My New Harley Softail Slim

[Bueller]

Originally Posted by JerryH

Harley engines DO shake themselves apart due to their uneven firing order. Otherwise they could last at least twice as long. But I never said I didn't like the shaking and the offbeat idle. For me a Harley is the most enjoyable road bike there is to ride. I have never ridden a big twin, just Sportsters. At 6' 220 I'm a bit big for a Sportsters, which, by the way, still have EVO engines. It's too bad that the design that gives Harleys so much character and makes them so much fun also shortens their lifespan, but you can''t have everything. At least an EVO engine is fairly easy to rebuild and there is an endless supply of parts.

Since you've now admitted you've never ridden a big twin, allow me to save you from some grief. Yes, Sportsters are still EVO engines, but 2004 and later is MUCH smoother than the vibes from an EVO Softail. The rigid mounting of the engine in an EVO Softail sucks. You want EVO? Buy a Dyna or Touring platform. You'll thank me later

[blacktruck]

Congrats on buying a hog. I've had a Night Train for 11 years now and wouldn't think of selling it. It's not a great touring bike due to lack of luggage but I have ridden it for a thousand miles in a day a couple of times. Damn sure ain't good off the pavement but normal trips or around town or cruising on the weekends, you just can't beat it. It isn't the bike I'll take when I do some adventure rides to Canada but it will always have a space in my garage.
Great choice of bikes you made...
Now get out and enjoy it and don't listen to the Harley haters.
Stay safe man.

[Randy]

Well, I joined the party too!

After years of negative feelings toward H-D and the whole "lifestyle" thing, I wondered into a H-D dealer for some strange reason and spotted a 48 with the gold metal flake tank, and fell in love with it. It was the first Harley, or any cruiser for that matter, that I ever found attractive, but it just spoke to me for some reason. A few days later I went back for a test ride. I fully expected to hate it, but after a few minutes I had to admit that, while there were things I didn't care for, like forward controls, the brakes, and the lean angle, I was actually enjoying it.

Then, out of nowhere, my fiance decided to surprise me with one for Christmas!!

Yeah, the lean angle does suck, and I did scrape a peg pretty hard while tip toeing around a nice tight curve. But, it seems to have gotten better, so like some mentioned above, maybe I just need to adjust my riding style a bit. But still, once money allows, I do have plans to go with longer fork internals from the Roadster along with Ricor Intiminators up front, and longer, better shocks out back, to increase the cornering clearance and improve the ride quality.

The brakes got a bit better after a few miles to bed them in, but, while passable for casual riding, I still want more. So, I ordered a 4 pot (Nissin) caliper from an XR1200X ($153 shipped). According to my research it's a direct swap on the 48 and dramatically improves the front brake feel and power. It should arrive next week and I'm really looking forward to installing and testing it ASAP.

On my test ride I really didn't like the forward controls. After riding my bike a bit I still don't. Although, while I will admit that I've gotten used to them some, I just don't like the way they concentrate my weight on my hips, and they just don't seem to be well matched to the bars on the 48. But, on the day I test rode the 48 I also took a spin on the Iron just to see how the mids felt. I instantly felt more comfortable on that bike. Just moving my feet back those few inches has the effect of rotating my hips just enough to feel better to my bony butt. They also make the reach to the lower bars on the 48 feel much more comfortable. I knew then, that a set of mids on a 48 was what I wanted. So, I bought a set of mid controls from a member over on XLforum. I hope to install them this weekend. Hopefully they'll be what I'm looking far in that department.

For me, pretty much every bike takes some adaptation to fit my specific wants and/or needs, so making these improvements are just part of the fun of motorcycling to me. I love the feel (and sound) of the engine, and the overall fit and finish on this bike is superb, IMO. I think that with a few well thought out mods, this bike will suit my needs very well. It won't replace my GS for distance, but for the shorter local rides that I find myself actually doing in the real world, it's just awesome!

[ADK]

hey, Randy, got any pics?

[Randy]

Originally Posted by ADK

hey, Randy, got any pics?

Actually, not yet. Well.... I will post some to the "GO Sportster" thread, but I'll wait until I change out the forward controls to the mids, and add the "stop" part with the new caliper. I also have an NRHS Hurricane flow air filter for it (bought from a forum member here at a substantial discount from new), but I'll have to wait for funds for the PC-V or PV before I can install it..... And then, there's the suspension mods yet to come too..... Sooooo.... yeah, I'll be posting more pics eventually.

And, let's not forget upcoming the wedding pics!

[canoli]

Good luck with the new bike. Might have to pick one of these up someday.

Canoli

[Mattbastard]

Originally Posted by Bueller

Since you've now admitted you've never ridden a big twin, allow me to save you from some grief. Yes, Sportsters are still EVO engines, but 2004 and later is MUCH smoother than the vibes from an EVO Softail. The rigid mounting of the engine in an EVO Softail sucks. You want EVO? Buy a Dyna or Touring platform. You'll thank me later

And the FXR. Don't forget the FXR.

[marksbonneville]

Originally Posted by mattbastard

and the fxr. Don't forget the fxr.

+1 fxr

[jersey jim]

Originally Posted by Mattbastard

And the FXR. Don't forget the FXR.

One of the best bikes I've ever owned was my 87 FXRS. Great bikes.

[Rabon]

Harleys suck, I have two of them and looking at #3.