When you think cruisers, well naturally you think Harley. And they certainly do have the market covered. There are seven models in Harley's cruiser range, not including the Sportster S and the Nightster, which H-D classify as Sports and everyone else on the planet considers a cruiser.

The range is vast, but there is one model that stands out. And it stands out because it is the fastest, best-handling and best-braking cruiser Harley has ever made - you want your cruiser juiced up with adrenaline, then the Low Rider S is the way to go.

2025 saw a bunch of updates to the Low Rider S - those updates aren't groundbreaking, but they are significant - we're talking more than new paint here, people. Harley-Davidson hasn't reinvented the Low Rider S for 2025, but it has given the dark-custom bruiser a solid mechanical and tech refresh. The big news is the retuned Milwaukee-Eight 117 High Output engine. It still displaces 1923 cc, but revised heads, an alloy intake manifold and improved oil-cooling deliver a noticeable lift in performance - with power jumping from 103 HP to 114 HP, and torque ballooning from a claimed 169 Nm to 174 Nm. A new 2-into-1 exhaust helps it breathe better and adds a raspier edge to the soundtrack.

For the first time, the Low Rider S gains selectable ride modes - Sport, Road and Rain - each tweaking throttle response, traction control and ABS behaviour. Suspension has also been retuned with straight-rate springs at both ends for sharper handling and a more planted ride. There's a subtle ergonomic tweak too, with seat height rising from 710 to 715 mm, partly due to that suspension work.

Cosmetically, the 2025 bike tightens its blackout theme with black Radiate wheels replacing the bronze finish of the outgoing model, plus red-accented engine covers and fresh tank graphics. It's still unmistakably a Low Rider S - just a little leaner, meaner and better equipped to back up its attitude.

The changes have resulted in a small weight reduction, with the 2025 model coming in at 304 kg wet, compared to 308 kg for the 2024 bike.

With a hefty update to performance in 2025, 2026 sees only cosmetic changes, so if there's a 2025 model in your local dealership in a colour you like, don't be afraid to snap that sucker up.

So do these changes make much of a difference to what was already the fastest all-round cruiser in the H-D fleet - you bet your arse they do. If you wanted a Harley cruiser that went hard and you could actually throw at a set of corners, the Low Rider was already king, and the changes have lifted its game even further. There's more power, and that's always cool, and frying the rear tyre leaving a set of lights once you've switched off the traction control - which is a simple single button press-and-hold affair - is about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on. Road mode on the new model feels kind of like where the 2024 model sat, and Sport mode is all kinds of maniac - there really is nothing like the visceral thrust of a Low Rider S at full noise.

As I mentioned, the Low Rider S was the choice for lovers of Harley cruisers that actually wanted something they could throw around in a corner. This is even more the case thanks to the standard-rate springs that H-D have thrown in the Low Rider. The whole package is so much more composed through a corner, the rear end especially so. Look, you need to go into this with realistic expectations - get excited and you're still going to grind your footpegs off, but compared to, say, a Breakout or Fat Boy, well, it's almost a superbike in comparison.

Although nothing has changed with the braking kit supplied, it's worth mentioning because it's another area where the Low Rider S shines compared to its other cruiser stablemates. A twin-disc set-up is nearly always going to trump a single-disc set-up, and that is absolutely the case here. If you're unaware, the main reason H-D sticks with a single disc on so many of its cruiser models is so that you get a bigger, better look at the sexy front wheel. Well, front wheel be damned, give me braking performance over aesthetics, and that is exactly what you get with the Low Rider S.

So, although the changes to the Low Rider don't seem groundbreaking, they are significant. The bike's handling has certainly benefitted from the tweaks to the suspension and the extra power - well, who doesn't want that. The hot rod just got hotter, and I like it.