runrowdy

I want comfort. I want style. I want to 2 up without killing me, my passenger, or the bike. I want to travel hundreds of miles in a day{maybe the whole weekend) and not be sore tomorrow. I want something with sole. I want something completely different than the 'Hawk even though I still love her.

I've been to a few steelerships and absolutely nothing jumps out at me. Checked out the FJR, C-14, ST4, VFR1200, they seem too similar to what I already have without the sole. Looked at the Goldwings and the 1200LT, nope no sole, way too sterile. Jap cruisers just don't do it for me. Triumph?, too small, dependability issues. Victory? overpriced, poor resale. Adventure bike? maybe but what? They seem like a big compromise to me.

Right now the Harley seems like a good addition to my garage even though I don't plan on becoming a pirate or a road hog or being in a parade. I will still ride as hard as the bike will let me. And screw the Harley social thing, I just want to ride, not bar hop.

HELP!

jay956

ive been driving for 6 years lol

autoteach

no sole, or no soul? I am sure that the goldwing has the shoes to kick the astroglide's ***, so I believe that you mean soul.

We recently had a customer that got some "sole" in the form of an electricglide rental. They rented it for one week, did 4000miles, and did not like it at all. He said there was nothing that would make him give up the GL1800 that he has (he has 1 state left, for those that get that). This is a person that decides to hop on and put on hundreds of miles in one day, or weekend (went to florida for a 3 day weekend). You can want all the soul on the planet, but when that soul is a needy bitch that bleeds on your garage more than once a month and requires specialized tooling to repair (which you will be doing), sometimes settling for a sweater vest isn't so bad.

As for riding hard, there isn't a harley bagger that can keep up with the gl1800. Clearance is an issue, brakes are an issue, power, aero, and having almost all the important items on the bike at the time of sale is also very nice. How about tires? Harley recently started using dunlop radials (thank god) which they have a contract to distribute exclusively through the dealerships (nevermind god). If you aren't running the gear drive cams, then good luck to you ($2000 to have cam chains put in, $3500 for the gear upgrade). And 60k miles puts you at a major service interval (pistons and such). As for the goldwing, if you are one with the updated alternator drive, you will be living life pretty well into the 200k mile range, with an alternator replacement being about as bad as it gets (unless some unforeseen problem occurs).

If it doesn't have enough soul, for the love of jebus, stay away from the ducati (stupid desmo, and only the few that have ever had to adjust valves will understand that), triumph (are the british mad at us? it would seem so if you worked on one), victory (got to love polaris... no, **** no, **** no). I would consider, but please ride these bikes first, the bmw's, the japs (as you would call them), and nothing more.

http://www.starmotorcycles.com/star/...34/0/home.aspx

http://suzukicycles.com/Product%20Li...tegory=cruiser

http://kawasaki.com/Products/product...scid=28&id=419

AND, for parades, harleys dont like parades. Just thought you should know. I know that this was a lot of my opinion, and disregard for "what you think you want". The reason for this is I work on all sorts of powersports toys all summer, and I know what we run into for problems. Stick to problems such as needing an oil change, you will be happier that way.

VTRsurfer

I've been driving for 48 years and riding for 46, and a Harley is not in my future.

Plus my back couldn't take the riding position.

runrowdy

Thanks Bill. That might be the SLAP I was looking for. I asked here because of the knowledge of the forum members and their honesty. Realistic advise is hard to find out on the net. I appreciate yours.

I will continue on my quest to find the bike I think I want. It still must have a SOUL (should have known that, but grade school was so long ago). Comparing any bike to the Superhawk in a character contest, in my opinion, is a no win situation for the contender.

Thanks for the reality check my friend.

autoteach

No problem. Just so you know, I didnt include the vtx1800 because it really is questionable at best. Not a top pick, for sure.

inderocker

Does it come with a trailer so you can tow it to all of you destinations like the rest of the HD crew?? J/K In all seriousness, if I had the cash to throw down on another bike, especially one that's going to be used as a tourer, I'd get a K1200LT... it'll run circles around that Harley.

jaypo

My Dad does long distance riding and went through a Harley phase (now owns a st1300, fjr, and getting some new yamaha bike from overseas) and I followed by owning a couple Buells. I had a great ride on my 23 birthday with his Heritage Soft Tail Classic down the Natchez Trace to Mississippi. Riding at 45mph on slow curvy roads was fun. But one thing I always remembered is losing bolts on that damn thing. Seems like I was always tightening something down or adjusting or checking. I guess you can call that soul but it felt like more of a pain in ***. Oh and it wasn't that comfortable so I mean that literally.

I know it's not a cruiser but the BMW GS1200 is an awesome and comfortable ride. Sounds like a pissed off sewing machine.