Good Vibrations - My....well her experience

[Cablebandit]

A while back, Prubert posted that he had a few coupons for a free Harley rental. I jumped at the chance and had my coupon shortly thereafter. I then had to figure out where I could use the coupon. We have a rather large Harley dealership here in town but they don’t do rentals, so it was a three-hour ride to get to a dealership that actually had rental bikes.

Schaeffer’s Harley Davidson in Orwigsburg, PA was the dealership I would be using for the rental. I made all the arrangements using the online rental reservation system. The entire process went smoothly. I showed up and was directed over to John, the rental consultant. After a few minutes of paperwork, it was back outside to have John go over every aspect of the bike. This wasn’t a typical walk-around-the-bike-and-send-you-on-your-way type of deal. John literally went over every button on the bike and what it did in detail. He obviously knew the product well and was a true professional.

So, what bike did I end up with? Well I wanted to get something that both Mrs. CB and I could have a fun time on, so we went straight to the touring line as these were the only bikes with a backrest for passenger comfort/security. We ended up with an Ultra Classic Electra Glide FLHIEKFISYEOFPDHSUER&* or whatever the letter designation was.  
   
Since Beth was still at work, I rode home on my own. With no maps or GPS I just meandered west and north until I got across the mighty Susquehanna River and knew where I was. The weather was going downhill a little since we were expecting a few cold fronts to move through. I was basically just pointing toward brighter skies and hoping for the best. That worked out well until I was about 20 minutes from home (typical). Then the sky opened up. I got dumped on for about 10 minutes then the sun came back out for the final push home. I think this was the first time that the bike had seen rain. It was now properly filthy.  

By now it was dark outside, so we’d have to wait until the next day to test out the two-up ability of the bike.  We did just that the next day on the way back to the dealership, just meandering across the Pennsylvania countryside on our way back in time for the 4pm return time.

Oh, the return was easier than the pickup. Park it out back and drop the keys in the key drop box. Overall, the entire rental process was quick and very professional.  

So, on to my impressions of the bike.

Fit and Finish: Overall it was very nice, especially the engine finish. I love nice machining. However, I didn’t really see what all the fuss is about Harley paint. Was it nicer then my C14 paint? Of course. However, I didn’t think it was better than my Weestrom paint. That said, all paint eventually gets worn if you actually ride a bike so it’s not a big deal. One minor annoyance was the throttle tube. You could jiggle it up and down on the handlebar as if it’s just floating on there. A minor detail but one you are aware of any time your hand is on the gas.

Suspension: Soft…very soft. The back wasn’t too bad but the front end wallowed in turns. Especially turns with crappy pavement. I added air to the rear shocks according to the manual for our two-up duties on day two and that seemed to do a good job of soaking up all but the biggest bumps. For the purpose of just cruising in a straight line, I would call the suspension adequate, but it would need some work, especially up front, if you want to go in search of twistier sections of road.

Accommodations: This seems to be where Harley really put their focus and for the most part it really shows. Like most bikes, the seats are soft. Good for the showroom but bad for burning your ass after a few miles on the road. The bike had a stereo that worked surprisingly well. Just about every function is available at your fingertips, although the turn signals and horn buttons are not in the “standard” places. I did honk my horn once or twice when going for the left turn signal. The automatic canceling signals work well if you are prone to leaving your signals on. The cruise control is probably the best I’ve tried to date; I probably rode for about 5 miles with both hands in my lap, steering with foot pressure. The highway pegs offered some relief from a sore ass just by giving you more options to move around. Two items in particular really did annoy me though. First, the heal/toe shifter. I only wear a size 9 boot and had a hard time finding a place on the floorboard where I could rest my foot. I’d have to take that off right away. Secondly, was the windshield. At my height (6’0”) the top of the screen was directly in my line of sight. I got around this by assuming the Harley slouch. Sitting about 2 inches lower had me looking though the windshield which was a little odd at first but I got used to it fairly quickly. Then came the rain. Once it started raining, I saw the real flaw of the windshield. The water doesn’t clean from the windshield. There seems to be a little negative pressure zone that just lets the water droplets sit there. The other bad thing is that since the shield is blocking you from air flow your visor also does not clear itself of rain without leaning over into the wind stream. Oh you’ll also be soaked by the time the third raindrop hits since the bike really offered no weather protection other than that windshield.

Engine and Transmission: The transmission sounds clunky. I say it “sounds clunky,” because the shifts felt smooth. They are just accompanied by a very loud clunk. I thought that was a little odd. The 103ci engine would have to be the biggest disappointment. It just didn’t have any guts. At idle, it shakes like a paint shaker. That smoothes out as soon as you are in motion. However, it just seemed to lack power everywhere. You could get up to 50 mph just fine but if you don’t pay attention you are bouncing off the rev limiter in no time. The powerband is very small. Top gear roll-ons are non-existent. We were on the highway and rolled it to the stop and nothing – I mean NOTHING – happened. I realize that’s not the purpose of the bike but I consider it a safety issue if you are in a position where you need to get out of the way NOW. Around town the engine seems adequate as long as speeds are below 60mph.

Passenger Accommodations: I’ll let Mrs CB chime in here.  From my perspective, our C14 seems more spacious.

Final Thoughts:  Having ridden most of the Japanese and Eurotrash offerings, I was glad to have had the opportunity to give a Harley a shot.  Overall, I would say the Electraglide is a decent motorcycle given it’s design parameters and expected use. I found that we were cruising at a much more relaxed pace and taking in the scenery more than just blazing down the road, and I guess that’s what it’s all about. You don’t buy a touring Harley to tear up the mountain passes and challenge the road. You buy it to cruise along and smell the flowers and it fulfills those duties in spades.

Thanks again to Prubert for making this possible.  

