2012 Harley-Davidson XR1200X review

[sunshine229]

"The bike that bites back with it's aggressive personality"



Today I rode my first Harley-Davidson ever.

We were hanging out at the Ace Cafe (London) last night and met Warr's H-D who were hosting their August Bank Holiday Harley-Davidson demo rides. Demos were over for the evening so we decided to return today to get me a ride on the XR1200X. (It's a bike I'd consider owning.)

When the bike fires up it is amazingly growly... Very mean and gnarly sounding, which sets the scene for an exciting kick off to the demo ride!

Having never ridden a Harley-Davidson before and being about three years since I've ridden a twin, I knew going into it that riding this bike was going to be a shock to the system. But what a great shock it turned out to be! I was pleasantly surprised at the feeling of this bike, from the sound of the engine to the power of the torque. It was an unbelievably awesome ride.

To top it all off the seat and riding position are massively comfortable, it's a very simple bike to ride at slow speeds and it's fantastic for curves and twisties.

What's not to like???

Guess I just have to get my head wrapped around the fact that I would consider having a Harley-Davidson in my garage... that's another first for me!

Here is my riding video from the demo ride.

[jstark47]

What's not to like???

The weight. Much too heavy for what it is.

[sunshine229]

What's not to like???

The weight. Much too heavy for what it is.

Have you ridden this model before? To me, the weight really wasn't an issue at all. In fact, it was the easiest "large" bike to ride slowly that I've ever ridden. That's gotta count for something. If you have a chance, you should give this model a ride and let me know what you think!

[madjak30]

Looks kinda like Harley built a bike that the Buell customers might like...but what is up with the headlight?? Kinda looks like a pancake and doesn't seem to fit the image of the rest of the bike...(get a set up from a Buell Uly & your off to the races)

It's okay, and the pricing is not terrible in comparisson to the Ducati Monster 1100...but I'll keep my bike for now...

Later.

[HYPERR]

What's not to like???

They should offer the Harley Orange in the X and not just the R. The orange would go great with the blacked out engine!

[sunshine229]

What's not to like???

They should offer the Harley Orange in the X and not just the R. The orange would go great with the blacked out engine!

You're right, they never made the orange one in the X. Mike says he'd buy the orange one so you're in good company! I personally really like the "Denim White" (flat/matte) but I could easily be talked in to any of the colours.

For once in my life I've not judged this bike just on it's looks but also on it's character. It really gave me such an incredible feeling riding it that I can forgive any issues about looks/colour. But that being said, there isn't anything about the look of this bike that I don't like!

The headlight has an H-D logo right in the middle (made of pewter?), which is a pretty cool touch.

[totalmotorcycle]

I have to admit, there are certain types of bikes, regardless of weight, handling or power that just have "character" and the XR1200X is definately one of them.

Overall, it's hard to define what charater in a motorcycle is, but for me, it's personality. There is just something about those rare motorcycle models that give off a "hey, I'm different than the rest" type of attitude and develop their own personality. I've had 2 such bikes out of all the ones I've owned, a 1980 Honda CB400T and a 1982 Yamaha Seca XJ650R... these 2 were not the fastest, nor best handling or even the "best looking", but they won a spot in my heart through their character. The other 3 I've owned were just bikes even though they were (minus 1) faster, way newer and more powerful.

I guess what I'm trying to say is so many bikes today are characterless, even though they may be top of the charts in stats. It's nice to see something with it.

I hope we all get to own a few bikes with such charater in our riding careers.

Mike

[QuietMonkey]

No changes for 2012 from the underwhelming 2011 model i took for a quick spin last year. Definitely not a Buell in any way.

Feels like an 1980's motorcycle with an updated 1990's chassis and many Sportster traits like, VERY lonnngggg wheelbase, SLOWWW um "stable" steering, very loww seat with short footpeg to seat ergos (i.e. good for people who are quite short), and quite heavy compared to any other sportbike... i.e. 150lbs heavier (!) than a "comparable" air-cooled Ducati.

So all it really has going for it is ummm, unique character... probably needs another $2000-3000 to make it interesting, like the race-spec models, but it has lots of inherent issues in the basic design, so it's never going to be a great bike. Even the Vance & Hines and Harris models in the H-D supported race class trim are ducks out of water... or hogs in water.

here's my brief blurb on the thing:
viewtopic.php?f=61&t=41607&start=25

and luckily Buell is free again to do his own thing light-years ahead of what H-D has done after 20 years of showing them how to make Lightning out of Lemons at least that was Buell making Edison Lightning if not quite Tesla Lightning.