My First Harley Experience

[jstark47]

I gotta admit, I haven't paid a lot of attention to HD models coming and going, so the FXDF Fat Bob wasn't familiar to me. I went to Harley's website and used the 360 walkaround tool - that thing can't be comfortable. It looks like a looong reach out to flat bars, plus you have your feet out on forward controls. My back aches just thinking about it! I guess it's cool and tough looking and all that, but it can't be comfortable to ride very far. If I ever own a Harley, it will have to be one of the more conventional models.

[shane-o]

You are a pretty big dude.

I dont know about big......but you are definitely one pretty dood !!!!!!




hmmmmm BMW and HD, you really have wandered down the path of the slow and boring



.

[RockBottom]

you really have wandered down the path of the slow and boring



.

Have you been talking to my wife?

[xdixiecratx]

Something funny here??????

[Wrider]

Haha yep, there is something funny here!

[shane-o]

you really have wandered down the path of the slow and boring



.

Have you been talking to my wife?

Yeah i bumped into her down the street doing some shopping the other day, I tried to strike up a convo but she told me that you had instructed her to under no circumstances communicate with any known Australians, then left me standing there feeling pretty rejected



.

[HeavyMetal]

My '08 Road King was my first bike, I think the bike was made for me, it rides smooth as hell, and I get no discomfort from riding it.

[badinfluence63]

I just started riding last June and, until this weekend, all of my miles except the BRC had been on a BMW F800ST. I'm visiting my parents on the coast of South Carolina and decided to rent a Harley to see what all the hoopla was about. Got a Fat Bob for $69 a day. The weather today was wonderful--upper 70s and sunny--so I got in a bit over 200 miles. Bottom line: I'm not a Harley guy.

Loved the torque and, to my surprise, liked the sound. Hated the ergonomics and the ride. First on the ergonomics. I found the riding position downright painful. I had to get off and rest every twenty miles or so and it still hurt my butt and arms. I found it annoying that the display was so low that I had to physically lower my head to see rather than just glancing down. I nearly burned my leg twice on the pipe since it was right where I placed my foot. And the pegs weren't spring loaded, so on each side, I kept folding them up when lifting my foot, so then I had to shift, watch traffic, and feel for the peg with my foot and try to pull it back down. Can't figure out what the designers were thinking.

On the ride itself, since the Fat Bob is several hundred pounds more than my BWM, it did get buffeted less by trucks. But every bump in the road seemed to shoot right into my kidneys. The rear shocks are really bad. The vibration was terrible. All I could see in the mirrors were colored blobs. After more than 10 miles or so, vibration turns into fatigue.

And, as I expected, turning and low speed manuevers are much, much harder than in my BMW. It wasn't too bad here on the flat, straight coastal South Carolina roads, but I wouldn't want to ride the Bob on the twisty, mountain roads back home in Pennsylvania.

The Harley reminded me a lot of a 70s American muscle car. Nice to look at, nice lto listen to, and fun in a straight line acceleration. The big V twin had so much torque I think I could have just left it in second gear and ridden all day. I can't figure out why they put a six speed on it since I found myself going 70 in 4th. And with no faring and windscreen, I sure didn't want to go any faster than that. But like a muscle car, it beat me to death over the course of the ride and every turn was a wrestling match.

100% harley rider here and who rode a Kawasaki Ninja a couple years ago, once. The rides were night and day. When you throttle a harley you feel the ride compared, in my opinion, to the ninja. The Ninja felt like whooshing along on air, like a magic carpet. Next thing you know you're exceeding the speed limit. I think thats dangerously misleading. Its all in what a person wants or expects. A Hyabusa in the wrong hands is a death waiting to happen.

[Brackstone]

100% harley rider here and who rode a Kawasaki Ninja a couple years ago, once. The rides were night and day. When you throttle a harley you feel the ride compared, in my opinion, to the ninja. The Ninja felt like whooshing along on air, like a magic carpet. Next thing you know you're exceeding the speed limit. I think thats dangerously misleading. Its all in what a person wants or expects. A Hyabusa in the wrong hands is a death waiting to happen.

This goes right back to my theory on naked bikes keeping you in check. On my little Ninja 250 I ended up doing close to 100mph without even realizing it (don't ask).

When I hit 75 on my Shiver I'm like "Ok this is fast".