davidrider
Kungfu Panda
Background: I had given up on the ST a while back primarily because of the top heavy feel of the very portly bike. 730 pound was just way too heavy for a sport touring bike. The fact that Honda had not updated the bike since it was made back in the stone ages and it still doesn't look like they're going to any time soon. So I first switched to a BMW K1200GT. This bike had everything, a lot more power, was actually light / flick-able with a low center of gravity, had factory cruise, factory heated grips & seat, a gear shift indicator, everything the ST had but looked sharp and sounded awesome too. I had everything I wanted but it still just didn't seem right to me (something was missing and I didn't know what).
Warning: If you have become accustomed to sitting in a near still pocket of air behind a massive plastic deflector screen, you might be really shocked by wind actually hitting your body, head, legs, etc. This is not an Ultra. It's not an ST. You will feel the elements. If that bothers you, this is not the bike for you.
Begin review: For those of you that might actually be interested in a bike like this I will try to give an objective evaluation or my opinion of the bike. I bought this bike one month ago trading in my K1200GT. The bike costs about 18 grand with the key fob security system and two tone paint. I added highway bars and pegs, HD heated grips (but they're not standard), a touring pillon seat, a sport rack and a taller windscreen. HD makes tons of windscreens so you can get whatever height suits your height. The windscreen is easy to take off, actually makes the bike look better IMHO and I usually prefer no windscreen (unless it's a really cold cold day).
I've had the bike one month at this point and I've ridden it about 2500 smiles. My first bike was a Honda Shadow so I feel kind of like I've gone back to that feeling of when I first started riding but this bike is so much better in every way. It was absolutely the right decision for me.
Harley had recently made abs and cruise control standard on the Heritage. Those were essential for me. If it didn't have them I wouldn't have bought the bike. They also boosted the engine power with 'hot cams' and put a fly by wire throttle on it that makes for very smooth throttle action (the best I've ever experienced). The cruise control is even better than the BMWs (so easy to set and holds speed perfectly). Even though the Harley is old school in it's looks, it has been nicely modernized to include a gear indicator and a useful trip computer that calculates your remaining range fairly accurately (I haven't tested it to the extreme and probably/hopefully won't).
It's not a sport bike but it's not slow either. The power comes on instantly, very low in the rpms but everything about the bike says 'take it easy man, this is a ride not a race'. The suspension is not really adjustable but it actually works well in the curves. The low center of gravity together with the huge torque allow you to power out of the curves with an awesome feeling of coolness. Harley's years of tweaking the Heritage have paid off in a feeling that a spec sheet will simply not be able to describe. Again this is not an ST, there may be some vague similarities (the bikes weigh about the same, lol) but saying it's a change of pace would be a great understatement. So far I honestly have no complaints to mention and I am so happy I made the switch. I will continue this thread as I continue to ride and I'd be more than happy to answer any questions about it.
Warning: If you have become accustomed to sitting in a near still pocket of air behind a massive plastic deflector screen, you might be really shocked by wind actually hitting your body, head, legs, etc. This is not an Ultra. It's not an ST. You will feel the elements. If that bothers you, this is not the bike for you.
Begin review: For those of you that might actually be interested in a bike like this I will try to give an objective evaluation or my opinion of the bike. I bought this bike one month ago trading in my K1200GT. The bike costs about 18 grand with the key fob security system and two tone paint. I added highway bars and pegs, HD heated grips (but they're not standard), a touring pillon seat, a sport rack and a taller windscreen. HD makes tons of windscreens so you can get whatever height suits your height. The windscreen is easy to take off, actually makes the bike look better IMHO and I usually prefer no windscreen (unless it's a really cold cold day).
I've had the bike one month at this point and I've ridden it about 2500 smiles. My first bike was a Honda Shadow so I feel kind of like I've gone back to that feeling of when I first started riding but this bike is so much better in every way. It was absolutely the right decision for me.
Harley had recently made abs and cruise control standard on the Heritage. Those were essential for me. If it didn't have them I wouldn't have bought the bike. They also boosted the engine power with 'hot cams' and put a fly by wire throttle on it that makes for very smooth throttle action (the best I've ever experienced). The cruise control is even better than the BMWs (so easy to set and holds speed perfectly). Even though the Harley is old school in it's looks, it has been nicely modernized to include a gear indicator and a useful trip computer that calculates your remaining range fairly accurately (I haven't tested it to the extreme and probably/hopefully won't).
It's not a sport bike but it's not slow either. The power comes on instantly, very low in the rpms but everything about the bike says 'take it easy man, this is a ride not a race'. The suspension is not really adjustable but it actually works well in the curves. The low center of gravity together with the huge torque allow you to power out of the curves with an awesome feeling of coolness. Harley's years of tweaking the Heritage have paid off in a feeling that a spec sheet will simply not be able to describe. Again this is not an ST, there may be some vague similarities (the bikes weigh about the same, lol) but saying it's a change of pace would be a great understatement. So far I honestly have no complaints to mention and I am so happy I made the switch. I will continue this thread as I continue to ride and I'd be more than happy to answer any questions about it.
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