Life with the Harley-Davidson Sportster

Last night while riding home I couldn’t help but think how much I am enjoying my 2008 Harley-Davidson Sportster XL1200C Custom. I was on the freeway at the time, keeping pace (or ahead of traffic) when coincidentally the clock turned 700 miles. The bike remains stock, the first time I’ve had a bike and done nothing to it within the first couple of days. I’ve not made any changes because I want to take in the experience of riding the stock bike and because the bike is so damn good I don’t feel the need to make any serious modifications. Certainly accessories will come, but they don’t need to happen immediately.

I was coming home from the new customer appreciation event put on by San Diego Harley-Davidson in Kearny Mesa. The event, which included dinner, was very enjoyable and a good opportunity to meet the dealership staff in a casual setting. I was impressed by apparent interest the staff members have in the customer’s overall experience. This makes sense as there is tremendous ongoing sales opportunity for all departments, parts, service, sales, and motorclothes. As I was told when purchasing my Sportster, “you’ve just made your down payment on accessories.”

Also interesting was the recurring theme that being a Harley owner is a unique experience, comments ranging from “your life has changed” to “people will look at you differently from now on” came up several time from both the staff and the members of the local HOG chapter. This is a testament to both the machines and the brand, as The Motor Company has obviously done a great job of not only creating a brand image but in instilling that image in the hearts and minds of faithful.

So, complimentary hat, coffee mug, and fridge magnets stuffed into my jacket and powering up the 15 North at 75mph I was thinking of how nice the Sporty is to ride. Power is good and the handling is precise. The weight of the bike seems ideal to me, coming off of lighter bikes, as it smooths some of the bumps out of the highway. The ride is good and so is the sound, the subtle reverberation of the v-twins exhaust getting louder when passing other vehicles.

The ride only got better as I pulled off the freeways and into the back roads of Rancho Santa Fe. The bright headlight providing plenty of visibility for the extremely dark winding roads, illuminating my path and providing warning for the animals that come out at night. Riding motorcycles is a vastly different experience from driving a car, you are truly an active participant in the environment, taking in the sites, sounds, smells, kinetics, and not insulated from these elements by the temperature controlled box on four wheels.

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