2025 Harley-Davidson FLHXU Confirmed: Enter the Street Glide Ultra?
Tue, 24 Dec 2024Harley-Davidson has been pretty tight-lipped about its 2025 model lineup so far, but Motorcycle.com can confirm that it will include at least one new touring model designated “FLHXU”. Considering the Street Glide is the FLHX, it’s a safe bet that the new model will be a Street Glide Ultra, which somehow has never actually existed before.
For those unfamiliar with Harley-Davidson nomenclature, Ultras are Harley-Davidson’s big-rig touring models, typically equipped with fairing lowers, a Tour-Pak combination topcase and passenger backrest, plus other amenities for racking up miles in comfort. We’ve seen Road Glide Ultras with the frame-mounted shark-nose fairing, and Ultra Limiteds and Electra Glide Ultra Classics and even Tri Glide Ultras with fork-mounted batwing fairings, but Harley-Davidson has yet to offer a Street Glide Ultra.
That might be about to change, now that we’ve spotted the FLHXU designation pop up in two different sources.
The first is updated homologation filings in Australia for Harley-Davidson’s touring models. An approval notice was recently updated, with a mystery FLHXU model added to the existing list of type approved Harley-Davidson touring models. All the other model codes on the list correspond with touring bikes from 2021 to the present, with the new model valid as of Dec. 20 this year.
Further confirmation comes to us from Harley-Davidson itself, with a parts listing for a polished front brake rotor noting that it does not fit “'23-later FLHXSE, FLTRXSE, '24-later FLHX, FLTRX, '24 FLTRXSTSE and '25-later FLHXU” models (emphasis ours).
That’s the 2023 and later CVO Street Glide and CVO Road Glide, the 2024 and later Street Glide and Road Glide, the 2024 CVO Road Glide ST, and the new 2025 FLHXU.
While we can confirm the model code, and assume it will go by the name Street Glide Ultra, we don’t know any technical details. The Australian filing does not list any specifications yet, as it is likely under embargo until the bike is officially announced. A Street Glide Ultra implies it will be equipped with a Tour-Pak and fairing lowers, both of which would be first as standard equipment on the new touring platform.
We also previously reported on a new Tour-Pak design previously registered with the European Union Intellectual Property Office. We can probably expect the new Tour-Pak to debut on the FLHXU.
What remains to be seen is how a potential Street Glide Ultra would be different from an Ultra Limited or an Electra Glide. It’s possible the FLHXU will simply replace the existing Ultra Limited, with Harley-Davidson consolidating the branding around the Street Glide name. The Ultra Limited uses a Twin-Cooled Milwaukee-Eight 114 engine with radiators in the fairing lowers, but the new touring models position the radiator between the engine and the frame. This would make room in the FLHXU’s lowers for extra storage or perhaps speakers.
Harley-Davidson is expected to announce its first batch of new 2025 models in January, and we suspect the FLHXU will be a big part of the presentation.
By Dennis Chung
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