Bringing home a new Harley-Davidson motorcycle ...
About a month ago I came to terms with my midlife crisis and realized that it was time to re-think my approach to motorcycling. I had two bikes, a 2003 Suzuki SV650S and a 2003 BMW F650GS Dakar. Both bikes are very nice and have the pros and cons but neither was for me; the Suzuki is just not comfortable for extended trips and the BMW is both awkward (for someone of my size) and sluggish with its large single cylinder.
I had seen some of the new Harley-Davidson Sportsters and thought they looked pretty nice and that with a 1200cc engine they would have plenty of power. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve spent several hours in the local HD dealers looking at bikes and thinking about what would be right for me (if any). On Labor Day I rented a Sportster XL1200C Custom and road almost 130 miles and knew at the end of the ride that was the bike for me.
Since then, I’ve sold both the Suzuki and the BMW (BTW, if you are looking to sell a vehicle I highly recommend Craigslist, both buyers came from this site while I had very few leads from CycleTrader – and Craigslist is FREE). My Father-in-Law, Warren, and I went out looking at Harleys on Saturday and found the perfect bike at San Diego HD in Kearney Mesa. This is one of the stores owned by NY Myke who you may have seen on TV in one of his commercials if you live in the San Diego area.
I picked up the XL1200C on Sunday and rode 70 miles, up the coast and out into Escondido, mostly for a run through the twisty back roads of Rancho Santa Fe. The Sportster is great, super comfortable and a pleasure to ride. My Sportster is completely stock right now, no bags, pipes, or windscreen.
Riding without the windscreen is quite an experience, and while none of my bikes have had large fairings the Harley-Davidson really seems to put you out in the wind. With the vents open on my riding jacket I felt like a parachute going up the freeway at 70mph, holding on to the bars to keep from being peeled off the bike. I realize that much of this is sensation and that I’m not likely to get blown off the bike but the feeling takes some getting used to.
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