A real world comparison

[oldbike54]

 My nephew the HD salesman called this morning . He had been to Vegas for a week on the MoCo's dime to test ride several competitor's motorbikes . Unfortunately no Guzzi , we will need to remedy that for next year ,

 Anyway , here are some of his conclusions ; He was NOT impressed with the Big Indian , said the bags were rattly , and the front end dive under braking was very noticeable . The Yamaha Bolt was a nice bike , decent handling , usable power , well built .The new HD Roadster seems nice , although the riding position didn't suit him , and the suspension is just OK .  He was very impressed with the RNine T BMW , great power delivery , great brakes and handling , even sounded good . Not sure which Ducati he rode , Diavel didn't seem familiar , he didn't really bond with it . The new Gold Wing was impressive given its size , he preferred the Road King . Here is the kicker , there were something like 30 bikes all told , and he rode most of them for at least 40 miles on the track and the street . His favorite , wait for it ..... The Triumph Street Twin . Certainly not the fastest or most hi-tech , just a well balanced fun machine that does what a motorcycle should . Told him he should test a new V7 .

 Dusty

[Guzzistajohn]

I went to the local triumph shop yesterday. The street twin is a good looking machine. Although the bobber isn't my "thing" it seems to be well put together. The mono shock/ rear swing arm was impressive. I'm a firm believer in triumph's machines and dealer network, but you know that😀

[Kev m]

I was kicking some Triumph tires myself just two days ago.

[ITSec]

I have to wonder about the Indian he rode. I sold them (a lot of them, actually!) and the front end didn't dive any more than any other bike its size and style - less than most. It's likely the suspension on the bike was not properly set. As for rattly bags, there is a definite trick to properly closing the bags on both Indians and the similarly designed ones on some Victory models. Do it right, they are very water-resistant and completely solid. Do it badly (or fail to set the mount retainers properly) and they will rattle and leak.

Very little new in the Gold Wings since the aluminum bike was introduced way back in, what, 2002? Feature and packaging changes, but nothing substantial I can recall.

There's something to be said for naked, or at least more simple and straightforward bikes. Not everything needs to be big, or heavy, or feature-loaded.

[Kev m]

There's something to be said for naked, or at least more simple and straightforward bikes. Not everything needs to be big, or heavy, or feature-loaded.

[emoji41] [emoji41] [emoji41]  my theme for the day (and a lot of days recently).

[LowRyter]

The Road King is pretty nice balanced ride.  Much better than Chieftain and Japanese clones.  None are a sporty as the 1400 Cal.  But the R1200RT is pretty much in a class of it's own (although that fairing is ugly).

Harleys and Ducatis do not compute.  For that matter neither do Beemers.

[leroysch]

Wholeheartedly agree about the R Nine T....


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[rocker59]

I've ridden a couple of the new Chiefs on a couple different occasions. They're real, real nice.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[kingoffleece]

Nice comparison.  THX.
The Indians I've ridden have not shown excessive front fork dive either.

[Devildog]

Wholeheartedly agree about the R Nine T....


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Leroy, Please give us some feedback on the new Racer. Best looking BMW for at least a few decades.

[leroysch]

I've only been able to put 70 miles on it before the weather turned, and all of it has been on the super-slab or in town. On the few twisties I was able to enjoy, the bike seemed telepathic in wanting to enjoy them too. Really am looking forward to taking it on my favorite backroad loop and getting acquainted with its personality there. Bars got buzzy enough at >70mph to slightly numb some fingers, but nothing serious and probably not fair to mention till after the thousand mile mark. Anything else, performance-wise, ehhh...I'm thinking the jury will be out until the first thousand miles are under our belt and I've dialed in the suspension. Acceleration to the breakin RPM limit is not OMG, but certainly adequate. Exhaust sounds surprisingly healthy, scratching one mod off from our immediate future.

Seating position is a bit more aggressive than the V11. Mirrors work well, the sidestand puts the bike on somewhat of an extreme angle...still getting used to that. Traction control, defeatable ABS, and grip heaters seem to be what these initial "product launch" bikes are equipped with. Grip heater has two levels, owners manual states don't run them on high all the time, only use it to speed warming up then go to the lower level. Current draw was the stated issue. Idiot lights flash until you get >3mph, a lesson I learned when starting the bike for the trip home...waiting for everything that was flashing to stop, which of course they didn't, turning the bike off and going back in to the dealership and asking...what's up with this? LCDs for trip info, gear indicator, and other stuff...including battery voltage...which I'm kinda anal about. Hard to read with sunglasses on, despite a photosensor is the instrument cluster that supposedly adjusts brightness. (Grip heater level is displayed on the LCD, and given its already hard to see with sunglasses on...I sure hope "high", if on, starts smoking my winter gloves before killing the battery!)There's a feature is the setup menu to rebaseline it...but who wants to mess with that when you be riding instead? You get a fancy torx key to undo the screw holding the rear hump on located above the rear wheel..I'm gonna have to practice finding it standing up behind the bike instead of on my back with a flashlight peering up looking for that sucker...Tool kit is reminiscent of what you'd get with a late '70s UJM, except for the spanners provided to adjust the rear suspension..and that hump key!

I didn't appreciate how well done, style wise, the rear of the bike fits in till I saw it in person. Of course, you have to ignore the GIGANTIC setup used for the tail light/turn signals/plate. My first beemer and it immediately caught my eye late last year when pics started appearing, so I agree with your comment! Oh..and from reading the manual one of the idiot lights illuminates when its time for service. Not sure if its owner defeatable..I hate things like that which require dealership intervention.

Umm...sorry you asked now?

-LeRoy

[GuzziDog54]

Wholeheartedly agree about the R Nine T....


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That R Nine-T is an absolute beauty! I got to ride the first one that arrived in Arizona (the original, not the racer) and fell in love with them. That racer is a true beauty!