I've got serious issues, I want a Harley

[Nadgett]

Mine's pretty heavy,but it's a hoot to ride. First Harley at age 58.

[Ginger Beard]

Originally Posted by wannabe1

I see the haters haven't found this thread yet. Ignore them, get you a Harley, wear the clothes you want to and just enjoy the ride.

Originally Posted by NJ-Brett

I think there are other choices besides a big heavy Harley...........ridden by people who dress like the big bad biker who do not know how to ride.

Well that didn't take long.

[stroming it softly]

I have owned em all, at 64 I wanted to get back to a bike that looks like a bike, zero maintenance and pretty much is capable of multi day trips, some fun twisties, mild dirt roads. Bought an 09 XR1200 last month and am just tickled to death with it. Sure, it could be lighter and it could be this or that but it is what it is, a basic mc that looks like a bike, rides like one and does nearly everything in a capable manner. I like it.

[Cakeeater]

Originally Posted by MotoADHD

Ok, I've owned just about every bike out there. My current bikes are a KTM 990 SMT & a BMW R1200r, but never a Harley. I'm thinking about selling both of them and getting a Dyna Fat Bob. I rented a Fat Bob recently, did 262 miles through out local mountains and deserts and had a great time. At 51 I'm kind of tired of strafing apexes. Many of my sport riding buddies have quit due numerous stays in hospital, died or ride so they can smoke weed, get away from their miserable work / family lives, and bench race over way too many beers at day's end.

Any Harley riders out there who made the switch from sport bikes??? Traded in the peg scraping and 2100 mile tire changes cause they are trying to get back to something elemental? I'm chasing that joy I used to have for riding that has now turned into a love /hate relationship. I want to get back to riding for riding's sake, and I think the Fat Bob just might be my ticket back.

I made the switch....with a twenty year gap in between.

I quit riding in my late twenties. For fifteen years I up to that point I rode really fast. I got married and simply didn't feel the need to go crazy anymore.

I never felt the need to scratch that itch...until a couple years ago I took my friend's Harley ten-year-old Softtail for a ride. It handled terribly! It was loud, and I couldn't stop laughing the entire time I was on it....in a good way.

Some rentals and riding everything from a vstrom to bmw 1200 rt to an st1300....I bought a Road Glide Ultra. It handles much better than the Softtail and it's much quieter, and I still can't stop laughing. Great bike. Different feel. Very fun.

This weekend I'm going for a 1,000 mile ride, with my wife. I'm 47 now. I can still ride fast if I want, but I don't want. I have no desire to ride a sportbike.

Cakeeater

[Genehil]

Originally Posted by Cakeeater

I can still ride fast if I want, but I don't want.

Same here... I ride a lot differently at 65 than I did at 25. I have a LOT less crashes and I don't seem to notice all the terrible "cagers" that the younger guys moan about. It might be due to that big gap I now leave between myself and the "cage" in front of me that gives me the time I need to see what's going on up there and make adjustments.

[scrannel]

OK... first of all an XR1200 (X) is on my shopping list because is it NOT a "Harley". It was a bike that HD only sold overseas for years then, finally, like some timid little girl afraid to get her Pokemon sneakers wet, brought it to the States. Finally. It's like their steroid child that refused to die. So, if you're looking for the big bike commfy feel, that's probably too close to a sport bike for your needs.

The V-Rods are really good bikes trapped in a frame designed around grand-ma's walker. So if the XR1200X is the "anti-Harley", the V-Rods are "Un-Harleys".

The "Real Harleys" are undoubtedly what you're looking for. And this is the "line" that HD has lavished most of its subtleties on. So IF you are going to do this I would caution you to spend some time looking beyond "image" and study each bike carefully to be sure you get exactly what you want.

However... just be sure you're not over-reacting. Making the jump from a sports bike to a battleship may be going too far. I just turned 65 last month, have a broken back and two titanium knees -- I ride a BMW K1200R... I wanted to slow things down a bit, not go on life support.

[ohgood]

Originally Posted by MotoADHD

Ok, I've owned just about every bike out there. My current bikes are a KTM 990 SMT & a BMW R1200r, but never a Harley. I'm thinking about selling both of them and getting a Dyna Fat Bob. I rented a Fat Bob recently, did 262 miles through out local mountains and deserts and had a great time. At 51 I'm kind of tired of strafing apexes. Many of my sport riding buddies have quit due numerous stays in hospital, died or ride so they can smoke weed, get away from their miserable work / family lives, and bench race over way too many beers at day's end.