[atadaskew]

 You don’t buy a touring Harley to tear up the mountain passes and challenge the road. You buy it to cruise along and smell the flowers and it fulfills those duties in spades.

 

[ConPilot1]

So did you feel like a genuine American badass for the afternoon rather than the neo-weeby Jap crap rider you usually are?

Did your riding jacket start mysteriously sprouting patches and flags?

[Cablebandit]

I forgot to mention that.  At no point did I feel the need to stop at a bar or get a bunch of tassles/pins.  I tried not to wave to those rice burning machines but found myself waving anyway.  I guess those douchebag Harley owners are just douchebag humans who happen to ride Harleys.  

I did notice some babe's eyeballing me as I rolled through small towns with "Call Me Maybe" booming on the stereo.  Perhaps they wanted to be my ol' lady.  

[Carbonero]

I guess those douchebag Harley owners are just douchebag humans who happen to ride Harleys.  

Truth.

Pick a cult product, and it's true. I've been researching some stuff about the Subaru I've been driving lately; Just like Harley Guys (r) (c) (tm), Subaru Guys (r) (c) (tm) are freaks. When I was a drummer the Sonor and Zildjian "enthusiasts" (read as, snobby purists) were freaks. Harley people are freaks. Mustang freaks. Camaro freaks. Quisenart freaks. I mean... just pick one.

I generally just describe it like this: "There are people who own [product], and then there are the [product] Guys. They're the freaks."  

[UFO]

You don’t buy a touring Harley to tear up the mountain passes and challenge the road. You buy it to cruise along and smell the flowers and it fulfills those duties in spades.

Then can you pass on the message to these riders to at least try and ride the speed limit?  I know the bike is capable of doing so.  

kthnx

[Cablebandit]

Then can you pass on the message to these riders to at least try and ride the speed limit?  I know the bike is capable of doing so.  

kthnx

Please refer to the prior douchebag comment.  

[Carbonero]

Just pass them. I don't think I've ever failed* to make a pass on another bike holding me up in anything but the tightest twisties.













* excepting the "you can't pass me and insult my manhood" douchebags who swerve out to block you. They need a handlebar kicked.

[MrsCablebandit]

Passenger Accommodations/Impressions: Hmmm...what to say, what to say?!? Well...I liked the backrest!  

Oh! And I liked that we were able to listen to music (from the bike's radio) AND talk to each other through our Senas at the same time.  

Other than that? I was generally unimpressed. And fairly bored. I suppose I've become too accustomed to a sport-touring pace and the appropriate routes on our Concours. No doubt we could have taken the bike down Marengo Road near our house or found a twistier road between home and the dealership, but frankly I had no desire to do that. It wouldn't have been any fun. Just like Cablebandit said, the bike we rented is simply not the kind of bike to use when you want to tear it up.

It was an adequate bike for the ride we took Saturday. However, if that's the only kind of riding we ever did, my gear would be listed for sale because I did not and would not find enjoyment in that kind of riding. I think the only saving grace for Saturday - for me, at least - was the novelty of the ride since I'd never ridden on a Harley before.

Oh! I thought of something else I liked! As the passenger, I had my own radio scan button, so I could change the radio stations. Score!!!
 
I did not care for the crash bars around the side bags. These prevented me from putting my entire foot on the passenger floorboards. And because I couldn't put my foot all the way back on my floorboards, my toes were hanging off the front edge and would occasionally catch on CB's pants.

I did not like that the bike vibrates CONSTANTLY! After riding the bike for three hours, we stopped at a gas station to top off before returning the bike. I felt like Audrey in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation...I couldn't feel my legs below the knees! Nearly an hour after we'd gotten off the bike - while we were sitting in a restaurant for a late lunch - my body still tingled from the vibration. It was rather unpleasant. (For the record, the "good vibrations" happen while idling at stoplights. There were not enough stoplights on our route.)

I did not like my position on the bike. I was much closer to CB both up-and-down and front-to-back than I am on the C14. Now, I'm all for being close to my honey, but I didn't have the wiggle room that I have on our bike to turnaround to take pictures or simply stretch/adjust. And while the passenger seat seemed like it was significantly higher than the rider's, once we were both seated, I had an eyeful of a graphite Shoei helmet and not much more.

I did not like the bike's lack of get-up-and-go. When CB cracked the throttle, we went NOWHERE. Well, wait...we did go from 60 to 75, but it took FOREVER. A similar twist of the throttle on our C14 could give me a severe case of whiplash if I wasn't prepared for it and have us well over 100 MPH in seconds. Like CB, I too doubt the H-D's ability to get out of the way NOW if, as they say, "shit gets real."

I did find the looks we got from other H-D riders rather comical since we were in head-to-toe gear.  

In the end, we rented, we rode, we wrote about it. Been there, done that, but didn't buy the overpriced branded t-shirt.

Thank you, Prubert, for the opportunity!

[MrsCablebandit]

Quisenart Cuisinart freaks.

FTFY. Not that I'm a Cuisinart freak or anything.

Kitchen Aid FTW, bitches!!!    

[Carbonero]

LOL I can't believe I so butchered that spelling.

[Smoker]

 I suppose I've become too accustomed to a sport-touring pace and the appropriate routes on our Concours.

Nice write up, I wouldn't mind trying one myself sometime.

[falconati]

Just for the record, Zildjian is the only serious choice  

[Carbonero]

Just for the record, Zildjian is the only serious choice  

 

[expatbrit]

Follow the Subaru! No, the cuisinart!

YOU ARE ALL INDIVIDUALS

[ConPilot1]

Well Mrs. CB is certainly right about the Kitchen-Aid.

Like a Harley, they're big, heavy, slow with lots of torque, have been around forever, and only get used once in a blue moon.