BMW R 18
  Engine	1,923 cc V-twin	1,802 cc boxer
  Transmission	6-Speed Cruise Drive®	6-speed manual
  Horsepower	103 HP @ 4,750 RPM	91 HP @ 4,750 RPM
  Torque	125 LB-FT @ 3,500 RPM	116 LB-FT @ 3,000 RPM
  Driveline	RWD	RWD
  MSRP	$19,999	$14,995

BMW builds a solid product in the American style, it even has its own version of the Softail rear end to really fit the bill. The boxer-twin engine in the R 18 packs the cubes with an 1,802 cc displacement that cranks out 91 ponies and 116 pound-feet of torque to fall a tad shy of the H-D’s numbers, but not tragically so. Traction control, ABS, and a trio of riding modes fill out the R 18’s electronic suite for a slight advantage over the Harley in that column. BMW gets a clear win at the checkout with its $14,995 starting price, with a decent selection of colors from which to choose.

How The Harley-Davidson Low Rider S Compares To The Suzuki Boulevard M109R B.O.S.S.

• 	2024 Harley-Davidson Low Rider S	2023 Suzuki Boulevard M109R B.O.S.S.
  Engine	1,923 cc V-twin	1,783 cc V-twin
  Transmission	6-Speed Cruise Drive®	5-speed manual
  Horsepower	103 HP @ 4,750 RPM	128 HP @ 6,200 RPM
  Torque	125 LB-FT @ 3,500 RPM	118 LB-FT @ 3,200 RPM
  Driveline	RWD	RWD
  MSRP	$19,999	$15,599

Next up is the Blacked Out Special Suzuki that takes a deep dive into custom culture with some very Arlen Ness-like curves and stretches, it even rocks a little bullet fairing of sorts all its own. The lines flow over the frame to give it an almost alien mien. Suzuki packs in a 1,783 cc V-twin engine that is the smallest of the three, but only by a little, and the factory makes the most of it with 128 horsepower and 118 pound-feet of torque in a trade-off against the H-D’s 103/125. That kind of power puts it in burner territory, even if the bodywork is a bit extensive to perfectly fit in that category, but whatever you call it, it will get up and go. The Boulevard M109R rolls for $15,599, which is still attractive against the $20,000 Harley.

He Said/She Said

He Said

“Loving the solo-streetfighter vibe that just oozes from every pore. I’m glad this model made the jump to the strictly-Softail cruiser lineup. It’s a nice red-light burner with a custom-classic look and very little fat to speak of.”

She Said

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says,

“Yeah, it’s kinda pricey for what you get, but it’s a Harley. Harley-Davidson never has used price as a selling point, and we are decades past the
49-95
($4,995)
Sportster
. Starting life in H-D’s Dyna lineup, the Low Rider joined the Street Bob in the redesigned Softail lineup in 2018 and added the Low Rider S in 2020. The Low Rider S offers an agile and sporty ride, and can even nurture the wild-eyed peg dragger in you if you’re brave enough.”