My New Harley Softail Slim

I finally broke down and bought a Harley Softail Slim (ABS). Its quite a nice machine, I guess I had listened to all the Harley bashing around here for too long. Well made, great old school look, and easy to drive, fits me well.

Its the right tool for my current kind of riding - less touring and more just minibike around town.

I appreciate all the help here discussing forward controls, lean angle, and the lifestyle aspect. I bought a machine, not a lifestyle. The forward controls are comfortable and fits my 5'8" frame well. I can just push off the seat over bumps, but of course its no dirt bike!

Yes, the lean angle sucks (I scraped the floorboards exiting the dealer.) I have only 75 miles to date, so I can tell really how well it runs. It has a nice pull off the line, easy to manouver, and well balanced until it scrapes. Very predictable.

A couple pictures above the brochure pics:
















Thanks again for all the help and the advice on alternative forums. I am not leaving here, its all an adventure, an dI plan on enjoying this bike for a while!

Warmest regards,

Z

Congrats!!!

The foot boards are on hinges for a reason. Take your time to get to know your bike and its limitations and you will do well. With proper riding instruction you may even find yourself leaned off the inside of your bike and throwing sparks all the way around the on/off ramps.

This, the fatbob and the 48 are my favorite Harleys. Congrats.

Steve
05 st3
00 sv6fity

Congrats on the new bike, Your first Harley?

Congrats. it's the bike I would buy.

About that ground clearance, Harley added the longer shocks to the catalog this year.

Good luck to you. Keep us updated on what you find.

I'm one of those folks who spent decades hating on Harley, and wish I hadn't. There's a lot of fun to be had with their machines.

Cakeeater

Congrats on the new bike, they are nice looking machines. I bought an '11 Electraglide and enjoy it more every time I ride it!

First Harley. I am coming off one of these, and the trade in sucked:



OK, maybe a few bikes in between. Last two were a Bonneville and a BMW R1150R.

Z!

I can't blame you. My BMW was in for warranty work last week and while I was waiting I went next door to Skip Fordyce HD and the nice saleman took me on a testride of a new Dyna. All I can say is WOW! The motor company has listened and if I didnt have 4 teenagers in my house right now I would have a new Dyna in the garage. I just wish I could buy an American made adventure bike. Sorry the Ulysses did not float my boat.

+1000

I had an electraglide before I bought my beemer. I came off a VStrom and a Buell and the part that scared me on the electraglice is how fast I ran out of lean angle and felt hard parts like frame rails scraping. I was always worried I would pogo off the road. Not a problem with my old sportster.

I'll tell ya, Harley really doesn't realize what they've got. I had a beautiful 2007 Softail deluxe that I just LOVED riding on the back roads and what not, until I got sick of scraping floorboards all the time - that's just asinine.. The drivetrain in my opinion is THE perfect drivetrain for the real world.

The cornering clearance however, is ridiculous. The ride quality is terrible, the bikes themselves are too small and cramped.

If Harley would make a real world bike they would have a smashing success, in my opinion. Something roomy, at least 7 inches of ground clearance, at least 6 inches of travel, with an actual lean angle.....they would have a real gem.

I love the drivetrain, but I'm not willing to live with the shortcomings of the chassis.

Cool bike but just in time to park it for the winter right? What winter mods ya got in mind? That's the first flat black one I've seen - I dig it!
I got this Fatboy back in 09 before the Lo came out. I think I did better than the motor co. Not a fan of the mix of flat/gloss/brushed.

Nice bike, congrats on your new "scooter".

Very nice! Big congrats. Nice pics too.

I was wondering if you had studio lighting with a black backdrop.

Going to pegs got me more comfort and cornering clearance but I may get those new shocks next year for a bit more.

Have fun, Mark H.

Congrats on the new ride ..
Now all you have to do is color sand and clear coat it and you will be done
Gary

Way cool man!! Looks great. Bet it rides nice. Here's to many miles/smiles ahead.

As far as cornering clearance is concerned on Harleys, if you are in search of cornering try a RoadKing. I didn't think any Harley would satisfy after a sportbike....I was wrong. Is it in the same class as the Gixxer...well, no. But, it ain't that bad neither. It will zip and man the torque. It sure is comfy too. With a bit of effort and the extensive aftermarket any Harley can be equipped to do anything you'd like. The hard part is making the decisions and coming up with the cash!!

+1 A bit of air in the suspension, and VOILA!

Most any cruiser will drag the floor boards at LOW speed... turning out of a side street, lot, etc. (unless your practicing parade protocol) BUT, try going FASTER through the sweepers... the immense bulk (I'm not bashing here, I've proven it for years on my 860 lb. cruiser(S!) ), will provide increased centrifugal force, thus standing the bike up, and more clearance. Whole different technique than a sportbike with clearance made for a race track. One riding bud INSISTED on trying my bike, felt there was no way in hell I could even stay in the same zip-code as the pack of naked Beemers, Monsters, etc.

I certainly agree that with slighty different riding techniques you can go faster than you'd think possible with Harley. Bumping the rear up even a bit helps. I drag my floorboards quite often on my Road Glide, but I do it less now after a year of riding it...and I go faster. Slow speed turns I still have to be careful...I levered my back end into a slide making a left hand turn off a stop sign when I gonked the undercarriage into the pavement. But on higher speed stuff it's good fun to see how much body english and picking the right line can really keep you moving at a good clip. All my group riding is with my brothers/nephew and the bikes have been st1300, bandit, big vstrom, wing, bmw rt1200...and they're never slowing down to wait for me.

Cakeeater

I love the Softail Slim...before I purchased my Honda Shadow I was looking hard at one of these, but the wife didn't really agree on spending an extra 10 grand on a bike.