Harley Owners and Enthusiasts

Looking for some advice for my first HD. Pretty much ruled out Sportsters and I'm only familiar with them so far.

Inner city riding with a few longer trips with the woman but not many. She'll surely want her own after I get one.

Contemplating a Fatboy or a Dyna. Should I be looking at others?

Thanks folks!

a reply to: JinMI
Advice - Learn to pronounce the word "Hawg"
What we here in the South call a Harley.
If you say Harley down here , you get a WTF moment....

a reply to: Gothmog

Haahg?

Hoggg?

Hawwwwg?

I'll work on it!

a reply to: JinMI

My wife and I bought our first HDs back in January after owning a few Hondas over the years.
I got a Sportster 1200 Custom and she got a Softail Deluxe.
We bought pre-owned from the HD dealer with warranties on both.
If you have a dealer near you, my advice is to check them all out.
I had originally ruled out Sportsters too but in the end, the Sportster felt the most comfortable to me.
We kind of started a trend in our crowd, her best friend bought a Sportster Super Low a couple weeks ago (her husband is still on the fence about getting one though lol).
And now 2 of our other friends are looking as well.

a reply to: RazorV66

Must be how it works.

My brother rode through my shop tonight with his new (used) Electro-Glide. It's sort of a bucket list endeavor that has been coming a long time. Of course I'm the last to the party as my uncles all have bikes and most of my contemporaries.

Really liking the looks of the Heritage and Fatboys as well as the displacement. Wouldn't mind picking one up on the cheap as we have such limited use of the machines (as you well know!).

The woman already has her endorsement and has been dropping hints since day one.

Can’t go wrong with a Heritage, rode my from Tenn to Idaho on our honeymoon and all over Gatlinberg city traffic. Good on the long haul and In town.a reply to: JinMI

I have never owned a Hawg
I prefer crotch rockets since way back in the 80s when I bought my first Katana

a reply to: ridgerunner

That's a gorgeous strip of road isn't it?!

Went through there once from MI to Florida, not on a bike though.

I wouldn't buy a Harley. I've been in too many close calls while riding normally, that I would be dead 10 times over had I been on one. They stop and maneuver like a brick. Out-stopping a car at slower speeds is tough even on a superbike. I've had a couple different "endo-passes" on my front wheel that were psycho.
I wouldn't think of putting a learner on a hog, unless it was a super light sportster, and even that's not a good idea for a learner.

5-800 lb + Harleys will take off your leg at the knee even on a slow slide out on the sand or oil. I would start the senorita out on a moped, then a 250 ninja and work up to it.

Women can be great riders once they learn balance, but even guys will have a bad day trying to catch themselves with one leg on a tipover.

Having said that, they are comfortable cruisers, and horrible in traffic, and I'd go for a softail with belt drive and not a raked out chopper style, they turn, stop and ride like crap.

Whatever you get we're gonna need pics.

Go to the dealers and ride them for a stretch, get used to the bike
The ones I have ridden, I found very uncomfortable and unsafe, the riding position felt awkward for a bike.
Harley's have certainly improved and look a lot better than they used to.
Maybe worth revisiting now my riding style and age has changed, cruising on a cruiser might just be better.

All you need to know is ova here

www.southparkstudios.nu...

a reply to: JinMI

Really liking the looks of the Heritage and Fatboys as well as the displacement. Wouldn't mind picking one up on the cheap as we have such limited use of the machines (as you well know!).

Last HD I rode was a 1952 Pan Head hard tail . It did have the foot shift but of all the Harley's I have gazed upon that I really liked the looks of is the Heritage . Best of luck choosing and riding .

a reply to: JinMI
I apologize for my post being so long, but I always enjoy what you have to say and I would like for you to stick around for awhile. Really, it's very good information and I promise that I am not trying to be negative on your bike fun, I hate to see anyone not start out without some of this information, maybe someone else might have more helpful tips.

