Today, Chad, our friend Bill and myself went on an adventure into the Darkside… A local Harley dealership called Suburban Harley Davidson in Palatine Illinois was having a day of HD sponsored Demo Rides. They corporate truck came down and brought a whole bunch of HD's to try out. Well, what could we say but "Sure, sounds like fun…"…

An nice and easy ride to the dealership, but we did scare a turtle back into it's shell. Word to all turtles out there; quit sunning yourselves in the middle of a busy road!!! We arrived and staked out our first round of bikes. I grabbed a nice pewter Soft-tail Deuce FXSTD. Nice bike. Rubber balanced engine was a real joy and it shifted easer then my old Sporty ever did. I didn't like the forward controls and it didn't have a windshield. I have gained even more respect for Mr Bronze God Stevie D. My helmet was lifting and my eyes were tearing at 70 miles. But at least I had the opportunity to get the beast into 6th gear. The 96CI engine is a real joy but there are some strange noises coming from it. Guess it is a Harley thing. Overall I enjoyed it but don't think I would want one.

Next up was a Bagger. A burgundy FLHX Street Glide was what I sat on and rode next. I really liked a lot that this bike had to offer. The stereo was nice… A twist of the throttle and that 96CI engine roared to life and shot the bike forward. Damn… When did Harleys get so fast??? I didn't like the way the engine vibrated all over the place while stopped in traffic. The Soft-tail didn't have this problem but I was told that was because the FXST had a rubber mounted and balanced engine where the FLXH didn't. All I know if they would put the FXSTD's engine in the FXST, I would consider it… Overall, it is a very comfortable bike and I could get accustomed to one. If something happened to my Nomad and I had the extra money I would consider a HD bagger. I wanted to ride a Road Glide as I'm really interested in them but they didn't have one for demo. Too bad...

I tried to sit on the VROD, both the VRSCDS Night Rod Special and the Screaming Eagle VROD but my little 30" inseam short dachshund legs couldn't operate the forward controls well enough for my comfort, so I passed. Chad got on the Screaming Eagle VROD and he had a blast. I think that he is still wearing a ****-eating grin from that one.

Chad rode some kinda Dyna in addition to the VROD. He was not impressed with the Dyna as he really hated the way the bike handled and the placement of the foot pegs. Where the Softail had raked out forward controls and the Street Glide bagger had foot controls near where the Vn750 and the Nomad have them, the Dyna was more straight down like where the Goldwings and the KZ440LTD had their controls. Chad didn’t like that and he kept having his leg hit the coil cover on the left side of the bike. I sat on it and agreed that I didn't like it either and chose not to ride it.

Our friend Bill rode a 1200 Sportster and totally didn't like it. He was glad to ride it as he was thinking of getting one as a "around town" bike, but now he will look elsewhere. Bill had to book due to the heat of the day, so he didn't get a chance to ride more HD's.

The only real negative part of the day was one of the dealership employees who was one of those "HD and HD only" douchbags. He asked me what I thought about the Street Glide and I told him that I liked it and would consider it to be on the same level as my Nomad as far as comfort and ability. He started on a diatribe about technology and blah blah blah… I finally had to stop him and tell him he was acting like a douch and was turning me off of HD's all together. Freaking douchbag…

Chad and I split company as our lives got in the way of fun and we headed our separate ways. On the way home, my mood totally got shattered as I came across a scooter rider who went off the road right in front of me. I pulled over along with a few other people to offer aid. He didn't look to bad but he took quite a spill and I would not let him get up. I asked him to lay still and not move as there could be some damage that he doesn't know about. He told me his name was Bruce and that he had just purchased the scooter (Honda or Suz, maybe) like within the hour and was riding it home with his wife behind him in their SUV. He misjudged a turn in the road and went off the road and flipped the scooter. He wanted to get up to check out the scooter but I would not let him telling him that the scooter could wait and could be replaced. When I told him that the scooter can be replaced but he could not, he finally got the gist of how serious this could be and kept still. Someone came over and asked me to help them turn the scooter off as the engine was still running. Damn thing was so quiet that I didn't even notice, so I got up and hit the kill switch. Have no clue where the key switch was and I doubt a dead battery was going to be a concern as there were pieces of the scooter for a 20 foot path. I went back to Bruce and explained to him what could be happening and what was going to happen when the paramedics arrive. The cops came and they asked me a few questions and saw that I had the situation in control and worked to maintain traffic control until the cops came. Bruce was pretty banged up with a black eye forming and a possible jaw impact. He was wearing tennis shoes, jeans, tee-shirt and a helmet that looked to be from the 80's. His prescription glasses looked intact but look like they took a hit. But Bruce was a champion and followed my instructions until the paramedics arrived. From down time to arrival, they took less then 10 minutes, which is great in my area. The backboard came out and the guys went to work. With all the emergency equipment coming in I felt the need to get my bike off the road and took the opportunity to leave as there was nothing more I could do. During my conversation with Bruce, I got the impression that he had absolutely no rider training and was not even sure if he had a M endorsement. This really gets under my skin as I see too many riders out there getting injured and killed because they are just let loose. Bruce might have lost his brand new scooter, but at least he will live to see tomorrow. Had he been three feet to the left when he left the road he would have probably have died in the impact against a rather high guard rail.

So, needless to say I had a rather busy day...

That's a crumby way to end an exciting day!
Glad Bruce was mostly OK though (except for the total newbie wipeout :BLAM: !!)

