Today, I rode a Harley...

I was outside working on the bike (in the street, in between the neighbours house & ours - as quite often happens) and the neighbour was working on his (Harley Sportster).

Eventually, the conversation turned to "I reckon the throttle response is off on this, it's a little too jerky for my liking." Shortly followed by "Do me a favour, take it our for a spin & tell me if you think I'm insane." So I geared up, and went for a run on the Harley.

#!?& me it was shockingly bad! Not the throttle, just the whole experience. I think I've learned a few things about Harley riders though today. So i suppose that's a plus (not talking ill of something before experiencing it etc).

The whole geometry of the bike felt completely wrong. Anything more than what felt like 10degrees lean & it looked like the engine bars were going to come home far less shiny than they started out. The gears are about 4 miles apart, and the lever is about 10miles ahead of the bike! Get it up to 70mph (officer) and you back off the throttle because you're scared of three things. Either you're going to find a corner & have to lean the thing over, your teeth are going to fall out because of the vibrations, or your hands will drop off for the same reason.

The clutch was heavy (supprisingly so for a smaller model like the Sportster), and the whole thing about the engine trying to trick you by pretending to stall every time you slow down - can someone explain that to me?

Once I got my head around the fact that you ride it in a rediculously high gear permenantly, and use gentle acelleration, the vibrations went and it actually felt a little bit comfortable.

I was going to head out to a road that's very straight, and very long (I was riding a Harley afterall) to test rolling on/off the throttle for him. But about half way out I figured "sod this, this aint a fun ride, I'm heading home."

Once I'd pulled up back where I'd left, the neighbour asked me what I thought. Simple answer. "I think you're f&!£ing insane! You swapped your V-Max for this pile of vibrating $&!£, what were you thinking?!?"

Suffice to say, I won't be buying a Harley on the basis of that ride - not until the men in white coats take my licence away anyhow! I may ride a girls bike, but it's definately better than his Harley!

[dizzyblonde]

Originally Posted by Baph

Once I'd pulled up back where I'd left, the neighbour asked me what I thought. Simple answer. "I think you're f&!£ing insane! You swapped your V-Max for this pile of vibrating $&!£, what were you thinking?!?"

Perhaps he swapped his VMax because he wasn't man enough to ride it...lol

Yep a 'Hardly Rideable' is just that, terrible, and to think before i got the SV i wanted a cruiser. You have to think about the corner your taking 10 miles in advanced, and they chug a lug along, and vibrate like mad.
I took my first bike lesson on a 1340 dyna lowrider, no wonder my CBT was so bad.

Anyway, theres not much difference between a vmax and a hardly, they both need straight roads

Originally Posted by dizzyblonde

Anyway, theres not much difference between a vmax and a hardly, they both need straight roads

True, only for completely different reasons.

[dizzyblonde]

Originally Posted by Baph

True, only for completely different reasons.

yeah the vmax is a bit of an animal

I once rode a Soft Tail Custom at a Dealer open day and... honestly... I liked it. Yes is's a bit agricultural but if you lower your expectations enough, it can be enjoyable.

It also helped that a previous Mrs Woz was on the back and the vibrations had the desired effect

A couple of guys here have Harley's, personally they aren't to my taste to look at or ride but then they say about the SV's. It is a completely different way of riding...

LOL Baph! sounds like a nightmare! I spose that's why round here you only see them on the motorway and not any twisties! after all they are built for long straight roads

[Wideboy]

if i was to get that sort of bike i'd get a yam dragstar


ok i get my coat

If you ride a Harley after a Jap bike that's just how they feel lol Once you learn them you can go pretty fast and smooth, going back to a 'normal' bike feels very sanitised and boring once you've adjusted, probably why yanks diss modern stuff so much.

y'all gettin' just a mite chromophobic round here...