Harley-Davidson FXDR 114 Coming for 2019

Dennis Chung
by Dennis Chung

New performance cruiser on the way

Harley-Davidson dropped a bombshell on us this week, revealing a new liquid-cooled modular engine platform, prototypes of its first adventure touring bike, a streetfighter and custom model, and detailed plans for the LiveWire and other electric motorcycles and small-displacement models for Asia.

Along with the announcements came a promotional video highlighting this bold new direction for Harley-Davidson. Look closely at the video and you can see at least one detail that was not announced, a new 2019 Harley-Davidson FXDR 114.

You first catch glimpse of the FXDR at the 41-second mark, a rear shot of a motorcycle on a racetrack. You can make out a fat rear tire, a white tail cover that extends along the sides and a sporty-looking triangular shaped silencer.

The mystery bike appears again in a couple of quick cuts at the 2:18 mark. The shots are blurry or from a distance but you can see a small flyscreen over the headlight. The foot controls appear to be slightly forward, though it’s difficult to say how far forward they are. The big giveaway is at 2:21 with a shot from the rider’s perspective, showing some raised bars, the fuel cap and, most notably, the letters “FXDR” with the R in red.

Click on the photo to view the high-res version. The letters FXDR are visible right in the middle of the shot.

More clues come to us via filings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on an initial list of Harley-Davidson’s 2019 models. Listed among them is the FXDR 114, indicating the new model will run on the 1870cc Milwaukee-Eight engine. The NHTSA filing indicates a brake horsepower of 91 hp.

Even from a distance, you can see the white flyscreen on the FXDR 114. The rider’s right foot is also clearly visible, and its position indicates a forward placement.

That Harley-Davidson would drop some hints of the new model in the video without mentioning a word of it suggests a full announcement is coming sooner rather than later. The FXDR 114 might also help ease the minds of hardcore Harley-Davidson traditionalists who might feel estranged by the announcements made this week. A brand new performance-focused cruiser may help show that Harley-Davidson has not forgotten about its core.

Harley-Davidson traditionally announces its models in late August, so expect to hear official new in the next few weeks. As always, we’ll have the latest here on Motorcycle.com.

Dennis Chung
Dennis Chung

Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.

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  • Chris Cope Chris Cope on Aug 03, 2018

    FXD used to be the designation for Dynas, correct? Intriguing. Not intrigued by that early 2000s fat rear tire, though.

  • Vince Reacher Vince Reacher on Aug 20, 2018

    I've been a hard core Harley Davidson rider for 39 years but they were always dogs unless I put thousands into S&S sidewinder kits and whatnot. My current hot rod is a pro street FXR with an S&S 124 inch twin cam. Its fast and all but I got hit last year on the freeway and somehow lived through it. I'm a week away from a check for a million dollars and Harley Davidson has left me underwhelmed with too little too late. I'm buying a Ducati X Diavel S . It's a high quality L twin 90° motor where Harley is 45° the Ducati has 160 hp.varible valve timing, launch control ,wheelie control and performance cornering ABS. And the Roadglide is getting replaced by a 2018 goldwing with the 7 speed automatic

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