Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Other Bikes Rode my first Harley....

My cousin just bought the new Nightster and, though he's been riding for years, he'd been doing it sans license so I picked up his bike. When I first saw pics of that bike, I must say, I'd felt a twinge of regret about my Speedy. It sure is pretty. Of course I'd read that old sporties shook like the devil but that had been fixed.

Well, if this is better, man, it's amazing anyone with more than 1,000 miles on a sportster has any teeth. Now I know why they call 'em Milwaukee Vibrators. It's also wee. His has forward controls, but a bit tight for me. And, in person, my speedy is WAY pertier. Oh, and that while the sticker is about a G different, his out the door was almost 4 grand more than I paid.

That 4 grand I good have my bike gold plated. I don't think I will, but it's an option.

JIM

The only harley I've ridden is an old shovel and it rode like one too. Now the newbies are much more reliable supposedly but I haven't ridden one so can't compare. What I can do is tell you what a mate of mine's impressions were. Basically he's saving for an America but his mates all have HD's, so trying to get him to buy one he's ridden several and each time he says to himself the Triumph's are so much more rider friendly it's not funny. He also reckons the HD's are just not refined enough, sort of like they are clunkers or something. Now I don't know if that equates to being less stable or safe on the road in comparison but this bloke I know has no doubt the Triumph a much nicer bike to ride even without taking price into consideration.

Back in the 90's I rode my first HD...it was a 86 FXRS softail. Very nice bike, rode like a caddy, and made a load of torque. Liked it alot.

Had an unreliable '74 74" shovel head, lots of torque, third gear up a hill was a joy, if you like rattling your teeth, the adventure was never being sure if you could make it back the same day you left....

I've ridden two Harleys. In '96 my buddy let me ride his brand new Dyna. I had little-to-no experience and just tried to ride up and down the street without wrecking it. Then last year I rode my (the same) buddy's custom chopper with a monster engine. It shook pretty good but was ridable. Of course the motor's hopped up and it weighs nothing so it ran like a scalded ape. I've been hoping to get a crack at a co-workers V-Rod but the owner is a friggin pansy and still hasn't put more than 1000-1500 miles on it in 2-3 years. Say what you will about V-Rods, but that ain't right.

I've also ridden 2 Hogs. The first was my neighbors '02 Sporster that he bought when I bought mine. It drove like a tractor. The clutch was stiff, it vibrated and was not very fun to ride. He sold it to get a Honda VTX 1300. Now the Sporsters have have rubber bushings for the engine so you don't feel the vibration as much. I also rode Donnie's (member here)new Softtail Custom Deluxe. Now that was a whole different story. Gobs of torque, big comfy seat, it was a real kick to ride. It would be great for a trip. I would like to try one of the new 96 cubers also. But I still doubt if I would buy one because they are a little to many out there. I'd go for a Rocket III deluxe if I were going to get a bigger bike.

In defense of the throbbing V-Twins, I not-so-fondly recall riding those humming Japahamas and sushukies of the late 60's to the mid-70's. The vibration was sooo strong and sooo quick that the steady hum could nearly cause paralysis. A 200 mile ride left you numb fron mid chest to forehead and from foot to navel. I rode my first and only Harley during that era and found the explosive but intermitent vibration quite a relief.

I rode a fairly new dynaglide that belongs to a friend of mine. I moved it for him and he drove his truck. It was very uncomfortable to ride. The engine is rubber mounted but it still would rattle your fillings out at certain speeds. I also wasn't impressed with the power considering it is a 1340cc if I remember right. He has 2 dependable enough I guess. We ride and so far he hasn't broken down with me.

very informative
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I must have been clicking for the lifestyle rather than the actual experience.

Well it was the same video as the one in this thread.

I had an AMF era sportster and after I rode it home about 20 miles my ****** was totally numb. That was the last solid ride I got out of it b/c it stayed broken down all the time. My brother just bought an 05 1200 custom and it is much better. It has gobs of torque but still vibrates much more than my america. It is a little faster too but it should be, it's got 400cc on mine! It almost causes you to lose some front end feel due to the vibration. The seat looks very cool but you might as well be sitting on a piece of plywood. F@#$ a bunch of hardleys, except maybe the Street Rod.

Yeah, I had one of those terrible unreliable AMF Sportsters once. Rode it to work every day and on more cross country trips than I can count for about 20 years. For several years, that was my only transportation.
As for vibration, you guys should go put a few Kmiles on one of the old Brit 500 thumpers. It's been at least 2 years since HD made anything that vibrates properly, at least that doesn't run on batteries.

