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What will happen when I jump on a Harley?

K

kgoess

New member
Joined
Feb 1, 2017
Location
Albany
Moto(s)
V-Strom 650 2016
A couple of weeks ago I had a couple hours to kill at a hotel and wandered across the street to the Harley dealership. Now I have a serious obsession going on.

I was thinking about renting a Road Glide in a couple weeks and putting my wife on the back and spending a couple days riding around the redwoods and stuff in Northern California, between Garberville and Eureka, around there. She's already said she's game.

I have a V-Strom 650 with six years, 30,000 miles on it. Last weekend I spent four days riding around up north, the highlight being the Alderpoint Road to Zenia and then into the back roads to pop out on Hwy 36. Great fun. But I've never been on anything as big as a Road Glide.

Is just showing up at Eagle Rider and driving off into the sunset with a pillion a terrible idea? No big deal? Will I crash and burst into flames before I get to the street, or does a Harley just drive itself, point-and-go? Should I rent one beforehand to check it out? On a scale of "what are you crazy?" to "nothing to worry about" where do you think this will land?
 
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You're gonna have so much fun. Harleys are ridiculously easy to ride. Just remember- they don't have much lean angle.
 
I have both a Wee and an HD ultra.
It’s a different mind set, on the Harley you will want to be a little more laid back.
They have a very low center of gravity so in many ways easier to ride, but you do compromise on the lean angle.
By all means rent one and enjoy a different type of weekend.
And no gravel or Dirt roads, they don’t handle great on them.
 
Pic from when I did the same thing. Rented the Street Glide in Carson City on Tuesday at 9am, returned it on Thursday at 6pm, inbetween I put 2200 miles on the bike and crossed the Sierras 11 times (we were staying at a cabin in Tahoe and Wednesday morning I left at 6am and got home after 10pm.)

This is how I know. ;)

 
I'm disappointed. I thought the title of the thread was, "What will happen when I jump a Harley?"

My Road Glide experience was different than Cheez's. My brother-in-law was a sales guy at San Jose H-D, and brought one home when we were over there. I'd never ridden one, so asked if I could take it out for a while. When I got back he asked, "Well? Whaddya think?"

My reply was, "It's like driving a washing machine."

I struggled to come up with a redeeming quality, but couldn't think of anything; it did nothing well. I guess I'm in the "I Just Don't Get It" category. That said, you definitely should try one for yourself, and see if your take is in line with mine or Cheez's.
 
well they don't really have particularly long suspension travel, and nearly no ground clearance..... so after you jump one i expect you'll bottom out pretty hard
 
Similar experience as Oldguy, I test rode a Victory 8 ball about 10 yrs ago (it was about my second year of riding) at the annual motorcycle show in San Mateo. I thought, wow 1800cc, this thing must fly. After the first two minutes, I couldn't wait to get off of it. It was like riding the walgreens huffy after you rode the Haro. I had more fun riding back on my Ninja 250 than I did on the victory. All those twists and turns in canyons - I've only seen a handful of cruiser riders take them aggressively with modified shocks and forks.
 
Haven't been on a Road Glide, but I had rented a Fat Bob and a Road King. Each time I was a bit apprehensive on how they would handle the tightest turns on roads like Mount Hamilton, and both times it turned out to be a non-issue. They're very well balanced and easy to make tight turns. I like their engines and enjoyed long rides on them a lot. Right after riding the Harley for a day, though, I had to jump on my 690SM the next day and rode up Mt Hamilton to enjoy some corner carving actions that was missing on the Harley.

Between a V-Strom 650 (rented one too) and a Road Glide, I'd take the Road Glide. :twofinger
 
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Are there any on Riders Share? A place where you rent from other people. They are typically cheaper to rent that way vs Eagle Rider (like half price).

If it was me, I would do a 1 day rental, try it out, have wife on back for ~1 hr for her to try it out, and if both of you are thumbs up after that then do a later rental for the multi day trip.

My first Harley rental was like a couple of people posted about, I just didn't get it. Reminded me of like an evolution of those mini bikes with the pull rope starter and metal plate the rubbed on the rear tire for brakes ... kind of like guys from that era designed a big ass motorcycle. And yes, I was a Japanese sport bike guy then (maybe had a Ducati too), so the Harley just seemed bizarre to me. Shifting bad, handling bad, brakes weak, power weak, etc.

For my second Harley rental, I thought maybe something was wrong with that first one. And it had been ~8 years, so maybe they have improved them a lot ... so I tried again. And really, same impression.
 
Cheez did not have a beard before he rode that HD.

It sprouted overnight on day 1.

Just sayin'.
 
You're going to immediately grow a beer belly and a white beard. Tattoos will spring up on your body. Your hairline will recede in the front while growing longer in the back. You'll find dark sunglasses and a beanie helmet in your closet. Embrace the Dark Side

Mad
 
You'll also have uncontrollable urges to go to your local Harley dealership and purchase a full black leather getup, vest and matching chaps. No Harley ownership required.
 
Whew, I thought this thread was going to be about once I jump on your Harley what are you going to do about it.:twofinger
 
Holy $h1t. Before watching that video, I would have said there was zero chance I'd ever ride a Harley (eventhough my first motorcycle was a cruiser and yes I did own and wear a leather vest b/c it was the 80's) now I'm going to waste 2 hours trolling CL looking for a used bagger.
 
auntiebling said:
well they don't really have particularly long suspension travel, and nearly no ground clearance..... so after you jump one i expect you'll bottom out pretty hard
Click to expand...

cheez said:
[YOUTUBE]Aa6cfdCK9Ns[/YOUTUBE]
Click to expand...

EXACTLY!!! what i was talking about

is anyone else
1) a little stunned the launch ramp didn't crumble immediately?
2) sad we didn't get to see if the landing ramp would hold?
 
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