'08 Harley FLHX Street Glide review (yes, seriously)

[Snowbird]

*cough*street rod*cough*

Trouble with the Street Rod is that there's no wind protection or included hard bags... and those damn footpegs are right where you don't want them when you're stopped-- can't put your feet ahead or behind them comfortably.

I'm expecting Buell to step up with the new 1125cc bike before Harley ever will.

[crispiegee1]

Chornbe,

Great bike and a very well written review.  Your reasoning behind buying it (including simple & reliable pushrod/aircooled engine, sturdy construction and excellent build quality) are very sound.

I tend to be critical of guys who think there's "only one brand of bike to own," but when somebody who's ridden/owned several brands says, this particular bike meets my needs for reasons X, Y and Z, it makes much more sense to me.

The bike looks good, although I never liked those shorty windshields.  Glad you're replacing that.    I also like the look of the spotlights on the Electra-Glide... have you thought about adding those or is night riding less of a consideration?  Maybe you could put some flashing red ones on it.  

Seeing those pictures of you doing the tight turns makes me want to try one out some day.  There are many other bikes on my list to own long before an FLH, but whenever I see the cops doing those police bike competitions, I always think it would be a hoot to ride one.

Congrats and good luck!

Chris

[Fourstring]

SQUID!!!

Nice bike.  A Harley still isn't for me, but I can see the appeal of them sans the pirate lifestyle.

[blueridgerider]

 Chris,

Congrats on the new bike.

It was an interesting review, though it still did not convince me to go the HD route.  I've tried that route and I am not physically comfortable on any HD I've tried.  Baggers and non-baggers - but that is a personal thing.

I guess the only thing left is to open up the pool on how long you're going to keep this one.

I'll take 2 years and 7 months.

[chornbe]

Yeah, well... this purchase came with a "open in case of urge to buy another bike" envelope containing divorce and child-support papers  

Thanks all. I'm having a blast on it.

[sfarson]

Congrats.  A legendary make, a top shelf bike.

[Snowbird]

I'll tell you one thing, though: I wouldn't waste my time waving to anyone on lesser brand.  

[lilwing]

I'll tell you one thing, though: I wouldn't waste my time waving to anyone on lesser brand.  

 

[Willie G]

Holy Smokes!    Wandered over to the HD parts section of their website - there are 37 seat choices for these touring models!  83 for all Harley models together.  Sheesh!  

[chornbe]

One might think a guy named "Willie G" would know that  









PS... and yes, feature for feature, they're cheaper than Mustang and Corbin equivalents.  

[Willie G]

One might think a guy named "Willie G" would know that  



It's just that I lose count sometimes....    





PS... and yes, feature for feature, they're cheaper than Mustang and Corbin equivalents.  

[Skydakine]

Your write-up on the Street Glide just pushed me a little closer to buying THE American motorcycle.
Coming from a background of road and dirt bike racing at club level events, I would NEVER consider buying a Harley. Right? Wrong!
What strange thing happened to make me reconsider?
My GD body started creaking and aching and low and behold, I'm renting Streetglides, Electraglides, Roadkings, and LOVING them. I still take the corners the same as before, only at the square root of the speed I normally ride them.
But the funny thing is, now I don't sweat the speed traps. I actually see the countryside where I'm riding. And, when I get off the HOG I don't take ten minutes to stand up straight again from atrophied muscles.
I'm seriously thinking of buying one of the HD "Glides" because of the comfortable seat, fairing/windshield protection, floor boards and hard bag storage.
Should the beast break down, I'm sure I could find a spare part just about anywhere on this planet, and not have to wait for FedEx to ship it to me from Asia or Europe.
But I haven't gone completely soft, yet. I'm still riding my Triumph Speed Triple for romps around town and I'll most likely never sell it.

[Snowbird]

Your write-up on the Street Glide just pushed me a little closer to buying THE American motorcycle.
Coming from a background of road and dirt bike racing at club level events, I would NEVER consider buying a Harley. Right? Wrong!
What strange thing happened to make me reconsider?
My GD body started creaking and aching and low and behold, I'm renting Streetglides, Electraglides, Roadkings, and LOVING them. I still take the corners the same as before, only at the square root of the speed I normally ride them.
But the funny thing is, now I don't sweat the speed traps. I actually see the countryside where I'm riding. And, when I get off the HOG I don't take ten minutes to stand up straight again from atrophied muscles.
I'm seriously thinking of buying one of the HD "Glides" because of the comfortable seat, fairing/windshield protection, floor boards and hard bag storage.
Should the beast break down, I'm sure I could find a spare part just about anywhere on this planet, and not have to wait for FedEx to ship it to me from Asia or Europe.
But I haven't gone completely soft, yet. I'm still riding my Triumph Speed Triple for romps around town and I'll most likely never sell it.

