Have you tried an 1800? The difference between the 1500 and the 1800 is night and day.
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No Harley Bikes here ..?
- Thread starter Moto68
- Start date
Mad Mike
Well-known member
Hopefully he rides it both ways. I have a neighbour who does something similar, twice a day he fires up the Road Glide and takes it for a 500m spin around the crescent we live on. He pulls the clutch and rolls the bike around each corner while blipping the throttle to clear his exhaust. When he gets home, he duck walks her up the driveway blipping all the way, culminating with one final blast when he cuts the power.
Then he cleans off all the road grime accumulated on the ride, then dusts and polishes.
He absolutely loves his bike, his 2 a day and 500m rides, and an hour a day cleaning and polishing. Not my cup of tea, but it doesn't need to be -- it's his bike and it makes him really happy. I respect that.
Mad Mike
Well-known member
Try an FJR -- eat the road with both hands.
AllistonGT
Well-known member
My neighbour has a 2014 Monster 1200S. He has had it for 4 years and maybe 500km. It's never seen a hose or rain. He told me it costs him about $600/ride. Scary.
No thanks.
I have ridden the 1100 and 1300. Like the Kawi Concourse, I don't like that you have to keep the thing on the pipe... and they feel top heavy to me. It is TOO obvious that there is a de-tuned sport bike motor down there.
A harley just lopes along, like a Ducati. potato, potato, potato
Mad Mike
Well-known member
Ya, one of my riding buddies has a Gen 5 1800. Other than a few tech updates it didn't seem a whole lot different from the saddle. It reminds me of driving a well sorted luxury SUV -- heavy, quiet, comfortable, pulls strong, handles smoothly and predictably but a tad big, more work and less fun on challenging roads.
I've had light, medium and heavy cruisers, I liked the Virago 250 -- a great alternative to a city scooter/urban grocery getter. I never found a soft spot for the mid or heavyweights, who knows if I ever will.
Sure, but for the very seldom occasion one needs to do so, it's really not a massive inconvenience. Not something that I'd buy a bike specifically around said requirement.
Add in the soft rear suspension on many cruisers and jolts that would knock your teeth out on many other bikes isn't a massive thing anymore.
For the love of god.... nobody ever buy a used bike (or ANY vehicle) with that sort of ownership history. Multiple cold starts every day, lots of revving, and then shutting down cold (over and over and over again) is a recipe for a 5000KM engine that looks like a 200,000KM engine inside. 75 to 90% of an engines wear happens on cold starts, and the first minute or three afterwards until oil circulation reaches peak efficiency (which means some heat in the oil to aid in reducing viscosity) and the engine warms up enough to reach proper operating tolerances on bearing surfaces, piston to cylinder wall tolerances, valvetrain lashes, etc etc.
Until that happens the engine is running in a high wear state, and worse yet, dumping combustion contaminants caused by high cylinder tolerances into the engine oil...which then creates a whole additional vicious circle of engine wear as that contaminated oil is pumped through your engine.
The same thing happens when people start their bike once or twice a week all winter and running it for a few minutes (but not actually riding) thinking they're somehow doing their bike a favour. The exact opposite is true - you're just wearing out your engine very fast....
I knew I could count on you guys, 4 pages in 3 days, good work, but not enough judgemental statements and put downs. Come on show the new guy how we roll.
As far as my experience goes, I had a FJ1200 and a Harley FXST for a couple of years, and even though the hog was a pretty pleasant way to loaf around the back roads around here, I kept finding I wanted to go faster and stop better etc. So I eventually got rid of the Harley. I had to modernize so the FJ was swapped for a FJR and I have seriously abused that bike over the years. It’s been from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and up and down the Appalachian mountains more times than I can count. It runs the same on any grade of fuel, goes like hell, stops great, and after a couple of mods it handles like a sport bike, a 600 lb. sport bike but still pretty good. It does eat tires, especially front tires , what are you gonna do?But I have bought a XR1200 for that rumble and the fact that it actually goes, handles, stops unlike most of its brothers. And hopefully since its so rare, it will increase in value, fingers cross.
