2000(+) mile review of the 'Glide

[chornbe]

I don't want to retype or reformat my 'blog post, so click here and enjoy  

http://motorcyclemanifesto.blogspot.com/2007/10/2000-mile-review.html

[1KPerDay]

Good write-up.

[chornbe]

Thanks! Ya know, it dawned on me, I haven't really had anything seriously negative to say about any of my bikes - the Kawasaki Lemon not withstanding. There are a lot of good bikes out there on the market.  

[atadaskew]

Nice write up! Unfortunately that weave that you felt is frame flex. Known as the Harley Hula to those used to riding the tourers at speed.  I felt it too on the Ultra Classic and Road kings that I rode.  But it never got worse than a mild weave.

[1KPerDay]

Nice write up! Unfortunately that weave that you felt is frame flex. Known as the Harley Hula to those used to riding the tourers at speed.  I felt it too on the Ultra Classic and Road kings that I rode.  But it never got worse than a mild weave.

It's not frame flex. It's the fact that the swingarm is rubber mounted. There's an aftermarket fix.

[chornbe]

There are currently a few assumed reasons:

* The rubber mounted swing arm moves out of true as the bike heels over. The True-Track supposedly fixes this.

* The wheels are out of centerline-alignment. Apparently some bikes were assembled with the incorrect spacers or something, and the rear wheel is about 1/4" off of centerline from the front wheel.

* Other factors, including frame flex, tire pressure/wear, weight distribution, etc., etc., etc.

I'll check the wheel alignment; that's an easy check. I'll also read up more on the True-Track. I'm not convinced it's bad enough to worry over, especially since it goes away when you just hang off a bit and stand the bike back up a few degrees.

[rauchman]

Excellent write up.  I understand your feelings regarding riding a "cruiser".  I ride a Yamaha Roadstar and it is an entertaining ride.  The big thing is that it's an entertaining ride where you don't have to be doing double the speed limit to feel engaged with the bike.  My wife has a Z1000 that I've taken out a few times and I can not ride that bike calmly.  It begs to be ridden in a most squidish manner.  I don't begin to feel that I'm having fun on that bike unless doing twice the speed limit (sometimes more....sometimes a lot more!!! ).  Aside from the weight at slow speeds and crappy brakes, the cruiser is a nice ride.  I was in a HD/Buell dealership yesterday hoping to see a 1125R (that was not there).  They had a somewhat done up Low Rider w/ mid mount pegs.  I sat on it and really like the mid mount controls.  I'm really thinking of getting a new Bandit come spring, but a cruiser with more sporting pretentions and large tank range might do it for me as well.

[atadaskew]

It's not frame flex. It's the fact that the swingarm is rubber mounted. There's an aftermarket fix.

A while back I read in MCN that the rear wheel alignment (i.e. properly adjusting the belt drive) helped a lot too.  Apparently most dealerships ignore this during PDi and routine service...