Harley's handle!

[1KPerDay]

 

[st ryder]

I only have about 400 miles on it so far due to work and the fact that when I go on a long ride (300+ a day on most Sundays) I take the Duc.
Suspension? Yes it has some. It is not plush, but much better than I thought it would be.  I mean there's only about 1mm travel on the back shocks but I knew that this was how it was going to be.  I have the Duc for all that stuff.  Itsa cruiser after all.
Brakes? Has those too.. The owner's manual said to take it easy for the first 200 miles which makes sense so they can bed it.  For the first 20 miles, felt like I should stop Fred Flintstone style.  100 miles it got ok.  200 miles much better.
It's fine now.
Motor, fueling, chassis all are excellent.  Best FI I've ever tried.  Belt drive is fantastic, smoothest drive train I've ever had.  Bike shakes at idle, becomes completely smooth at speed.
The one change I would make (eventually) is go over the suspension.  but that can be said for all bikes (I even put a heavier spring on my Ohlins shock on the Duc).
Gotta say I love the bike for what it is.  But empirically it does not compare to an St.  But it is not meant to and that's why I got it. It was meant to put a big sh-t eating grin on my face and it does.  And that's what motorcycling is all about.

Get some Avon Venoms on it, and you'll be thrilled with the improvement in handling: instant, and dramatic.   Also, use the rear brake a lot more than you're use to. I mean a LOT more. I strove for a 60/40, frt rear split as I found that worked best for me on my Low Rider, instead of a 80/20, 100/0 like on a sport bike. Whatever combination you decide on, don't use too much front. You *will* lock it up.

[atadaskew]

Thanks for the braking tips (I'm not being facetious here cuz you wouldn't know that I'm not familiar with these types of bike) but I already know to use much more back brake.  Bikes that have longer wheelbases with more weight on the back always need more rear brake than a sport bike that emphasises the front.  Even my Goldwing needed much more rear than an St.  Same thing with dirt bikes, dual sports etc.

As for the tyres, I will definitely use a different brand once these are ready to go.  The selling point is that they have the Harley logo on the sidewall!  I actually saw a guy argue with the tyre changer at my local place that the only tyre he wanted was the one that said Harley on the side!
I'll keep the Avons in mind.  As well as the new Pirellis, the Michelin Commanders..

[1KPerDay]

I second the recommendation of the Avons.   And go easy when you first start using the rear brake a lot... they're typically very powerful.

[st ryder]

...As for the tyres, I will definitely use a different brand once these are ready to go....

Seriously, if you can, don't wait that long as you'll be missing out on *a lot* of *much*, *much* better riding they improve the handling that much; well, that was my experience with Avons on my FXDL. I had a *major* "Why did I wait so long?!" moment, that's how bad those Dunrocks are.

[chornbe]

I only have about 400 miles on it so far due to work and the fact that when I go on a long ride (300+ a day on most Sundays) I take the Duc.
Suspension? Yes it has some. It is not plush, but much better than I thought it would be.  I mean there's only about 1mm travel on the back shocks but I knew that this was how it was going to be.  I have the Duc for all that stuff.  Itsa cruiser after all.
Brakes? Has those too.. The owner's manual said to take it easy for the first 200 miles which makes sense so they can bed it.  For the first 20 miles, felt like I should stop Fred Flintstone style.  100 miles it got ok.  200 miles much better.
It's fine now.
Motor, fueling, chassis all are excellent.  Best FI I've ever tried.  Belt drive is fantastic, smoothest drive train I've ever had.  Bike shakes at idle, becomes completely smooth at speed.
The one change I would make (eventually) is go over the suspension.  but that can be said for all bikes (I even put a heavier spring on my Ohlins shock on the Duc).
Gotta say I love the bike for what it is.  But empirically it does not compare to an St.  But it is not meant to and that's why I got it. It was meant to put a big sh-t eating grin on my face and it does.  And that's what motorcycling is all about.

 

(and ps... agree... ALL the other brands could take a lesson on FI from the way it's implemented in the Harleys)

[chornbe]

FWIW, I just put a Screaming Eagle Dunlop GT502 on the back of my Sportster and OMFG, I had no idea a Dunlop could be that sticky. Even in the torrential downpour all weekend at the ESTN, I was washing out the front a LOT (badly cupped worn Pirelli up front) but the back was rock solid.

Turns out the Pirellis I put on there are 4k mile tires AT BEST and when the rear went (right at 4k), it went from "hmm, looks worn" to "holy shit peel this off my bike NOW" in about 300 miles. SCARY!

The front is HORRIBLY cupped and is probably returning 50% traction in wet and 70% in dry from what it was doing 1000 miles ago. It's got 4600 miles on it now and has to go. I think I'll try the front match the new 502 I just put on the back.

Next time it'll be radials. In the meantime, based on the 1000 miles I just put on this 502 at the ESTN ride, I can recommend it and suggest you see if you can get them in your size. They're Screaming Eagle parts (the GT501 are the non-SE ones).

[rauchman]

The Roadstar I had came with Dunlops, but I switched to Metzler 880E's at around 11K.  Don't know if it was just from having new tires at that point, but the 880's felt better in the wet and better grip overall.