Harley-Davidson To Launch 2019 Forty-Eight Special And Street Glide Special on March 14

Harley-Davidson gave us a taste of its new 1200cc Sportsters in Croatia last year. Of the Iron 1200 and Forty-Eight Special we rode there (read ride review here), only one was expected to make it to our shores and now it is here. The Forty-Eight Special essentially is the Forty-Eight sold here but with a few cosmetic updates and a more powerful 1200cc heart.

Now, the Forty-Eight Special's 1200cc motor makes 97Nm at 3500rpm as compared to 96Nm on the Forty-Eight. So you have more performance without a change in dynamics.

Differentiating the Forty-Eight Special from the smaller Forty-Eight are new 70’s era graphics on the peanut tank and a ‘Tallboy’ handlebar. Rest of the bodywork and underpinnings are the same. In terms of features, the Forty-Eight Special gets keyless ignition as an optional extra. Overseas, the Forty-Eight Special comes in three colours: Vivid Black, Wicked Red and Billiard White. We expect all three colours to feature on the India-spec model as well. In terms of pricing, the Forty-Eight Special is expected to cost about a lakh more than the Forty-Eight. That would put the expected pricing at around Rs 11.5 lakh.

Also read: Harley-Davidson Road Glide Special: First Ride Review

Harley-Davidson will also be launching the 2019 Street Glide Special that among other updates gets a larger V-twin motor. It is now powered by Harley’s Milwaukee-Eight 114 (1868cc) motor instead of the Milwaukee-Eight 107 (1745cc) motor that does duty on the current 2018 Street Glide Special sold here. A larger motor means torque is up from 150Nm at 3250rpm to a massive 165Nm at an even lower 3000rpm. Surprisingly, Harley-Davidson has managed to keep the same 362kg kerb weight as before. Another important feature update is the introduction of a new Boom Box GTS touchscreen infotainment system that gets includes music, navigation and phone connectivity features. The current 2018 Street Glide Special retails for Rs 30.53 lakh (ex-showroom). Given the updates, we expect the new bike to cost Rs 1.5 lakh more. Stay tuned for more info.