Back on two...

OneSickPsycho · 12-31-2009, 08:41 AM

This past weekend I had the opportunity to ride again. My shattered kneecap had kept me away from riding for a solid year... well... it was my shattered kneecap and some projects around the house that have kept me from doing some maintenence on my bike.

Anyway, over the past month or so I have REALLY been itching to ride and finally had the confidence in my fucked up leg to be willing to do it. My family was congregating in SW Florida for Christmas and the day before ONSSP and I left, my aunt emailed me about riding. My father and uncle both have Harley Electra Glide Standards and live within about a mile of eachother... and my uncle was storing a friend's Electra Glide Ultra Classic, like so:

I was a bit apprehensive about riding... 1) it's been a year and I've never ridden a bike that big... 2) it's someone elses bike... an expensive one at that...

Fuck it. I did it and it was GLORIOUS.

Taking off from the driveway I was quite nervous... this was a BIG machine. Quite a departure from what I was accustomed to. Everything on this bike was big. The grips had to be 2" in diameter. The bars were huge. The seat was huge. The tank was mammouth. The levers were the size of foot pegs and the rear brake pedal seemed to be borrowed off a mid-70's Caddy. Low speed manuevering was an exercise in brow sweat, shakey knees, and a lot of puckering... perhaps even a non-pavement skidmark or two.

Anyway, after several stop and go's I was back in action... everything felt comfortable, albeit foreign, but comfortable. Speaking of comfortable. Riding along for a while I look down at the odometer... Yeah, first time on a bike in a year and my ass is just starting to get uncomfortable at 80 miles. I'm thinking if I would have been on the TL, my ass would have been DONE at 80 miles. Now I'm starting to get the whole touring bike thing.

We ended the day with only two stops in 170 miles. The first was to get gas on the way out and the 2nd was about 100 miles into the ride to get some BK. Long straight boring SW FL roads, but a DAMN good time just being back on two.

Overall, I liked the big ol' Harley. It was huge, but VERY comfortable. I could definitely see knocking out a 4-500 mile day like nothing on a bike like this.

I was really surprised at how it handled too. Yeah, I wasn't going to win any races, but the steering was very neutral and the suspension, while soft, held strong in the turns. Scraping the kickstand on just about every left sucked, but what would you expect? The bike was very stable and surprisingly agile, for weighing half a ton.

Power was what I expected... absent. Off the line the v-twin torque did it's job and it had no problem getting all that weight moving. At speed however, the throttle was more of a 'make loud noise' switch than any sort of linkage to the rear tire. I found myself down shifting and revving the balls off the thing when I felt the need to accellerate hard. That being said, on a bike like that you don't NEED to do all that... It's a relax, be comfortable, and watch the miles tick by sort of machine.

The gearbox was suprisingly smooth... much smoother than my drop-kick the lever, clunk into place Buell had been. Granted, it's nothing like any of my Jap bikes as far as smoothness, but it was wayyyyy smoother than the Buell. If I had one of these bikes however, I would REALLY want the 6-speed tranny. That would have been nice on the short stretch of highway we rode.

The brakes stopped the bike, but that's about it. I remember reading a review in one of the MC rags about how the front brake did nothing, but in concert with the rear it stopped these machines well. I didn't really notice that, but I didn't have any panic braking opportunities either. The front brake seemed to stop the bike reasonably well and I didn't notice much difference using both the brakes at the same time. Perhaps that's just because I didn't HAVE to use them both as an emergency measure and just out of habit I don't usually apply much pressure to the rear.

Prior to riding this machine, I thought I got the whole Harley thing. Fit and finish is always superb, they look and sound great (IMHO), and there's a ton of history that it's neat to be a part of. However, after riding this bike I see that there is MUCH more to these machines than I previously thought. If someone's looking for a machine to rape the corners, triple the speed limit, and to push their own personal abilities to the limit, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a high quality comfortable machine that you can ride for NOTHING else than to simply enjoy the ride. Go buy a Harley... one's now on my short list.

tached1000rr · 12-31-2009, 08:47 AM

Good write up and congrats for finally being able to get out and ride again, Any soreness in your knee after you finished?

azoomm · 12-31-2009, 09:07 AM

Awesome! Welcome back.

OneSickPsycho · 12-31-2009, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tached1000rr

Good write up and congrats for finally being able to get out and ride again, Any soreness in your knee after you finished?

Absolutely none. Given the riding position, I'm not surprised either. On my bike though, I imagine I will be quite uncomfortable.

