This Harley-Davidson touring nameplate first appeared for the 2011 model year as a long-distance, fully faired Road Glide variant aimed at riders who wanted the Road Glide’s frame-mounted shark-nose fairing with a more travel-ready setup. Early factory literature identifies the model through the FLTRU code, and Harley-Davidson’s own model-history materials show it as a 2011–2013 offering before it left the lineup for several years. The nameplate returned for the 2016 model year as part of Harley-Davidson’s Project RUSHMORE-era touring refresh, bringing updated comfort, infotainment, and touring hardware to the Road Glide platform. Harley-Davidson’s historical catalog coverage then lists the FLTRU again through 2019, after which the model was replaced in the standard lineup by the Road Glide Limited.
Because the nameplate was introduced, discontinued, and later revived, it has more than one production period. The earliest verified model year is 2011, and there is no single definitive final year for the nameplate as a whole. In Harley-Davidson’s touring history, this model occupies the niche of the max-distance Road Glide: a factory-equipped full dresser with the distinctive fixed fairing, large touring luggage, and a rider-focused posture that set it apart from batwing-fairing touring bikes. Enthusiasts often see it as one of the more significant Road Glide derivatives, especially because it bridged the earlier Twin Cam touring era and the later Project RUSHMORE updates before the Road Glide Limited eventually took over its role.