How Many Different Harley-Davidson Models & Categories Are There?
It's tough to find a brand more ubiquitous in the motorcycle space than Harley-Davidson. The company has been around for well over a century at this point, and it's grown into quite the juggernaut in that time. True to its size, the manufacturer has produced an eye-popping number of different models over the years, with all manner of revised, updated, or completely new versions added to the list. Keeping track of all of these different motorcycles can be a pretty overwhelming task for an enthusiast, let alone a newcomer trying to pick out the type of bike that's right for them. Thankfully, there's a handy way to group the company's sizable list of models in a more accessible manner.
The vast majority of Harley-Davidson motorcycles can be divided into distinct categories based on their design and use cases. These groups are officially referred to by the company as families, and distinct models are associated with one another based on which family they belong to. With all of that in mind, here's a breakdown on the different Harley-Davidson families, how many different categories there are, and roughly how many different models are contained in each one presently.
There are many models across five families
In its current structure, Harley-Davidson groups its various motorcycle offerings into five key families. The first category is Cruisers, which comprises bikes that have a relatively straightforward design, accessible to the general consumer base. The second is Grand American Touring, which are designed for extended, long-distance ventures. The third is Sport, which fittingly centers around sports bikes that can accomplish fast speeds. The fourth is Adventure Touring, which offers motorcycles that are built to handle off-road excursions. Finally, the fifth is Trikes, which are distinguished by their three-wheel structure. These families roughly mirror the six of the generally accepted categories in the greater motorcycle industry: standard, cruiser, touring, sports, off-road, and dual-purpose.
As of 2024, Harley-Davidson currently sells 24 distinct motorcycle models across its various families. There are eight Cruisers, including the Low Rider ST and the Hydra-Glide Revival. Grand American Touring comprises another eight models, such as the classic Road Glide. The other categories are smaller, with Sport featuring three models, Adventure Touring having two, and Trike also three. It's worth noting that some distinct models are simply variants of another, such as the Nightster and the Nightster Special.
The question of how many Harley-Davidson motorcycle models there have ever been across the company's history is even tougher to accurately pinpoint. When factoring in discontinued model lines from throughout the years such as the Harley-Davidson XLCR and the Harley-Davidson Peace Officer, the number quickly balloons to well over 50 different production models.
What's the most popular Harley-Davidson model?
With many different options from past and present spread across various categories, the matter of which model of Harley-Davidson motorcycle has been the most popular is difficult to pin down. Based on their versatility and focus on appealing to the mass market, it could be argued that one of the various Harley-Davidson cruisers for beginner riders comes out on top. However, an historic model from a different category also makes a solid case for being the most popular motorcycle to ever come from the company.
The Sportster motorcycle has been around for over half of the time that Harley-Davidson has existed as an entity, with the iconic sports bike making its debut in 1957. Since then, the Sportster has lived on by way of many variations, revisions, and offshoots, and it has amassed a reputation in enthusiast circles as the quintessential Harley-Davidson motorcycle. According to Harley-Davidson itself, the Sportster was the model that gave birth to the company's Sports family of bikes — a category that the Sportster is still a part of.
The premiere current iteration of the Sportster model line is the Sportster S. The bike features a liquid-cooled Revolution Max 1250T engine, with a torque of 93 ft-lb, and it is capable of reaching 121 HP at 7500 rpm. The 2024 version starts at a price point of $16,999, making it one of the cheaper models in Harley-Davidson's lineup of motorcycles.