One thing I forgot to mention in my first post was the fact that the highway pegs were sooooo comfortable. When my ass started getting a bit fatigued, I put my feet up on the highway pegs to shift some of the pressure. I didn't think it was going to make that big of a difference, but holy shit it was fantastic. I was VERY surprised at how much weight it took off my ass. 10 miles on the highway pegs and I could have done another 50 on the floorboards with no ill effects on my sensitive keester.

shmike · 12-31-2009, 09:33 AM

Welcome back, OSP!

GREAT write up. I am a BIG fan of the Ultra, it is definitely a machine that can help the non-believers "get it."

I'm glad to see you enjoyed the hog. My dad has the exact Ultra you have pictured. Once you learn to drag the rear brake, slow speed manuevers are a cinch.

OneSickPsycho · 12-31-2009, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shmike

Welcome back, OSP!

GREAT write up. I am a BIG fan of the Ultra, it is definitely a machine that can help the non-believers "get it."

I'm glad to see you enjoyed the hog. My dad has the exact Ultra you have pictured. Once you learn to drag the rear brake, slow speed manuevers are a cinch.

Honestly, the low speed stuff wasn't even that bad. I was draggin' the brake, just as I do on my TL. The problem was, I KNEW I had like 900lbs of bike and 260lbs of fat guy in the seat which made me think too much... Give me a couple hours in the parking lot on that thing and I think I would have been 100% better... well, and make ME the owner. It's one thing crashing your bike. It's another thing crashing someone else's bike.. especially one that cost that much.

OneSickPsycho · 12-31-2009, 09:41 AM

Oh, speaking of bikes that can change the opinion of HD... There's an article in one of the more recent issues of Motorcyclist where Jack Lewis admits to hating HD prior to riding a Road King, which he ends up loving. If I were to get an HD, it would probably be a Road King.

shmike · 12-31-2009, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneSickPsycho

Oh, speaking of bikes that can change the opinion of HD... There's an article in one of the more recent issues of Motorcyclist where Jack Lewis admits to hating HD prior to riding a Road King, which he ends up loving. If I were to get an HD, it would probably be a Road King.

I love the Road King. Especially the Classic with the leather bags and white wall tires.

After spending 10 days aboard an Ultra touring the Western US it is nice to have the hard bags and the extra storage. When we ride my old man's bike, the wife loves the rear seat/arm rests/etc.

For me or local jaunts, I'd take the Road King. For two-up or touring I'd go Ultra every time.

the chi · 12-31-2009, 09:58 AM

Thats awesome man, glad to see you riding again. You going to go straight cruiser or keep the SB as well?

OneSickPsycho · 12-31-2009, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shmike

I love the Road King. Especially the Classic with the leather bags and white wall tires.

After spending 10 days aboard an Ultra touring the Western US it is nice to have the hard bags and the extra storage. When we ride my old man's bike, the wife loves the rear seat/arm rests/etc.

For me or local jaunts, I'd take the Road King. For two-up or touring I'd go Ultra every time.

Yeah, I could see how the Electra would be better for two-up touring, but recognize that you are talking to a guy who thinks riding a Buell across the country, then riding a 954 back is a good idea... and would do it again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Chi

Thats awesome man, glad to see you riding again. You going to go straight cruiser or keep the SB as well?

I'm always going to be on a sportbike... maybe someday I will move to more of a sport-tourer, but for now I couldn't imagine JUST having a cruiser. Something of that sort would be a great 2nd bike. I'd probably be most likely to get a used Jap cruiser just because they are cheap... that is, if I was going to buy any sort of cruiser now, which I am not.