Just because you are an adult doesn't mean that you can't make a mistake or 'not know' what to do. I rode like a crazy person when I was a teenager, up until my early 30's, I did some crap that I am not proud of too, but I did learn from my mistakes. There was no internet to learn from back then either, I had to learn how to do it by myself, for the most part.

I have a Road Star that I have had since 1992, I have had several bikes since I was 16, back in the 60's. I started out on a Yamaha 125 Enduro and it was a good size to learn on, although I did have a Sears 106 before that, it was a large bike though in comparison to the 125.
Anyway, I say this from not just experience, but rather from reading horror stories throughout the years, and from actual people that I know/knew, it's definitely a smart move to start out on a smaller bike at least the first year or so.
I cannot tell you how many people I know that have had major accidents because they didn't know how to handle a large bike. I know one guy that lost his leg when he slid into the underneath of a car, he was around 55 years old when that happened. I know another that had to be Care-Flighted after he laid down his bike sliding into a car, he was 38.
On and on with that kind of story.
Personally, I have been hit twice by a car, both times I was lucky, both times it wasn't my fault, but the first one could have been avoided had I known a few things.

Ride like you are invisible!
That means ride like nobody can see you at all, that is important because they usually don't see you, or, they might not care. That also means that if you were invisible you need to take extra precaution because they can't see you, so they 'may' just pull into your lane. Since you are being so vigilant you are ready though because you are invisible.
Ride like everyone out there is trying to kill you, that is a better description.


Most bike 'street related' accidents (just going down a street minding your own business) are from a vehicle that pulls in front of you making a left-hand turn.
Imagine that you are going down a street and someone is facing you on your left and they want to turn left in front of you, they may, or may not see you, act as though they can't, because you will definitely one day run into this scenario as least once, if not multiple times.

If you are going down a street and someone is stopped on you right waiting to either cross the road or travel in your same lane, watch their wheels, not their faces. They will usually roll forward slightly before jumping out in front of you, this happens so many times that you will not believe it. Act as though they are definitely going to try and run in front of you, that can save you.

Wear a helmet, I know it's more fun to not, but I wouldn't have a chin if I didn't wear one in my first accident, my full-face helmet literally saved my chin, literally! I don't think that if I had not worn a helmet in that accident I would be dead, but I would've been disfigured for sure, my helmet's chin area was ground down where I went skidding across the road after I landed.

Always look in your mirrors, always! They will save you more than once, I can guarantee you that. I am always scanning my right rear, my left rear, in front of me, both sides, all of the time. It sounds like I wouldn't be enjoying myself, but after awhile it becomes second nature.
Do it though, learn to do it.

Be aware of people behind you, twice in around 2 hours I was almost rear-ended by someone because I stopped at a stop sign, where they were from they probably never stop for them, so even though you are doing your part, they may not be. I was being as aware as I could, but had I not heard the screeching and knew to always look I may not have been here now.
I might always look, but things can happen so quick it's unreal, so even though you may be paying a lot of attention you can still get smooshed.

If someone is tail-gating you, don't think that you have to be manly and do something about it, let them win! They weight several thousand pounds, you don't. They will win every time.

I saw a video of a biker at red light taken from a cop's video camera. That video showed the biker just sitting there, then out of nowhere comes a pick-up that slams right into the back of him! He was paying attention to the cop rather than looking in front of him. The biker survived, but he had a cast on each arm, a broken shoulder, (I thin) a broken hip, and several other non-life threatening injuries. He had a video of his own that showed that latter.

I am not saying to be paranoid, but being vigilant just doesn't begin to describe how bad it is out there, the second car that hit me came out of my lane and hit me as I was changing into the right-hand lane. I looked, nobody at all was in the right lane, then, I veer into it, then BAM! I wasn't knocked down, but I was lucky, this was right after I bought that 2002 bike, 3 days after. It wasn't me, I have done some stupid stuff and I will admit it, but these two accidents were not my fault. I could've avoided the first accident because I saw the guy, he came from a bar, I was in a 3 lane street in the far right-hand lane, he just drove right across all the lanes and WHAM! I hit him so had that I knocked his car's bumper off.
My bike was a heavy bike (1982 Yamaha 1100 Special) and it went over my head doing cartwheels, I was also doing cartwheels underneath it, luckily it was a few feet from me. The bike was so high it hit the top of a city street sign down, it flew in the air around 35 feet. I flew the same amount, but somehow I was only slightly injured. My bike was totaled, I was not.

