Harley Davidson as first motorcycle.

[Joshua80]

It's shipped from the factory to a harley dealership of my choice. I just tell them the month I want to pick it up. I also have to sign an agreement saying that I will not sell the vehicle within one year of delivery. I dont know if and how they enforce the rules.

[canuckerjay]

For crying out loud. It's a sweet bike, and as long as you take the MSF course, and treat it with respect while you're a newbie, you'll be fine.
Just get it and enjoy it.

[scan]

I guess I agree with the "take it slow" approach. It sounds like you are pretty enamored with this bike, so it will be hard for you to accept less. The advice will always be, start on a smaller, and even a used bike if possible. Why? It will be easier to move around a smaller bike while you are getting use to the "moving a bike slow" portion of your learning. If you drop a used or cheap bike you won't feel like crying when you look at the bent or scratched metal. (Note - some people never drop a bike, even while learning).

Going fast on a bike is easy. Going slow is hard, takes skill, and repetition. When you are moving slow in a parking lot, or your front yard, that front wheel is pretty heavy (especially on a cruiser) and you'll need time to learn the balance point. It will be those little moments that can get you. Hitting the brakes too hard on a bit of a turn going slow - a bit of gravel or sand under one foot - a low spot you didn't notice in the pavement. These are thing you will learn in the MSF BRC, and I'd say practice, practice, practice what they teach you on the range. Like anything else you've learned (and I'm sure you can relate with military background) repetition will make it so when a real problem happens you will REACT - because you won't have time to think.

So, since it sounds like you have a deal that you really feel you can't pass up, I say go for it, but be cautious enough recognize the time you'll need to get use to this large bike. But for many people, this is how they start, so you are not alone. Recommendations are just that, what someone else recommends, but in the end you decide what you can afford to spend and risk.

Good luck, keep us updated so we can learn from you too, and welcome to the not just the board here, but also the club of motorcycle riders!

[cb360]

That's a cool bike to be sure. Definitely take the msf. Do you know any buddies with bikes - maybe someone with a beater - that could take you and let you ride a larger bike around a parking lot or something? The msf will be invaluable, but those little 250s won't really prepare you for the weight of the beast you are buying. I'm not all gloom and doom on this topic and I don't think you'll kill yourself on the bike... but you wouldn't be the first noob to drop his bike. It's good that you're big and strong - that said, you ain't strong enough to hold up a harley if it gets past the tipping point. My two cents is get the bike you want, but try and find a way to get a taste of a heavy bike under supervision before hitting the road for real. Just a session or two of slow speed maneuvers, practice parking and getting on and off the bike - do some roll and gos -see if you can get a taswte of engaging first while on an incline... That kind of thing. Good luck.

[RTR]

For crying out loud. It's a sweet bike, and as long as you take the MSF course, and treat it with respect while you're a newbie, you'll be fine.
Just get it and enjoy it.

+1

[Dichotomous]

if the bike is your style, and you can swing the money and such, I say go for it. being big only helps when the bike is stopped. Harley has seccuesfully branded itself as the american motorcycle and symbol of freedom, so its fitting for a serviceman whos fighting for our freedom to cruise the open roads of the land he fought for as a symbol of freedom ON a symbol of freedom. Throttle on man, throttle on

[d2mini]

oh man! i love the street bob. It's one of the only harley's i would buy. But that is a lot of motorcycle for a first one. Would make a much better second bike in a year or two. But if it's what you want, go for it.

[9000white]

i work with a man whose weightlifter brother in law bought a harleyDeuce for his first bike and the only place on it that aint dented and scratched up so far is the top of the gas tank.he has dropped it 5 times in less than a year.learn on a used clunker.

[jstark47]

635 lbs dry weight and semi-ape hanger bars for a first bike? I think it would be hard to learn the fundamentals of turning, leaning, etc. on that. Not impossible, but why put roadblocks in your way? Get a smaller beater for a few months, ride the heck out of it, then get the Street Bob.

Sweet bike, by the way.

[jmillheiser]

If this price on the Harley is only for a limited time. Then maybe get the street bob AND buy a used beater for cheap to practice on.