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I recently went on a trip to Utah with some buddies that all were riding Harleys, I rode my 13 Stelvio. I really liked a couple of the guys newer "14 and 15" street glides and really though serious about adding one to my stable. We've been back for a bit now and I went riding with two of them yesterday, after lunch and getting ready to do the 65 mile back home my friend says he has never ridden an adventure bike and would I like swap to try his 14 street glide on the ride home. I say of course and we take off. Holy crap! it rides like a garbage truck, every friggin bump in the road gets transferred to your spine making me dread every mile. Stuff i don't even notice on the Guzzi pounds my back like it a damn hard tail. His bike just turned 9k miles so none of this is from worn out high mile shocks. He said his wife won't ride on it and is looking into some high end shocks that are supposed to help but don't increase travel so I'm very skeptical it will help much. All this makes me love my Stelvio more. Just saved myself $24K
Over here Harley riders are looked on as bottom of the heap. They're rarely long term motorcyclists, but accountants and bankers who've suffered a midlife crisis. They buy a lot of chrome polish, ride very slowly in packs and park outside fashionable restaurants rather than frequent biker cafes.And that's what puts a nix on buying a Harley in the UK.
Ummm my Eldorado has self cancelling turn signals, you need to upgrade to one!!!!
But the ones on a Harley actually work.
Harley's are nice. Well made, handsome, and depending on which one, can be comfortable and/or decent handling. I like them okay, but the price is a little dear for what you get and the weight tends to be too high and the cornering clearance too low.
Oh yeah , those Sportster Superlows and Irons have all kinds of cornering clearance and suspension travel Dusty
The only Harley I would love to own would be the VSCR Street Rod, not the VROD. The SR is a modified VR that was only available for a couple of years and the main difference being the foot pegs are mid-mounted vs. forward on the VR. The engine was co-developed from Porsche and isn't the typical Harley engine of that generation either.
Harley quickly realized that this particular type of bike wasn't what their demographic wanted and quickly axed it after only selling a few thousand of these. Too bad too, because it has some respectable street cred when it comes to canyon carving.
I can also see this happening to the new Roadster, so, anyone that wants on should get one while they can.
Owning a Harley would be OK , but then there are all those doo rags to buy Dusty
I'm working on it damnit...
I wish I could start a poll:This being a Moto Guzzi Board, Harley bashing is:a) tolerated.b) encouraged.
I bashed the average British Harley rider earlier in this thread. Now let me bash a Harley bike. I road tested a Street a year or so back. It was the most uncomfortable thing I've ever ridden, and was a bike without any redeeming features.
Or C ) mandatory Seriously , haven't seen any real Harley bashing , of course ya gotta be careful , some of these guys are a bit sensitive Dusty
I bought a Harley a couple years ago. It was a 2007 XL1200R (twin front brakes, mid controls...)Bike was OK to ride and I enjoyed it for a short while but, seemed every time I rode it I would wish I was on a different bike within an hour (ergonomics mostly and dragging hard parts on corners all the time). That and I could never bond with the low revving, short shifting engine even though it had serious low end torque. Overall it was a very solid and well built bike. Nothing on it seemed cheap. Just not my cup of tea.And I must admit the stereotypical Harley rider image did make me feel odd when I was riding it, almost self-conscience, which is quite different from the "don't give a sh** what you think" attitude I am regularly accused of having. My wife joked she was going to get me a "I'm NOT a Pirate" T-shirt to wear while riding it.
It's the "feel" of a Harley. You must've missed it.I am told you need to be an "experienced" rider to appreciate it.Try to understand. A few more mile perhaps?Hey Darren, did you ever think about "weighing" your bikes. Like maybe a Stelvio and a GS. You ever gonna get rid of the GS now that you have an FJR? Cheap I mean.
That and I could never bond with the low revving, short shifting engine even though it had serious low end torque.
Maybe I need to practice riding a bit more before I can learn to appreciate a Harley, don't know.My Stelvio weight on our calibrated shipping scale at work was 612# (it had an almost full tank and a few things in the boxes). The GS with all the Vario boxes was 580# (also almost full smaller tank and a bit more stuff in the boxes like a heavy tool pouch).The GS is not going to be for sale cheap as you would define it! Although I joked with Paul at BMC about a 2 or 3 for one trade in, Breva, Thruxton and GS for that new red Griso. He didn't seem to interested.