As far as my experience goes, I had a FJ1200 and a Harley FXST for a couple of years, and even though the hog was a pretty pleasant way to loaf around the back roads around here, I kept finding I wanted to go faster and stop better etc. So I eventually got rid of the Harley. I had to modernize so the FJ was swapped for a FJR and I have seriously abused that bike over the years. It’s been from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and up and down the Appalachian mountains more times than I can count. It runs the same on any grade of fuel, goes like hell, stops great, and after a couple of mods it handles like a sport bike, a 600 lb. sport bike but still pretty good. It does eat tires, especially front tires , what are you gonna do?But I have bought a XR1200 for that rumble and the fact that it actually goes, handles, stops unlike most of its brothers. And hopefully since its so rare, it will increase in value, fingers cross.
A lot of Harley riders don't wave either.
Mad Mike
Well-known member
A man after my heart! I have an FJR and treat her like a rented mule most of the time. She's getting old, but always rises to the occasion and still runs with the bulls. I fixed the tire wear problem by switching to RP4 GTs, they go about double the Battleax standard on the front, and triple on the back. Had some Avon GTs on her too, they were just as good.
I'm warming up to the XR1200. I know it's not killer fast, but it looks like it would be sporty enough to be fun to ride. I expect the performance to be similar to my '81 XV920R. Prices seem to be falling a bit, I figure $6500-7K gets you into one with less than 25,000km.
Mad Mike
Well-known member
I think that's changing. I waved to about 100 of them the weekend. I think every one waived back (I ride an ADV bike) except one, a skeleton masked SOA brother riding through Richmond hill on an 883 with mini-ape hangers.A lot of Harley riders don't wave either.
You drive your Harley Wow you guys have been busy.
1) I see more high mileage HD touring bikes than others.
So yes there are some garage queens and Tim’s poseur bikes in all makes and models
2) mine wasn’t a garage queen but yes I enjoyed detailing once I returned home.
What’s so wrong with a shrine to your bike or toy car?
3) mine also held its value insanely well. (Much better than my KTM)
30,000km added to a 75,000km bike traded in for $2000 more than I paid.
Best toy I’ve owned in that respect.
For the record I have no brand loyalty but I will defend a brand that has done me right. I have owned GMC, Dodge, Ford, Chevy, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Yamaha, Ktm, HD, Custom Chopper, Johnex Cobra. I have my favourites and not one has failed to give me what was expected. Except that Custom Chopper it was ****.
Choppers suck at everything except looking neat in your man cave.
I really don’t get the Harley haters club in here. Oh well maybe I get get acceptance through my Ktm. Oh wait we hate those over priced Ducati, Ktm and Triumph here too right.
All in good fun boys
1) I see more high mileage HD touring bikes than others.
So yes there are some garage queens and Tim’s poseur bikes in all makes and models
2) mine wasn’t a garage queen but yes I enjoyed detailing once I returned home.
What’s so wrong with a shrine to your bike or toy car?
3) mine also held its value insanely well. (Much better than my KTM)
30,000km added to a 75,000km bike traded in for $2000 more than I paid.
Best toy I’ve owned in that respect.
For the record I have no brand loyalty but I will defend a brand that has done me right. I have owned GMC, Dodge, Ford, Chevy, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Yamaha, Ktm, HD, Custom Chopper, Johnex Cobra. I have my favourites and not one has failed to give me what was expected. Except that Custom Chopper it was ****.
Choppers suck at everything except looking neat in your man cave.
I really don’t get the Harley haters club in here. Oh well maybe I get get acceptance through my Ktm. Oh wait we hate those over priced Ducati, Ktm and Triumph here too right.
All in good fun boys
Not that I ride for the approval of others but just another note.
I had way more people (non motorcyclist) comment on how nice my Road Glide was.
Nobody looks twice at the 1190. It’s just a weird sport bike thing on stilts with dewalt tough boxes bolted to the sides. It just looks confused and indecisive.
And to the guy with the RC51 fawk ya that’s a bucket list dream bike.
I had way more people (non motorcyclist) comment on how nice my Road Glide was.
Nobody looks twice at the 1190. It’s just a weird sport bike thing on stilts with dewalt tough boxes bolted to the sides. It just looks confused and indecisive.
And to the guy with the RC51 fawk ya that’s a bucket list dream bike.
It’s ok Trials I’m used to it. I like the banter.
I loved my HD but I ultimately ended up trading it because I was unsatisfied.
It was just to dam boring.
I loved my HD but I ultimately ended up trading it because I was unsatisfied.
It was just to dam boring.
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