One week on….living the Harley dream
Hi everyone,
As the title states, I’m one week into my ownership of an amazing Harley Davidson motorcycle.
So other than it being completely and utterly awesome…..what else can I say?
There is so much about this bike that I love…..
So easy to ride
I didn’t ride the bike (or any Harley) before buying this one, so leaving the shop last week made me feel pretty nervous….but by the time I got to the end of the street and headed towards home it felt like I’d been riding it for ages.
After sitting on a few Victory cruisers back in February, I was hoping that the clutch wouldn’t require Arnie sized muscles to pull it in….and I’m happy to say the clutch feels effortless to use.
The other comfort factor I love is the forward position of the foot controls. Here’s a shot of the brake pedal.
Combined with the low seat and the mini-ape bars I had fitted, the forward controls make for a very relaxed and comfortable riding position.
Incredible sound
There are two things that contribute to the sound of the bike….the 96 cubic inch, 1584cc V-twin engine………..
And the stunning Vance & Hines pipes…….
I could go on with more, but will finish with one final feature that I didn’t know about until I got home from the first ride, and that is the gremlin bell. I saw a small bell hanging from the frame and my initial thought was wtf is that for….and after a quick google search I discovered its a great addition to the bike….designed to ward off the various gremlins that can attack a motorcycle. The story goes that if you add a bell to your bike, it will ring to care off the nasties that can cause flat batteries, non-working indicators, getting cut-off in traffic…….. basically anything that ruins a ride!!!
And if you are given a bell by someone else (as in my case), the power is doubled!!
So here is mine…..
So I’ll have more soon, and hope to have some onboard footage soon too.
Cheers,
Anthony.
That’s a good looking machine Anthony, real timeless style. I noticed you changed the bars, others a bit low? The HD engines make for an effortless ride, not just the torque but the power delivery characteristics. A lot of people don’t get that and would comment they liked my Buells except the engines and I would say the engines were the best part. (it was the Buells screaming rear cylinder fan that operated on shutdown I so disliked)
Reckon that will be a nice bike to tour the hinterland on, but as for the bell…
Thanks Warren, I still can’t believe it’s mine. I go out into the garage and see it and smile!!
The standard bar height was ok, they were just a lot narrower and didn’t feel right. I love the mini apes.
I must admit that the bell is a bit different…
Anthony,
. Now you have to make plans to ship it to NZ’s south island to do a PROPER tour and I’ll join you down there – 5 years since I toured down south!
Looking good mate – not sure about the bell though
Hey mate, yes the bell myth is a strange one….
a bike tour of the south island sounds great! I used to have a client at work who had an investment property over there and he used to go over to check out his property each year…..and use it as an excuse to ship his Harley over to tour the island. Have a great week mate.