Yesterday, I had a family easter event and a relative of a relative showed up on a Harley. It was the typical hyper chromed, extra loud bike. But the rider was atypical, in that he recognized that different bikes have their different strengths and was quick to call that particular bike a "show piece". I really liked talking with him.
After awhile he offered for me to ride it. I had only been on a cruiser twice before (for a ride around the block) and those were Yamaha's. This was my first time on a Harley (Heritage model). He started it up and after about 3 minutes of warming up, I figured it would be warm enough, so I pushed in the choke, and revved it up as I climbed up the steep driveway. I got to the end of the driveway which had about a 3 inch drop (it was almost like a curb) and slowed down to very slowly go over it. The engine died. I felt pretty goofy since I had been talking about how I ride my ST everyday. I shouted out "Wild Hogs!"
I started it back up and had to keep the choke on for another 5 minutes. I turned around and came back and it started to run smoother...Not smooth like the ST, but smooth...like a diesel Tractor. What I did notice was the handling was almost entirely different. When I wanted to turn, it took more effort (not that turning a bike is hard), but it required more force, but the bike responded sluggish, like the front wheel would start to turn and then the rear wheel would eventually decide that it would follow....if it had to. Kinda like walking through 6 inch mud.
I tried to do a slow speed (5 mph) turn and it's turning radius seemed to be about 3 lanes (so I had to put my feet down and back up). Also, below 5 mph, the bike wobbled - even when trying to go straight. This might have been design, or myself not used to having my feet in front of me. But if it's a design characteristic, I'll try to not be so hard on the cruiser guys that drag their feet at stop lights.
The comfort level seemed alright for short term riding, but I'm not sure how well it would feel on a long ride. But I'd have to put something on it to quiet it down. Riding through the subdivision back to the house I was constantly thinking of all the houses I passed with people inside cursing that "damn bike making all that racket".
In summary, it was almost hard to compare it to an ST....at all. Not to imply the ST is the perfect bike, but the Harley just seemed to put Form way out in front of Function. As we stood around and stared at it, all the non-bikers just loved looking at the chrome. But even that seemed to detract from it's ride-ability. The owner talked about how it requires constant polishing...needing to avoid rain, spending hours washing. I looked at him and said, "Yeah, I wash mine about twice a year, it takes about 5 minutes...I don't have any chrome". However, I could imagine that if my bike was sitting there next to his, nobody would have looked at it. It's just not a crowd pleaser. The ST is a riders ride.
Today, riding my ST to work, I left the drive way and stopped and shouted back at my wife, "Hey! It didn't stall!"...I throttled up and serpentined down the street. Control, speed, power, smooth. That's what I call beautiful.
After awhile he offered for me to ride it. I had only been on a cruiser twice before (for a ride around the block) and those were Yamaha's. This was my first time on a Harley (Heritage model). He started it up and after about 3 minutes of warming up, I figured it would be warm enough, so I pushed in the choke, and revved it up as I climbed up the steep driveway. I got to the end of the driveway which had about a 3 inch drop (it was almost like a curb) and slowed down to very slowly go over it. The engine died. I felt pretty goofy since I had been talking about how I ride my ST everyday. I shouted out "Wild Hogs!"
I started it back up and had to keep the choke on for another 5 minutes. I turned around and came back and it started to run smoother...Not smooth like the ST, but smooth...like a diesel Tractor. What I did notice was the handling was almost entirely different. When I wanted to turn, it took more effort (not that turning a bike is hard), but it required more force, but the bike responded sluggish, like the front wheel would start to turn and then the rear wheel would eventually decide that it would follow....if it had to. Kinda like walking through 6 inch mud.
I tried to do a slow speed (5 mph) turn and it's turning radius seemed to be about 3 lanes (so I had to put my feet down and back up). Also, below 5 mph, the bike wobbled - even when trying to go straight. This might have been design, or myself not used to having my feet in front of me. But if it's a design characteristic, I'll try to not be so hard on the cruiser guys that drag their feet at stop lights.
The comfort level seemed alright for short term riding, but I'm not sure how well it would feel on a long ride. But I'd have to put something on it to quiet it down. Riding through the subdivision back to the house I was constantly thinking of all the houses I passed with people inside cursing that "damn bike making all that racket".
In summary, it was almost hard to compare it to an ST....at all. Not to imply the ST is the perfect bike, but the Harley just seemed to put Form way out in front of Function. As we stood around and stared at it, all the non-bikers just loved looking at the chrome. But even that seemed to detract from it's ride-ability. The owner talked about how it requires constant polishing...needing to avoid rain, spending hours washing. I looked at him and said, "Yeah, I wash mine about twice a year, it takes about 5 minutes...I don't have any chrome". However, I could imagine that if my bike was sitting there next to his, nobody would have looked at it. It's just not a crowd pleaser. The ST is a riders ride.
Today, riding my ST to work, I left the drive way and stopped and shouted back at my wife, "Hey! It didn't stall!"...I throttled up and serpentined down the street. Control, speed, power, smooth. That's what I call beautiful.