Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge What to buy ?

So, here’s the story. I will try and keep it short. (My names not Stacka).

Being retired Jo & I have made the decision to do a road trip round Australia before we get too old to do it. (Total trip distance will be in excess of 20000 Klms.)

We’ve also come to the conclusion that my Speedy isn’t the bike to do it on. We decided this after a 3 day trip away with 2 of my mates and their wives. One has a Road King and the other has a Wideglide, did I have trouble keeping up the pace. Jo & I both weigh 85 Kg. (190 lbs.) plus luggage for an all up weight of over 190 Kgs.

What other bike can we get that will fit the bill.

As Stevie would say, I smell rice. So that is not an option.

I don’t like either the Thunderbird or the Rocket 3.

My only other alternative is Harley. The main reason being that there are dealers all over OZ if you need one.

I have been offered good deals on a 2010 Superglide and a 2010 Fatbob.

I am looking for honest opinions on these bikes, so go for it. Please don’t start the old Harley are rubbish routine as we all know that in most cases that isn’t so.

I won’t mention the Triumph broken engine cases or the failed Igniters.

Come on guys I know there are a few out there that have Harleys and Triumphs.

I am also going to keep the Speedy if finances allow.

For me I would have to say I like to get value for money and the Rocket 3 can be picked up for a reasonable price second hand . These things are probably good for 400,000k so one with a few k's on the clock could still be picked up for cheaper than a Hog and you get effortless power to pass road trains and cruise at 140 fully loaded.
My main beef with the Rocket is rear tyre life/replacement cost but it would still work out cheaper I reckon.
If the Rocket is totally out of the question then how about a K1200 RT BMW ? I have an early model K100 BMW and this bike is a real mile eater and alot easier on the rider. I have done 860 k in one day and will quite often ride 200 k without stopping for a break , my Speedmistress on the other hand starts to get uncomfortable after about 350 k in the saddle.

With my size the Rocket 3 would have to be out of the question.

My main problem is that I am only 5'5" tall and any bike other than a cruiser is out of the question for the obvious reason.

I have thought on ocasions of suing the local council for building the pavement so close to my ar$e.

Any chance you can ride all three to compare?
The R3 is a big 'un but Wendy is only a snitch over 5'0" and she can reach the controls of my R3 better than my America.

All lubed up ( ), a new R3 is 57kg heavier than the Super Glide and 47kg heavier than the Fat Bob with a 40mm higher seat than the Super Glide and 60mm higher than the Fat Bob.

I'm biased but the R3 doesn't feel like a big bike when you're on it (mine is a standard R3, not a touring).
Shaft drive is great too

You pays your money, you takes your choice.
Enjoy whichever you get.

Not sure how your Yamaha dealer situation is, but my wife and I love my Royal Star Tour Deluxe (the stripped down Venture). The seating area is a good deal bigger than the RIII touring and it handles well for as heavy as she is. We are heading out to do the cross country trip in three weeks on her.

Goldwing.

FXD T-SPORT , Stick a screen on it and all your problems sorted

As far as a choice between a Superglide and a Fatbob I think most Harley models are much of a muchness with different bolt on stuff.
If it's gonna be a Harley get a FLHXI Street Glide these have a cut down fairing and most of the fruit for touring.
A fairing and a backrest for the passenger are pretty much essential. Strap gear to the rear rack/backrest , Fairing for when the weather turns bleak 100k from your destination.

My comment is in the "other bike" section. But, have to say, that if the deal came my way, I would sure look at the Beemer.

Have you looked at Victory? When looking for the Speedy, I was almost drawn to Victory as an option (price was the final decider for the Speedy)
Worth a look at their touring models.

Thunderbird

Well Frank, given that you don't like the Tbird or R3 I'd have to say go for a Goldwing or a Geezerglide. I'm only 5'7" and last year I rode a Wideglide. I LOVED it... would own one in a heartbeat if I could afford it. Low seat position, handles nice, smooth, tons of torque, comfortable. Beautiful bike!!

I'm 5'4" and a petite woman and I can flatfoot and handle the Victory Crossroads. They're a beautiful bike, there are 5 new ones in our club. They are a bit spendy, but a good reliable bike. The owners of the new victory's went from HD road kings and the others from the Yamaha's Royal Star.

Good Luck and please keep us up on our trip. Have always been interested in visiting the southern hemisphere.

