Back to FJR after Harley Street glide
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marcusorelius
Well-known member
hppants
Well-known member
Like most (it's statistically unavoidable), I've got H/D riding buddies. Brody rides a Switchback and rides it very well. I really like that bike and would consider it if H/D was the only bike to buy. Randy rides an Ultra Glide and again, very well. John rides a BEAUTIFUL burnt orange Street Glide (HOLY CRAP is that bike gorgeous) and like the others, knows how to lean it and is not afraid to do so. They are good experienced riders and courteous enough to let me lead, knowing that I'm a faster than they are. They are not afraid to go somewhere (they've ridden to Sturgis from south Louisiana), their exhaust is reasonably quiet, and will NOT drink and ride. Good enough for Pants. Of course they don't wear the gear, but it's not my hide, so live and let live (hopefully - fingers crossed).
The riding position on the bike is a matter of taste, but I just can't get around the lack of a counter balancer in the motor.
I really don't mind much what you ride - if you like it, and you won't try to kill me, I'll gladly ride with you anywhere, anytime.
To the OP - welcome back. We've missed you!
The riding position on the bike is a matter of taste, but I just can't get around the lack of a counter balancer in the motor.
I really don't mind much what you ride - if you like it, and you won't try to kill me, I'll gladly ride with you anywhere, anytime.
To the OP - welcome back. We've missed you!
Redfish Hunter
Gone Fishing
I just spent 3 hours buried in the nose of a '14 Street Glide. We replaced the stock bars with some HD replacement bars that move the grips 2 inches closer to the rider. Sort of our version of bar risers.
2 things were instantly apparent.
1. Harley uses the exact same size torx bit screw for EVERYTHING. So very nice to only need one tool for the entire job.
2. There is lots more stuff to deal with to change bars on a HD touring bike than to put risers on an FJR.
I know the look of happiness/relief on my friend's face when he got back from his test ride looked a whole lot like the one on Dad's face when I put the heli-bar bridge on his FJR. Real riders are basically the same no matter what they ride.
2 things were instantly apparent.
1. Harley uses the exact same size torx bit screw for EVERYTHING. So very nice to only need one tool for the entire job.
2. There is lots more stuff to deal with to change bars on a HD touring bike than to put risers on an FJR.
I know the look of happiness/relief on my friend's face when he got back from his test ride looked a whole lot like the one on Dad's face when I put the heli-bar bridge on his FJR. Real riders are basically the same no matter what they ride.
I have ridden quite a few cruisers, HD, and otherwise. Judged purely as a motorcycle, as in: how does it accelerate, stop, turn, and how comfortable is it, cruisers are lousy motorcycles, just as lowriders are lousy cars. They might be cool things for enthusiasts of such things but, functionally they are markedly inferior devices. Overweight, underpowered, severely limited cornering clearance and ergo's designed for 45mph cruising do not make for a good motorcycle. They are more fun to ride than no motorcycle but that's about it. Mainstream motorcycle magazines used to point this out. Then cruisers became hugely popular so they just went with the flow. People mostly buy them either because they love the look, the have to have the low seat height,or to fit in with the crowd they want to ride with. These are valid reasons but they don't make the motorcycle better. My wife rides on because she is barely 5 feet tall so we usually have on in the shed. Her little 650 Savage is actually the most fun to ride one she has had because is light and has decent cornering clearance.
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Redfish Hunter
Gone Fishing
The folks that like cruisers really like them. Those folks do not think they are riding "lousy motorcycles". And just in case no one noticed there are way more cruisers out there than there are Sport Tourers. I read recently that Harley Davidson outsold Honda 12 to 1 in the large touring bike segment. That is a bunch of folks who like their cruisers.
Just because I/You/We do not like a particular style of bike does not make it garbage.
My HD riding friends and cousin do not care that my FJR accelerates, stops, and turns faster or better. They have no interest in riding anything other than a Harley Davidson. As far as comfort goes, that is just too broad a subject to cover with a definitive statement. I have been very comfortable on 3 different Street Glides, a couple of Ultra Classics, one Road Glide and I cannot remember what else. I have been moderately uncomfortable on a couple of Sportsters but they were not supposed to be comfy.
I will also mention that I have been spending a good bit of time researching things on the HD forum recently in order to help my Street Glide riding friend get his bike ready for the ride to Sturgis. I have not noticed any threads bashing ANY other brand. All they talk about are Harleys... Probably a good lesson there somewhere.
Just because I/You/We do not like a particular style of bike does not make it garbage.
My HD riding friends and cousin do not care that my FJR accelerates, stops, and turns faster or better. They have no interest in riding anything other than a Harley Davidson. As far as comfort goes, that is just too broad a subject to cover with a definitive statement. I have been very comfortable on 3 different Street Glides, a couple of Ultra Classics, one Road Glide and I cannot remember what else. I have been moderately uncomfortable on a couple of Sportsters but they were not supposed to be comfy.
I will also mention that I have been spending a good bit of time researching things on the HD forum recently in order to help my Street Glide riding friend get his bike ready for the ride to Sturgis. I have not noticed any threads bashing ANY other brand. All they talk about are Harleys... Probably a good lesson there somewhere.
HotRodZilla
GOD BLESS AMERICA
Hmmmmmmmm, oh, yeah: **** Harleys. No POS Harley will ever roll into my garage or benefit from another tire plug, a splash of gas or a phone call.
Those bone smuggling pirates have Honda outsold 12 to 1, so they should have 12x as much help showing up. Too bad only about 1% of those idiots actually knows how to do anything except start their tractor, put gas in it, and open a beer bottle.
