Harley-Davidsons might be hefty and slow steering, but they make epic drag bikes, thanks to their sky-high torque numbers and long wheelbase. But is this enough to beat a liter-class bike in a quarter-mile run?

Well, that's exactly what this unique drag race is going to answer.

The Contenders

The protagonist of this race is a tricked-out Harley-Davidson Road Glide}. The bike is wrapped in a custom paint job from head to toe and possibly has a full-system aftermarket exhaust to match. However, I can’t spot any turbos or superchargers so it’s most likely stock apart from the aforementioned tweaks.

In its stock form, the Harley-Davidson Road Glide is powered by a 1,868cc engine that pumps out 93 horsepower and a massive 116 pound-feet. However, it also tips the scale at 853 pounds, which is simply too much for a motorcycle.

Going against the bagger are two bikes. First, we have a 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1 that made 179 horsepower and 85 pound-feet from its 999cc, inline-four engine equipped with a crossplane crankshaft}. Meanwhile, the bike weighs just over 454 pounds, making quite lightweight compared to the Harley.

Second, we have a 2004 Suzuki GSX-R750}. This was Suzuki’s sportbike for people who didn’t want full-blown liter-class bikes but found 600cc bikes a little less fun.

The Gixxer 750 made a respectable 146 horsepower and 64 pound-feet from its 749cc, inline-four engine. What made it special, though, was its weight of just 359 pounds, which is equivalent to modern-day 300cc bikes.

Harley-Davidson Road Glide vs Yamaha YZF-R1 Drag Race

In races one and three, the Road Glide goes against the 2009 YZF-R1. Race one proves exactly what I mentioned in the opening paragraph about how hard sportbikes can be to launch.

As soon as the light turns green, the Harley-Davidson Road Glide slingshots ahead while the YZF-R1 suffers from a huge wheelie. This wheelie slows down the R1 and gives a huge lead to the Harley, which ultimately lands it the win.

However, in the last round, the Yamaha R1 rider has a much better launch with barely any wheelies. The Harley still gets the early jump, though, but once the R1 starts putting its power down, it quickly catches up and passes the bagger to take the win.

Harley-Davidson Road Glide vs Suzuki GSX-R750 Drag Race

In this race, one would expect the Harley-Davidson to take the cake considering how close it came to beating the Yamaha R1, but that’s not the case. You see, this time, its the Harley-Davidson Road Glide that suffers from a slight wheelie (Karma, is that you?) and makes life easier for the Gixxer.

Ultimately, the GSX-R 750 catches up and passes the Road Glide to take the win and prove how epic the long-gone middleweight sportbike class was.

Here are the fastest quarter-mile times from the races:

You can watch the full video here: