The 2022 Harley-Davidson Icons Model May Be the Low Rider El Diablo

The devil is in the details

Earlier this year, Harley-Davidson revealed a new Low Rider ST featuring a FXRT-inspired fairing. Initial reaction to the Low Rider ST was very positive, with Jochen Zeitz, Harley-Davidson chief executive officer, claiming in Harley-Davidson’s Q4 earnings call “demand was so high for this bike that we sold out our first consumer allocation in 10 minutes.”

While the retro fairing might not appeal to everyone, one other critique about the FXLRST (and a few other bikes in the 2022 lineup) is the rather drab selection of colors: Vivid Black and Gunship Gray.

If you’re looking for a more vibrant Low Rider ST, you may want to wait a bit longer, as Harley-Davidson will be introducing a new variant to be called the “Low Rider El Diablo.”

The name appears in vehicle emissions certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Germany’s Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (Federal Transport Authority), confirming the El Diablo will use the same Milwaukee-Eight 117 engine as the Low Rider ST and Low Rider S. The certificates don’t tell us what color it will be, but we can assume from the name it will be some shade of red.

This is further corroborated by a list of Harley-Davidson’s 2022 service parts paint codes which includes a new “Midnight Crimson / Nebula Red” color combination. A few 2022 models use Midnight Crimson, but none of the models announced thus far mention a Nebula Red. While the paint code sheet doesn’t specify which models receive a given color, it’s a safe guess the Midnight Crimson / Nebula Red will be for a devilish El Diablo.

While the name “El Diablo” doesn’t ring any bells in Harley-Davidson’s history, a Low Rider ST in red reminds us of one of the colors for the original ’80s FXRT Sport Glide, pictured above. If the Low Rider El Diablo receives a similar look, it’s possible it will be this year’s Icon model.

The Icons Collection debuted in 2021 with the Electra Glide Revival, a modern, limited edition model inspired by the 1969 Electra Glide. Harley-Davidson doesn’t typically give bikes names like “El Diablo,” last year’s Icon gives us an example of a model name getting a descriptor tacked onto it.

Considering how prominent the Low Rider ST was in Harley-Davidson’s “Further. Faster” launch event, it makes sense to further highlight the bike with giving it the Icons treatment. With a Midnight Crimson / Nebula Red color scheme and a few retro touches, the Low Rider El Diablo may be a candidate for this year’s collection.

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