Any Harley riders out there who made the switch from sport bikes??? Traded in the peg scraping and 2100 mile tire changes cause they are trying to get back to something elemental? I'm chasing that joy I used to have for riding that has now turned into a love /hate relationship. I want to get back to riding for riding's sake, and I think the Fat Bob just might be my ticket back.

these things sell all the time. if bike X doesn't fill the void, bike Y might. it shouldn't be hard to off load a bike you're not as interested in as the pictures led you to believe.

between the title of the thread and your initial comment, sounds like you're pretty torn. good luck.

[scapegoat]

Originally Posted by vecchio Lupo

I totally get the H-D thing, just not the Skull Pirate thing. Get what you want and ignore the haters and the fashionistas.

Exactly....just ride. Think of round the world Doug and the rest who prove any bike can bring a world of smiles and laughs. Sides its fun pushing something not made for 100 mph corners as hard as you can. Speed is all relative to what your on if it really matters.

[Buellrunner]

My 2 bikes include a 2006 Heritage Softail and 2007 Kawasaki z750s.

If I have to have one bike - it will be from the hd motor company.

Sometimes you need the riding experience that only a hd can provide ad sometimes you need the experience that hd cannot.

[JerryH]

I am 53, and have owned 41 bikes, including the 6 I currently have. Except for a '66 Triumph Bonneville, they have all been Japanese. I also want a Harley in the worst way, and intend to have one before I get too old to ride. I'm blue collar, so I'm not rich, and cannot afford a new big twin. And I'm really too big for a Sportster. So it will be used. I'm looking at a pre Twin Cam EVO with a carb, something I can work on as well as ride. For some reason they are getting hard to find. Did all of them just disappear when the twin cam came out? You can walk through a parking lot full of Harleys, and every single one of them is a twin cam. But I will find my dream bike, and when I do, I will keep it for the rest of my life.

[scrannel]

Originally Posted by Buellrunner

Sometimes you need the riding experience that only a hd can provide ad sometimes you need the experience that hd cannot.

So... what you're trying to tell us is you're bi?

[isldtime]

I'll chime in on the XR1200.

Things at home keep me from going far so I sold my Tiger1050 which was proceeded by sport bikes,a super moto and another Sportster back in the late '80s.
It is heavy and turns slower but if sure is fun for a 63 year old!

[ian03xl]

Originally Posted by JerryH

I am 53, and have owned 41 bikes, including the 6 I currently have. Except for a '66 Triumph Bonneville, they have all been Japanese. I also want a Harley in the worst way, and intend to have one before I get too old to ride. I'm blue collar, so I'm not rich, and cannot afford a new big twin. And I'm really too big for a Sportster. So it will be used. I'm looking at a pre Twin Cam EVO with a carb, something I can work on as well as ride. For some reason they are getting hard to find. Did all of them just disappear when the twin cam came out? You can walk through a parking lot full of Harleys, and every single one of them is a twin cam. But I will find my dream bike, and when I do, I will keep it for the rest of my life.

Dealers don't like to keep anything pre-twin cam on the showrooms. Probably because they're hard to sell but, I don't know for a fact. Ebay or cycletrader will be your best bet to find one.

[Matchanu]

Originally Posted by JerryH

I am 53, and have owned 41 bikes, including the 6 I currently have. Except for a '66 Triumph Bonneville, they have all been Japanese. I also want a Harley in the worst way, and intend to have one before I get too old to ride. I'm blue collar, so I'm not rich, and cannot afford a new big twin. And I'm really too big for a Sportster. So it will be used. I'm looking at a pre Twin Cam EVO with a carb, something I can work on as well as ride. For some reason they are getting hard to find. Did all of them just disappear when the twin cam came out? You can walk through a parking lot full of Harleys, and every single one of them is a twin cam. But I will find my dream bike, and when I do, I will keep it for the rest of my life.

Look for an 86-93 FXR. They can be had for around 6K.

My buddy talked me into it, I'm glad he did.

[Buellrunner]

Originally Posted by Buellrunner





Sometimes you need the riding experience that only a hd can provide ad sometimes you need the experience that hd cannot.

So... what you're trying to tell us is you're bi?

I guess when it comes to bikes - I'm bi :)