My very first mc was a used 1954 Harley Hydra-Glide I didn't even know how to ride had to get a friend to pick it up. I kept it four years and I loved it. cost $550.00 sold it for $500.00 I wonder what it would be worth now.

I'd bounce around on the seat of my '73 Commando at idle. At 2k and above it was smooth as silk. God, I loved that bike.

Commando was rubber mounted in 73.

The Nightster is a great-looking bike, but not for anyone tall. I sat on one at the HD dealer, I felt like I was in the circus riding one of those little clown bikes. Beep-beep!

I grew up on them. My uncle has a buttload of bikes. my first experince on pavement was my aunts Sporty Chopper. They also had a Triumph. I have ridden a Dyna, Electra Glide, Duece, 71 Chopper and many others. The smoothest most comfortable one was the Softail Duece.

smooth was actually a complaint I had about mine when I got it I was used to the old 66 and that thing put my hands to sleep.Loved it though..still do.

I've ridden a Road King, Softtail Deluxe, and a Softtail Standard. Lots of torque, glass smooth acceleration (EFI), and very vague handling and breaking. They all just felt weird, like take a shower with a rain coat on. Anyone else have that opinion? Nice enough bikes, but I was happy to get back on my America every time.

Yes I absolutly agree with the asessment. Primary draggers for knuckle draggers. LOL

The new Sportsters handle well enough once you get used to them. The relatively narrow long engine mass tends to make them feel a little different.
The big twins were intended for a different application, so handling ranges from so-so to majestic.

That one skipping off into the woods on the dragon didn't look too majestic! LOL

My first was when they first came out with the New back then Evoluntion engine.I rode like five new Harleys that day.Shifted very nice,shook quite abit.I think that was what 1984? After that I rode an old AMF sportster,what a ride that was.Sportsters have changed for the better.That old sportster shook like ****** and was heavy.It was way worse than my 78 Bonneville on the shakes.In 94 I took a Buell out for a test ride.The mirrors at an idle looked as if they were going to fall off.It handled good,brake good and the front end would come up shifting to second.It was a fun demo,did not buy it.They wanted $13,000 back then for it.My old 78 Bonneville would have beat it in a drag also,although it was not stock.Sat on a new V-Rod with the pegs in the middle.I thought it looked kind of cool.The thing felt extremely top heavy .Well to each there own.I know quite a few that love there Harleys.So as long as they are happy that's great.I'll keep my 2005 Speedmaster and maybe someday I'll buy another Triumph.Now that's a good dream.

I've ridden 2000 sporty with those silly buckhorn bars, way too small & tight for me, amazed I did't wreck. Rode an 02 Vrod - wicked fast & smooth but totally uncomfortable after an hour of saddle time. last Hog was a DYNA low rider suspension mods,motor hot-rodded amazing torque & power but would shake a monkey out of a tree. heavy & loud...give the quick nimble Triumph anyday

Hi Jimmy,
Kent from Qld. Aust here. Ride a 03 America. Comparing Trumps and HDs is a bit like chalk and cheese. I started on Trumps and Nortons and then moved to Harleys in the 80s.
Had quite a few. Never ridden the 96cube but the last 1450 I had was greatly improved on the earlier bikes and yep the vibes from the solid mounted sporties and heritage were something else. At anything over 115k the vibes from the heritage would have you rocking and rolling for minutes after you got off the bike. Definately a cruiser down arround the 100k mark. Have toured Aust on a electra-glide and with the rubber mount and air suspension a lot better experience.

Keep your knees in the wind
Kent

I've owned 3 Harleys, a '62 panhead, '76 Sportster and '87 Superglide. I loved the Superglide, but it fell to pieces at 25,000 miles. Nowadays, when I get an urge to ride a Harley, I just go sit on the paint shaker at Lowe's for a few minutes.

I had a Panhead. I liked it. it was fun to ride. I like old Harleys in general. The pan I had I might even still have if I could have afforded to keep it running. The idea at the time was to save money over car ins.It ended up costing me more to keep it running than if I had just put a car on the road anyway. Now a properly done pan is a dependable bike. I know a guy that rides nothing else and he pretty much never breaks down but he also knows what he is doing when he builds them. We rode to ****** and back together me on my 66 TR6C and him on his 50 EL pan (all origonal). I don't ever want another Hardley but I do like them (wouldn't mind a knuckle to play with) I think Hardley stopped making motorcycles when they stopped making the shovel head.

As much as I like building and riding harleys..they are a pain in the ****** and cost waaaaay to much!

Bought me a TBA and never looked back..