I have been riding for years though, but back then it wasn't anywhere as crowded out there like it is now. People would wave at you because it wasn't the norm for people to be on motorcycles, it was weird back then.
One day not long before my second accident I was riding to work (2nd shift) on a normal day, with normal traffic, I had cars all around me and I knew where they all were. I was watching the car on my immediate right, I could see his eyes in the outside rear view mirror. He saw me too, I watched his eyes when he deliberately pulled over into my lane, not caring one bit that I was there. Why? I don't know, but he did. Since I was aware because I rode like I was invisible and I was as prepared for anything to happen at any time, I took evasive action and was O.K.

I say all of that because you need to be so hyper-vigilant out there because not only do the drivers might not care, but they might not see you.

Here's a really good guy that you can learn things from, he has videos that he sells, but he also has some free stuff on YouTube that can be helpful.
www.youtube.com...
Look through this and then watch other's videos that have the topics that I mention, that will probably be more helpful than me just telling you.

Good luck on whatever it is that you end up doing!

Electraglide ....all the way
Better handling , plus the windshield lets you hear your bike and its way more comfortable.but I guess the price tag shows that..lol

Softtail custom here, love it,does all I need.

a reply to: recrisp

Some good advice in that post! Thanks.

I got started at the age of twelve on an older Yamaha 360 dirt bike. My uncle's. Bought my own cruiser, a Yamaha 400 special. Honda cb650, nighthawk and lastly a shadow. Last owned was almost 6 years ago. So was looking to jump into my first big bike. Not a full dress though.

originally posted by: WUNK22
Softtail custom here, love it,does all I need.

They do seem to be optimal for my needs....wants?

I live in a very motorcycle enthusiast corner.
I HATE how many break traffic laws.
Sure, some people ride and obey traffic laws, but more often than not, some turd on a br-br-brr (see South Park. indigent posted a link above) pass me on the right, or the left, and yet, IM SUPPOSED TO WATCH OUT FOR MOTORCYCLES?

Nah, you bike-curious or you're a (watch the episode of South Park).

Done with the Share the road bs.

Respect my lane and don't try to pass on a shoulder...car beats bike.

a reply to: JinMI
Sorry about that, I somehow 'read' that this was your first bike.

You had some nice bikes, I am familiar with them all through friends.

I do have one thing to say, I am not against Harley, I just think that there are many more bikes that are a lot less that are a lot less trouble to maintain. From what I always understood about Harleys is that the top-end needs to be re-built around 45,000 miles or so. I am no mechanic(!), so I can't say. (Maybe they remedied that by now)
Personally, I can't afford a $25,000 bike, not unless I bought used, very used.
Around 1980 I was shopping for a bike, I looked at used Harleys and they so out of my league price-wise (and i made good money) that I went with the 1981 Yamaha 1100 Special, (that was totaled) and then the '82 Maxim 1100 as its replacement. These were 'around' $3,800. back then...

I rode Triumphs for years too, but they broke down a lot, and I am, like a said, "no mechanic!" heheh

One thing, lean weight, I have only ridden two Harleys and the lean weight was strange to me coming off of a Road Star, the Road Star has a lot of 'heavy' in it, (I actually like this) the Harleys that I rode felt like a lighter bike. I am not hating, what I am saying is that a larger bike may seem heavy or 'light', one might be nimble, others might not be, all depending on what you like.

Anyway, good luck on whatever you get.
Have fun and be careful!

a reply to: the owlbear

Guys who ride like that tend to not ride long by one means or another.