HARLEY-DAVIDSON Roadster (2016-2021)

The Harley-Davidson Roadster is - rather confusingly - a version of the Harley-Davidson Sportster cruiser motorcycles. This family of bikes has for years represented the entry-level end of Harley's range and has never historically been very sporty - but that ends with this version.

The Roadster is inspired partly by the fashion for all things café racer and partly by the original 1950s Sportsters from which the range takes its name.

Although based on an unchanged Sportster 1200 engine, which is H-D’s familiar, middleweight, air-cooled V-twin cruiser family, a significant chassis makeover with credible performance-orientated suspension, brakes and wheels and more, has turned it into a genuine café racer that’s been a surprising hoot to thrash around twisty roads.

All in all, though still clearly a Harley at heart – the unchanged, ‘rustic’ but willing 1202cc V-twin, lumpy gearchange, fat controls and distinctive, ‘Peanut’ fuel tank leave you in no doubt of that – the Harley-Davidson Roadster is also a credible café-racer.

Or, to the Sportster, what the Triumph Thruxton 1200 RS is to the Triumph Bonneville T120. And that, at prices starting at under £10,000 when new, is no bad recommendation in itself. A Harley Sportster? Yes, there is, at last.

A bigger 19in front, 18in rear lightweight alloy wheel combo, along with proper, longer rear shocks plus fat 43mm USD forks at the front changes the whole orientation of the 1200’s familiar tubular steel cradle frame, making it distinctly more 'arse up, nose down', in true café racer style.

And that, allied with a decent twin disc brake set-up complete with twin four-piston calipers, semi 'ace' handlebars, more rear-set footpegs plus a beautifully made race-style seat adds up to a bike that’s both a doddle to get on with and one that urges you to hustle and scratch.

It’s a joy to steer, which it does quickly and precisely, the ride is more controlled and sophisticated than any previous Sportster and the brakes are so good it’s as if Harley has finally discovered how good modern brakes can be.

The familiar 1202cc, air-cooled, pushrod V-twin is completely unchanged from that of its cruiser siblings.

Bumping up the capacity by 30% to 1202cc has had an obvious effect on the power, so the shuddering Milwaukee lump now puts out 66bhp and 73ftlbs of torque – a significant bump up from the 883.

This gives it much more drive out of the corners and when out for a fun ride, you can just leave it in third gear and ride everywhere on a wave of torque. Being honest, that’s the most enjoyable way to ride it.

If you want to get the maximum amount of power out of it, you can rev it until all four of the valves start dancing on top of the cylinder head but all you’ll do is give yourself earache and burn all your fuel without making much more progress. Instead, just sit back, relax and bring on the noise.

The days of Harleys with poor reliability are thankfully long gone. Stick to the service intervals and the Harley-Davidson Roadster should be fairly bombproof. You will need to keep on top of the finish or the gleam will fade pretty quickly.

Not many will be buying a Harley like this to commute through the winter, but the shiny parts won't stand up well to British winters and road salt.

Our Harley-Davidson Roadster owners' reviews show some reliability concerns, including snapped ancillary parts and concerns about the robustness of electrical components - but it scores over four out of five on average.

The cost of a Harley-Davidson hasn't risen much in the last 10 years, while other brands have let their prices spiral. As such, the circa £10,000 when-new asking price on the Roadster looks pretty reasonable.

They also hold their value, which is great when you decide it's time for a change, but not so great if you're in the market for a used model. A decent secondhand Sportster 1200 will set you back upwards of £7000.

The model has been discontinued thanks to Euro5 regulations and its replacement, the Harley-Davidson Sportster S costs £14,595.

The familiar, cruiser-style chunky switch-gear and, particularly, control levers and footpegs are basically unchanged from the existing Sportster 1200 models. While for me, the humpbacked, 'Peanut' fuel tank, which was originally specifically designed to meet a cruiser aesthetic, jars with the overall look, too.

The bars are one-piece, tubular steel turned-down 'ace' bars of the type familiar (although the Harley’s are wider) from Triumph’s old Thruxton 900.

To continue the café racer theme, footpegs are more rear-ward (although hardly rearset), there’s a new, beautifully made race-style seat, chopped down mudguards, a neat, multi-function single tacho dial which incorporates a digital speedo and three different paint options (gloss black, satin black, metallic red or two-tone silver/black).

There was no 'Harley Performance' orange and black initially even though it seemed ideal for this sort of bike. Harley obviously agreed, because it was added as an option when the paint was updated.