Every Harley-Davidson Sport Motorcycle You Can Buy In 2024 (And How Much They Cost)

Harley-Davidson has been based in Milwaukee since William Harley and Arthur Davidson finished building the company's first motorcycle in 1905. Since then, Harley has produced some truly extraordinary bikes, as well as others that were just plain strange. Recently, the company announced that it would temporarily move production of some U.S.-market motorcycles to Thailiand, an announcement that did not go over well with union leaders and a good portion of the brand's customer base.

Three of the four models that will now be made in Thailand's Rayong province instead of Menomenee Falls, Wisconsin are classified by the manufacturer as "Sport" bikes, a category it says was spawned with the debut of the Sportster in 1957. Harley divides its current models into five categories: Sport, Trike, Cruiser, Adventure Touring, and Grand American Touring. The lines dividing some of those categories might be blurry, but the Sport category is fairly clearly defined. 

Harley-Davidson ties the lineage of these bikes back to their grandfather model: "These modern sport motorcycles pay homage to the legendary Harley-Davidson Sportster models while incorporating cutting-edge technology." Here is a quick rundown of each of the three currently available Harley Sport motorcycles, including a comparison of their features and retail prices.

The least expensive model in Harley-Davidson's 2024 lineup is the Nightster, the Sport bike with a starting price of $11,999. Harley's entry-level motorcycle only comes in Billiard Grey at that price, though. For the Vivid Black version shown above, you'll have to pay an extra $300 before adding on any extra features. 

The Nightster has some features that make it a good fit for newer riders, including a Revolution Max 975-cubic-centimeter engine that produces 91 horsepower and 72 pound-feet of torque. The engine is mounted near the frame's center to make the bike easier to balance and maneuver, and the 3.1-gallon gas tank is placed underneath the seat instead of ahead of it, further lowering the Nightster's center of gravity. The traditional gas tank location is occupied by an airbox, helping keep cool air flowing to the engine.

The seat height of 27 inches makes the Nightster easy to flat-foot for shorter riders, and the low-rise handlebars give it a forward riding position that keeps you alert in the pilot's seat. The 4-inch-wide analog speedometer has an LCD display that lets you switch among road, rain, and sport modes and adjust settings for the standard antilock brake, traction control, and drag-torque slip control systems. 

Moving up to the Nightster Special, the next model in Harley-Davidson's Sport line, brings you to a base price of $13,499. As with the standard Nightster, that's only for the Billiard Grey model with black trim. Opting for Black Denim, Red Rock, or the Baja Orange shown above will cost you an additional $450. The Nightster Special shares many features with the Nighster, including the Revolution Max engine, six-speed transmission, and 41-millimeter Showa front fork. 

The Nightster adds a pillion seat (aka a passenger seat) and swaps out the analog gauge for a 4-inch thin-film-transistor display with Bluetooth connectivity and support for multiple languages, including Spanish, Chinese and Arabic. It has the same rider-assist safety features as the Nightster, but adds a 5-volt, 3-ampere USB port for device charging and instrument panel updates. The Nightster Special's TFT display also has indicators for the tire-pressure-management system, battery voltage, engine temperature and ambient air temperature that the Nightster's analog gauge and LCD panel lack. 

At the top end of Harley's Sport bike offerings is the Sportster S, which starts at $16,999. This model shares a forward riding position with the Nightster, but the foot controls are placed ahead of their location on the Nightster and Nighster Special. As with its two Sport line cousins, the base price of the Sportster S is for the Billiard Grey color only. Vivid Black, Sharkskin Blue, and Red Rock are available for an additional $450. It shares an engine and gearbox with the two Nightsters, as well as standard antilock braking, traction control, and drag-torque slip control systems. The Sportster S's seat height of 28.9 inches is 1.8 inches taller than those of the two Nightster models, so shorter riders might want to stick with one of those models instead. 

The biggest difference between the Sportster S and the Nightster models is its larger, more powerful engine. The Sportster S uses Harley's Revolution Max 1250T engine, which puts out 121 hp and 93 lb-ft of torque. To keep that extra power firmly planted to the road, the Sportster S comes with fatter tires on both wheels than the other two Sport models.  The Sportster S also has the four-inch TFT display used on the Nightster Special, as well as that model's Bluetooth and multi-language capabilities and USB port. All three Sport models have a gear-driven rear-wheel and LED lighting, including turn and brake signals and a high-low beam headlight.