wyrdness

Don't make the mistake of assuming that all Harleys are like that. I quite fancied a Sportster once, until I had a test ride. Horrible thing, every bit as nasty as you describe. I then test rode a Wide Glide, which was a bit better, but I still wasn't very keen on it. Then I tried a Low Rider, which was far better. The V-Rods are at the other end of the scale completely, they're superb bikes though, like all Harleys, considerably overpriced.