I think that's pretty cool. There's more to motorcycling than riding fast all the time. Smelling the daisies along the way rocks too.  

[chornbe]

Skydakine,

I just got home from a two-day, 800-mile weekend (bike has 2400 miles on it now). Two back-to-back days riding back roads and some *serious* twisties between Philly(area) and Lake George, NY. Trust me, when you want to wick it up and crank out the turns at a rapid pace, the 'Glide series will do it just fine. And, after spending 10+ hours both days in the saddle (lunch, gas & pee-breaks of course), I feel great. Having low-back disc issues, a questionable shoulder and a post-surgical ACL knee issue - well, I worry about long days of riding.

This bike is just what the doctor ordered!  

[Outlaw]

Tats, chaps and tassels?   

Seriously, you'll enjoy that ride.  I liked my Road King, too. In fact, when my Sport-Touring days come to an end, I'm getting the Road Glide - and tats.  Lot's of tats.

Congrats on the bike....

I'm looking at the Glide also maybe in a couple of years +  I already have lots of Tats.......

[BobW]

Pretty country to ride. Glad she's treating you as good as expected/hoped for! Did you go solo or did SWMBO join you for the "first tour"? The white is sharp in that picture, it's not that common to see and shows her lines nicely.

Cheers!

[chornbe]

Pretty country to ride. Glad she's treating you as good as expected/hoped for! Did you go solo or did SWMBO join you for the "first tour"? The white is sharp in that picture, it's not that common to see and shows her lines nicely.

Cheers!

Thanks. That color is amazing in the sunlight, even as god-awful filthy as mine is right now (I think I'm getting kicked out of the HOG club because of how dirty my bike is right now). There's a haze of gold to it (It's called White-Gold Pearl) with hints of green and blue.

This was solo (on the bike) with 3 other bikes: Gen-1 FZ-I, Gen-II FJR and a Gen-V VFR. (the wife will take weekend trips with me after I get the tour pack on) They're members on this forum and can gladly post whether or not they were holding back waiting for the old guy on the Harley   I don't think I'm exaggerating saying we kept the same pace we'd have kept if I were on my FJR or CBR, with some adjustments for the *really* tight twisties. Yes, there was some scraping, but there is a WHOLE LOT of buffer between when the floorboards hit and when you really gotta worry. Plus, I didn't add any extra air into the rear shocks and I was packing heavy - this was a practice run for next year's coast-to-coast trip. We purposely did long-day riding fully packed with gear to sort out the bikes and make sure our old creaky bones can do it

We did hit this WILD set of uphill, 5-mph corkscrew turns that probably made a 200-300 foot elevation change. I wrung out first gear going up that. That was cool. When you're riding an 800lb bike up something like that, you don't take time to shift  

And a special note to current and future Harley owners... seriously, you can rev the things. I bounced mine off the rev-limiter a few times at about 6k, but the thing pulls like a rocket above 4k. 4th gear between 4k and 5k is just freaking amazing. And smooth. And contributory to performance awards. Don't be afraid to twist it now and then. You won't break it. Promise.   And with the gearing, you've got a whole lot of MPH changes between the 2k and 6K rev-range. I am still amazed when I hear people short-shift these things at 3500 RPM when clearly trying to actually get the bike moving. Most people ride them like they're made of glass. They're made just a tad tougher than that  

I'll be doing my customary "2000 miles with..." write up later today.

[Skydakine]

Skydakine,

I just got home from a two-day, 800-mile weekend (bike has 2400 miles on it now). Two back-to-back days riding back roads and some *serious* twisties between Philly(area) and Lake George, NY. Trust me, when you want to wick it up and crank out the turns at a rapid pace, the 'Glide series will do it just fine. And, after spending 10+ hours both days in the saddle (lunch, gas & pee-breaks of course), I feel great. Having low-back disc issues, a questionable shoulder and a post-surgical ACL knee issue - well, I worry about long days of riding.

This bike is just what the doctor ordered!  

Thanks for the ride report. I'm beginning to realize if I'm going to see a lot of country, it's not going to be with my legs tucked under me, my chin on the tank, and my tires on the limit of adhesion. I'm keeping my eyes open for a good low mileage "glide". Just about any model in the touring series will be a good choice. I appreciate your feedback. Watch out for black ice.