Those bone smuggling pirates have Honda outsold 12 to 1, so they should have 12x as much help showing up. Too bad only about 1% of those idiots actually knows how to do anything except start their tractor, put gas in it, and open a beer bottle.
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GalaxyBlue
Well-known member
HotRodZilla
GOD BLESS AMERICA
You're welcome anytime! Even if you are too scared of the power and have to sell your FJR, like a big gurl! I won't even make you park your Victory across the street. If you had bought a Harley, I'd make you park at the Walmart before I'd let you in for any of my wife's cooking!
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hppants
Well-known member
One of my riding buddies has an FZ-09 and a Yamaha Raider. He picks the bike for the ride he expects to take. Obviously, most of the time we ride together, he pics the FZ.
But I **** you not, that Raider is a REALLY nice motorcycle. Nice and effective fly screen. Aftermarket exhaust, but not obnoxious. With the Power Commander, when you screw it, she wakes up pretty good. I could ride it for a day - maybe even 150 miles or so.
But I **** you not, that Raider is a REALLY nice motorcycle. Nice and effective fly screen. Aftermarket exhaust, but not obnoxious. With the Power Commander, when you screw it, she wakes up pretty good. I could ride it for a day - maybe even 150 miles or so.
jdewit
Member
1000km ride this weekend to familiarize myself with the FJR. We had 2 FJRs, a Honda Varadero, a Kawasaki Z1000, and a Yamaha Stryker. I had been concerned with the comfort & well-being of the latter 2 but there were no complaints. Whatever floats your boat.
Large touring bikes aren't cruisers. If I was someone who liked spending all day on the interstate I would probably buy an Electra Glide of some variety. If I did, I wouldn't ruin it with a cut down windshield, cruiser seat, stupid handlebars and open pipes. Ford sold millions of Tempo's. I drove plenty of them from Hertz when I was travelling for a living. They were terrible cars. People that bought them probably liked them. Popularity and quality have little to do with each other. I could make a list of some very popular brands that are actually pretty lousy examples of the products but that would just open up more cans of worms. Almost everyone I know that rides a cruiser and loves it hasn't ridden anything else. Compared to a car or pickup truck, they are great motorcycles.
yamafitter
Reigning NERDS Granite Lane Gold Medalist
Top_Speed1 said
That's what happened to your hair, you only thought you had your helmet on and polished all your hair off.
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Dodahdude
Well-known member
Harleys have very innovative designs. For instance the oil over fill system. Ingenous design. I know a lot of us have over filled our bikes with oil, subiquently having to drain, clean and risk over tightening the drain bolt... With Harleys they have a over fill system where the unwanted oil is drained down through the engine, through the heads and finally used during the combustion stroke. I road behind a Harley the other day who has this system. It works pretty well. The only problem is... That I had to pull over to get a breath of fresh air so I could enjoy my ride in the sun. I don't think many other manufactures use this system. You might ask you're dealership if they have this.
palerider
Well-known member
Good point. Also, many Harleys come stock with spinal-disk compression systems.
BanjoBoy
Well-known member
Just yesterday whilst rail'in HWY 36, I dun smelt the distinct aroma of burn'in oil, then a few corners later wuz a couple pirates look'in all bad *** 'n sh!t; "smile ***** yer ride'in now!"
This would be a great time to buy a used H-D...seriously, at least in my area/region. I frequently check Craigs List - dozens of them from 1 year to a decade or more old, very low miles - 1,000 - 5,000 is common, many owners now asking 50-60 percent of retail, which is still relatively low depreciation, but not what we saw a few years ago: "You can always sell them for what you paid." Many ads will state: lots of chrome, $5,000 in extras, very loud, never ridden in the rain, and so on. Truly, many of these are clearly pristine. Most tout after-market pipes, intakes and dyno re-tuning. Some claim the be "very fast." Question is, how many of these pristine used bikes are selling, or selling near the asking price? I talked to a service manager at the local H-D boutique recently and he remarked that they are selling the hell out of brand new bikes - breaking records - despite the robust used supply, stating buyers want the Rushmore upgrades and will pay for them. Really, in my view, the most significant upgrade to the H-D line-up in about 30 years is the new "shower head" water cooling - that's actual engineering progress - the only Rushmore "upgrade" that goes much beyond cosmetics, ergonomics and electronics.
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Sellers want that "$5000 extras" in the asking price, but in reality, those parts, like farkes on the FJR, don't bring any more value the price of the bike. You can get more out of returning it to stock, and selling off the extras.
SpeedEBiker
Member
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Gitbox" data-cid="1238523" data-time="1434734877"><p>
One last story: I was filling up my old Kawasaki ZG1000 and a couple fully decked out Harley guys were at the adjacent pump. They came over and commented about my nice looking bike and then noticed the odometer. It had 27K miles on it. They said "Wow! That's a lot of mileage." I told them the odometer had already tripped 100K so they were actually looking at 127K on my bike. They looked at each other in amazement and said "I didn't know a bike could go that many miles."<br />
<br />
Precious.</p></blockquote>
I'm sorry but for some reason this made me laugh until I teared up.
One last story: I was filling up my old Kawasaki ZG1000 and a couple fully decked out Harley guys were at the adjacent pump. They came over and commented about my nice looking bike and then noticed the odometer. It had 27K miles on it. They said "Wow! That's a lot of mileage." I told them the odometer had already tripped 100K so they were actually looking at 127K on my bike. They looked at each other in amazement and said "I didn't know a bike could go that many miles."<br />
<br />
Precious.</p></blockquote>
I'm sorry but for some reason this made me laugh until I teared up.
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