12-31-2009, 08:41 AM	#1
OneSickPsycho Ride Like an Asshole Join Date: Feb 2008 Moto: nothing... Posts: 11,254	Back on two... This past weekend I had the opportunity to ride again. My shattered kneecap had kept me away from riding for a solid year... well... it was my shattered kneecap and some projects around the house that have kept me from doing some maintenence on my bike. Anyway, over the past month or so I have REALLY been itching to ride and finally had the confidence in my fucked up leg to be willing to do it. My family was congregating in SW Florida for Christmas and the day before ONSSP and I left, my aunt emailed me about riding. My father and uncle both have Harley Electra Glide Standards and live within about a mile of eachother... and my uncle was storing a friend's Electra Glide Ultra Classic, like so: I was a bit apprehensive about riding... 1) it's been a year and I've never ridden a bike that big... 2) it's someone elses bike... an expensive one at that... Fuck it. I did it and it was GLORIOUS. Taking off from the driveway I was quite nervous... this was a BIG machine. Quite a departure from what I was accustomed to. Everything on this bike was big. The grips had to be 2" in diameter. The bars were huge. The seat was huge. The tank was mammouth. The levers were the size of foot pegs and the rear brake pedal seemed to be borrowed off a mid-70's Caddy. Low speed manuevering was an exercise in brow sweat, shakey knees, and a lot of puckering... perhaps even a non-pavement skidmark or two. Anyway, after several stop and go's I was back in action... everything felt comfortable, albeit foreign, but comfortable. Speaking of comfortable. Riding along for a while I look down at the odometer... Yeah, first time on a bike in a year and my ass is just starting to get uncomfortable at 80 miles. I'm thinking if I would have been on the TL, my ass would have been DONE at 80 miles. Now I'm starting to get the whole touring bike thing. We ended the day with only two stops in 170 miles. The first was to get gas on the way out and the 2nd was about 100 miles into the ride to get some BK. Long straight boring SW FL roads, but a DAMN good time just being back on two. Overall, I liked the big ol' Harley. It was huge, but VERY comfortable. I could definitely see knocking out a 4-500 mile day like nothing on a bike like this. I was really surprised at how it handled too. Yeah, I wasn't going to win any races, but the steering was very neutral and the suspension, while soft, held strong in the turns. Scraping the kickstand on just about every left sucked, but what would you expect? The bike was very stable and surprisingly agile, for weighing half a ton. Power was what I expected... absent. Off the line the v-twin torque did it's job and it had no problem getting all that weight moving. At speed however, the throttle was more of a 'make loud noise' switch than any sort of linkage to the rear tire. I found myself down shifting and revving the balls off the thing when I felt the need to accellerate hard. That being said, on a bike like that you don't NEED to do all that... It's a relax, be comfortable, and watch the miles tick by sort of machine. The gearbox was suprisingly smooth... much smoother than my drop-kick the lever, clunk into place Buell had been. Granted, it's nothing like any of my Jap bikes as far as smoothness, but it was wayyyyy smoother than the Buell. If I had one of these bikes however, I would REALLY want the 6-speed tranny. That would have been nice on the short stretch of highway we rode. The brakes stopped the bike, but that's about it. I remember reading a review in one of the MC rags about how the front brake did nothing, but in concert with the rear it stopped these machines well. I didn't really notice that, but I didn't have any panic braking opportunities either. The front brake seemed to stop the bike reasonably well and I didn't notice much difference using both the brakes at the same time. Perhaps that's just because I didn't HAVE to use them both as an emergency measure and just out of habit I don't usually apply much pressure to the rear. Prior to riding this machine, I thought I got the whole Harley thing. Fit and finish is always superb, they look and sound great (IMHO), and there's a ton of history that it's neat to be a part of. However, after riding this bike I see that there is MUCH more to these machines than I previously thought. If someone's looking for a machine to rape the corners, triple the speed limit, and to push their own personal abilities to the limit, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a high quality comfortable machine that you can ride for NOTHING else than to simply enjoy the ride. Go buy a Harley... one's now on my short list. Last edited by OneSickPsycho; 12-31-2009 at 08:44 AM..

12-31-2009, 09:33 AM	#5
shmike Follower Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 5,549	Welcome back, OSP! GREAT write up. I am a BIG fan of the Ultra, it is definitely a machine that can help the non-believers "get it." I'm glad to see you enjoyed the hog. My dad has the exact Ultra you have pictured. Once you learn to drag the rear brake, slow speed manuevers are a cinch. __________________ Racing For Smiles

12-31-2009, 08:47 AM	#2
tached1000rr WERA White Plate Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: NC Moto: 2009 GSXR 1300 Posts: 2,448	Good write up and congrats for finally being able to get out and ride again, Any soreness in your knee after you finished?

12-31-2009, 09:07 AM	#3
azoomm moderator chick Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Hill Country TX Moto: Pasta Rockets Posts: 8,917	Awesome! Welcome back.

12-31-2009, 09:41 AM	#7
OneSickPsycho Ride Like an Asshole Join Date: Feb 2008 Moto: nothing... Posts: 11,254	Oh, speaking of bikes that can change the opinion of HD... There's an article in one of the more recent issues of Motorcyclist where Jack Lewis admits to hating HD prior to riding a Road King, which he ends up loving. If I were to get an HD, it would probably be a Road King.