I saw the new Street 500 in person for the first time. I did not get to ride the bike but I saw it being ridden by students in the new rider’s course.

My first impression it is quite and at idle very quiet. I was watching the students run through their different drills and when they were stopped I had to listen carefully to realize that they were still running. Under acceleration, as when they were performing the drill to get to speed and break hard to a stop, you could start to discern the Harley sound.

My second impression was they are small. But, in retrospect, that is what is intended and for their purpose exactly what is required. Also, after riding large touring bikes most every motorcycle is small by comparison.

They also appeared to be very nimble. Although I do not know the skill set of the riders in the training course, no one dropped a bike while I was there. They all executed the figure eights and left/right swerves with no issue. The bike appeared to be quite “flickable”.

After the rider training had ended I took a closer look and also sat on one. These bikes were rigged with all there protective gear, to insure there are some resell value after a few years on the training course. The bike felt very sturdy and its center of gravity quite low. Just sitting there rocking it left and right, I had the impression that It indeed was bike made to jump around the urban landscape.

According to the guys at the dealership (Frederick HD), all the bikes they received were for their training program. They would not get any of the bikes to sell until August at the earliest.