Here are the facts about Harley.
1. they make 5 different bikes, the V-rod, Sportster, Dynaglide, Softail, and Tourglide. All the variations are simply different configurations and trim packages added onto these 5. I have no experience with that ugly water cooled V-rod thing, so it will not be discussed here.
2. These 4 basic bikes come with 3 standard engines. The sportster has an 883/1200 CC unit construction engine. The Dyna and Tour bikes share a basic 96 cubic rubber mounted engine. The Softails have a variation of the 96 inch fitted with vibration damping shafts.
3. Like nearly all motorcycles made anywhere in the world, the greatest number of problems stem from failure of electrical bit bought from far away places with strange sounding names.

In my opinion, the Softails would be the ones you should look at first. There is negligible vibration at any speed. (The rubber mounted engine can be worse than a hardmounted one at low speed.) They are easy to lower. There is a touring version that is lighter and more managable than the Tourglides.
Of course, if you feel a great need for builtin stereos, 2 way radios, cell phones and satnav, you can't beat a tourglide.

If I were thinkin harley,a streetgliude is what I would be lookin at.

If I were looking for a touring bike from Harley, I would go for the gusto and snag me a ultra classic electra glide. It's almost like driving your livingroom easyboy chair with a built-in vibrator.Plus tons of storage space for all of your gear.

I had a Street Glide on rental a few years ago. It was ok actually!
It was very comfortable.

To do the touring thing I would have to say Electra Glide. My brother has one and he swears by it. He has had no real problems with it and rides it eveywhere. Only bummer is he started wearing do-rags and getting tattoos. Personally I like the Custom Softtail or the Heritage Softtail but then you would have to spend on bags and screen etc.

I would suggest too that you take a Rocket III for a test ride as I see many guys who are about your height riding them. I have a couple of mates that have them and they run cheap car tyres on the rear. Apparently takes a bit of getting use to as cornering is different but it works and saves them alot of money. The power they offer is insane.

Harley electraglide or ultra Frank. When we did the trip considered all the options and they came up trumps. The Victory was not arround in those days. You can pick up older models with very low ks for a reasonable price as they do not have a good resale value for trades and harder to move than the soft tails etc.
Ours done the trip no sweat and was very reliable. Once you get used to the weight and handling they perform very well and you have the baggage function built in so to speak. Out in the Northern Territory etc they really come into there own so to speak and a pleasure to ride. The low seat height is a bonus a makes the bike fairly easy to handle even loaded at low speeds. Music etc comes standard and you would not have to add very much to the stock bike. If I was doing it again 2 up that is the bike I would prefer.

G'day Frank,I have owned 7 Harleys and all of them were good bikes except for one and there was a story behind that.

I think you will find the reach to the forward controls is very stretched for the shorter of us on the Fat Bob I have heard you can get mids for it but at a cost.

I owned a 1992 FXR Superglide and it was a great bike I wish I still had it today and like any bike if you keep up the services to them and look after them Harleys are just as good as any other bike on the road.

As one another poster said have a look at the Softail bikes as well and don't forget the Roadking.

Frank one more bike to look at in the Harley range is the Electraglide Standard you still get a good touring bike which is cheaper than the Ultra and lighter as well, happy bike hunting cheers.

I have owned English bikes BSA and Triumphs. Took alot of demo rides on Harleys, Victory,BMW, Yamahas ETC.. I love the BMW and Yamahas. Smooth and very confortable.
All time favorite Was BMW LT. Wish I would have figured out the Radio first. It was a 38 mile demo ride. Even went on the interstate. Maint. would but me in the poorhouse. That isn.t cheap nor is the bike.

Thanks for all the sugestions guys.

The biggest problem getting a bike to fit isn't just my 5'5"frame.

It's my 27 1/2 inch inseam.

I can deal with Lucas of Bermingham, it's the stuff made by Chow Fing Chu of Yee Fau that gives me problems. Come to think of it, the only real problems were with the selenium rectifiers and a dynamo that put out a little less current than the lights used so the battery voltage would balance out at a steady 4 1/2 volts at night. I started buying rectifiers from TV supply shops and got to the point that it took less than 5 minutes from smelling the familiar 'egg-fart' odor rolling up from under the seat to riding on with a fresh rectifier.

Harley D. Huh? smells like beer and Vienna Sausage