Nice report on what Hardley has to offer. I don't know if I'd ever consider buying one,
but if given a chance to ride a few, sure, why not.
I sometimes have a hard time accepting a friends offer to ride their bike, just incase 'something' would happen.
But if it were the dealers rides, that's different. http://www.addis-welt.de/smilie/smilie/autobike/4092.gif

Nice report on what Hardley has to offer. I don't know if I'd ever consider buying one,
but if given a chance to ride a few, sure, why not.
I sometimes have a hard time accepting a friends offer to ride their bike, just incase 'something' would happen.
But if it were the dealers rides, that's different. http://www.addis-welt.de/smilie/smilie/autobike/4092.gif

That is the way I feel. The only ones that I have ever let ride one of my bikes are Pick and Chad because if they totally wiped my bike I would just take theirs :D or vice-versa. I've ridden friends bikes over the years but felt totally uncomfortable as I was afraid I would barf it up or something. Don't need that hanging over the head and all... There were a few people on the test ride that should not have gotten on a bike. Chad told me about a couple who everybody was passing as they were riding like total nubes...

Thanks for the "Harley report." Sounds like you guys had fun (until you left the dealership, of course)!!!!

The new 96-inch twin cam engine and 6-speed "cruise drive" tranny are serious upgrades for the Harley family, but I think that was a move by Harley to try to play some "catch up" with the rest of the world.

It's still less bike for waaaaaaaaay more money.

Glad you were there for Bruce, Bulldog!!!......:smiley_th

Bulldog, Sounds to me like you have some experience in the emergency medicine field. You're a good man! I hope if some day I end up off my bike and in need there is someone like you around. Kudos!! Bruce is lucky as, you said, he will see another day. For what it's worth you have my respect, we need more people like you, with a genuine concern for our fellow man (regardless of how silly they might be).

Sounds like it was good day at the Hardley shop. Guess those guys are making progress. Maybe they will learn how to get the costs down one day!

I'm looking forward to test driving The Triumphs one day. The Bonneville America looks pretty nice.

Again Kudos Bulldog.

I was in a hardley dealer about 2 weeks ago (on dale mabry hwy for the tampa natives out there) and was talking with the sales associate named tom about some of the HDs. When I told him that I rode a vn750 he nodded his head and actually complimented it as a good bike (although he did say not as good as the hardleys) then he led me back to their inventory warehouse and showed me to a nomad that they had just gotten on a trade in. Mostly all of the hardley people I know are of exactly the same persona as the sales associate you ran into. "if it ain't a hardley it ain't a motorcycle!" Needless to say I was very taken aback by the two wheeled openmindedness of Tom.

Hey Bulldog, this forum needs more people like you! I appreciate what you did for a fellow downed rider. Good man!

The built in shake at idle was what freaked me out on the road king I rode a week or so ago. Kind of un-nerved me on decel in town. I wouldn't want that on any bike I ride. They have some nice features and options. The keyless ignition was nice, but I'd be afraid of failure and being stranded because of it. Some of the stuff seems to be on their bikes to give the impression of quality workmanship, in my opinion. Might just be my impression and biased opinion. I had just ridden my buddy's Vulcan 1500 earlier that day and it is a fine bike, but didn't have some of the "features" the harley had. It did ride smoother, seemed more powerful and graceful, and of course, way more smooth stopping without all that "shake". Again my opinion, but the harleys seem to be way over chromed and over "belled and whistled". For instance, the air adjustable forks and rear shocks on the road king have a tube going from each shock and fork, to a port located behind the right hard bag mount. You can add air to adjust them from a port for the pair of front forks, and a port for the pair of rear shocks, after you remove the hard bag. Sounds like a nice idea. But, when he rode up to my house the day after he bought the bike, with that $$$t eating grin all over his face, I walked up to him as he parked the bike and immediately noticed oil all over his right leg and the entire right side of the engine and tank etc. Well, it turns out that the tube had come off the front forks and they were spewing fork oil all over the place. Sometimes simple is better and more reliable, again, my opinion!;)

I was in a hardley dealer about 2 weeks ago (on dale mabry hwy for the tampa natives out there) and was talking with the sales associate named tom about some of the HDs. When I told him that I rode a vn750 he nodded his head and actually complimented it as a good bike (although he did say not as good as the hardleys) then he led me back to their inventory warehouse and showed me to a nomad that they had just gotten on a trade in. Mostly all of the hardley people I know are of exactly the same persona as the sales associate you ran into. "if it ain't a hardley it ain't a motorcycle!" Needless to say I was very taken aback by the two wheeled openmindedness of Tom.

That sounds like someone who's business card you might want to keep. If you are of a Nomad mindset, you might be able to get a good deal on that Nad in the HD warehouse as most HD dealers will sell it for what they took it in for trade just so they don't have to unload it to a wholesaler. Sometimes you get a great deal and sometimes not. But if you are interested, talk to your guy... He seems to know that the good will he spreads today with you will come back to him.

I was in a Harley dealer this past Sunday, related to a poker run. BullDog, your story is WAY better than mine would be.

Over the weekend I was up in IL visiting my folks and got to ride around your stomping grounds. Driving (in a cage) from o-hare I got alittle unnerved about riding as I saw way too many people pulling the "oh **** thats my exit" and swerving across 2 to 3 lanes of I-90. Once I got to my parents house, my dad led me into the garage wearing a ****-eatin grin where I found that he had traded his '02 suzuki sv650 in on a road king. (note to fergy: I found that I also didn't like the engine movement at idle, it felt like it was going to jump out of the frame!) So I hopped on my old bike, a honda vlx600 shadow, and my dad and I rode around elgin, st. charles, and elburn. I had never seen so many riders out on the road every 2 minutes we past a pack of em. The roads are nice and views are lovely. A great departure from the lack of winding roads in tampa. All in all a great area. If you ever have a chance to ride in the area, take it! Once off the highways the cagers seem to be aware of the abundance of two-wheelers.