Rode The New 2018 Softail Fat Bob 114 c.i. Today

[02SE]

Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
Originally Posted By: 02SE


This bike was licensed and street legal in it's home state. It also made 670 rwhp on Methanol. Salt conditions were less than ideal, and kept it's speed down to around 230 mph. It was geared for approx. 290 MPH. Some of the bodywork is removed in the pic, as we were working on it.


That hayabusa (?...) is insane !!

Yes, a Hayabusa. Heavily modified, turbocharged, and running on straight Methanol. The oil: Kendall Nitro 70.

This one, also a Hayabusa, and licensed and street legal with the stock bodywork and lights installed, held the record in it's class at a two-way average speed over a measured mile, at 246 mph. It would've gone faster, but the lack of traction on the Salt means it had 40+ mph worth of wheelspin going through the measured mile. It was geared the same as the Methanol burning bike, but was running VP Import fuel. Only 615 rwhp out of this one.

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted By: endeavor to persevere
I don't post here hardly ever at all. The reason is all the hate for the Harley brand. I just don't care to deal with all the people with their issues. Every one go back to your regularly schedule postings and I will go back to riding and enjoying what time I have left on this earth. Hope you have a good one and may the force be with you.


It's only a few people that seem to dislike Harley's enough to voice their opinion. I'm generally into performance above all else. But I had an FLHTCUI at one point in time, and appreciate most Motorcycles simply for the fact that they are Motorcycles.

Don't worry about the haters.

 

[LoneRanger]

Agreed. My first bike in 1999 was an XL1200 95th anniv. Been smitten with Italian bikes for the past five or so years. What will I be riding in the future, who knows.


Here's a pic of the late wife's 883 and mine from around 2000

 

[DdDd]

How did this become a Harley vs the world thread?

Bike sales are down, even for HD.

Boomers are hanging it up, gotta tempt the millennials.

Harleys are perfectly nice bikes for what they are. Lots of heritage.

What they are trying as "new" looks like a dated 1980s japanese power cruiser... The same exact thing HD riders mocked for centuries.

World is changing and Harleys gotta fit in. $22k motorcycles are not going to cut it anymore.

If HD hadn't cruised on easy profits they'd have more direction and mine something more authentic for today's younger rider.

This fat Bob, looks like some dads idea of what cool was. When they were listening to Journey.

 

[alarmguy]

Originally Posted By: endeavor to persevere
I don't post here hardly ever at all. The reason is all the hate for the Harley brand. I just don't care to deal with all the people with their issues. Every one go back to your regularly schedule postings and I will go back to riding and enjoying what time I have left on this earth. Hope you have a good one and may the force be with you.


Wow, wait! your screen name is "endeavor to persevere" ! So persevere already! )

Dont let "them" win. The ones that make the most noise are just a tiny minority with large mouths to appease their insecurities.
Only an insecure dweeb trashes another mans possessions, the insecure dweeb needs to make himself feel significant.

Im sure you noticed as I have also come from two different metric bikes to my personal holy grail of a bike, 2014 Road King, I have noticed TIME AND AGAIN, its metric bikes owners (not all by any means) that are insecure and need to trash another brand bike.

You will find a FAR, FAR many more Harley bashing threads from a tiny, tiny insecure,insignificant minority of metric owners vs the majority of Harley owners.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: alarmguy
Originally Posted By: endeavor to persevere
I don't post here hardly ever at all. The reason is all the hate for the Harley brand. I just don't care to deal with all the people with their issues. Every one go back to your regularly schedule postings and I will go back to riding and enjoying what time I have left on this earth. Hope you have a good one and may the force be with you.


Wow, wait! your screen name is "endeavor to persevere" ! So persevere already! )

Dont let "them" win. The ones that make the most noise are just a tiny minority with large mouths to appease their insecurities.
Only an insecure dweeb trashes another mans possessions, the insecure dweeb needs to make himself feel significant.

Im sure you noticed as I have also come from two different metric bikes to my personal holy grail of a bike, 2014 Road King, I have noticed TIME AND AGAIN, its metric bikes owners (not all by any means) that are insecure and need to trash another brand bike.

You will find a FAR, FAR many more Harley bashing threads from a tiny, tiny insecure,insignificant minority of metric owners vs the majority of Harley owners.


The difference is, those of us who prefer metrics over Harleys don't call Harley guys haters and bashers when you point out things you don't like about metrics, but when metric guys point out things about Harleys we don't like, we're labeled as haters or bashers. It can't be one way and not the other. Either both sides are haters and bashers, or we're not. So which is it?

 

[alarmguy]

You dont own a bike

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: alarmguy
You dont own a bike


And your point is?

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: HouseTiger
Originally Posted By: propuckstopper
Originally Posted By: Silverado12

This thing is amazing.


I am going to take a ton of flame for this, but here goes...

Ride a Japanese bike. Enjoy the lightweight feel. Enjoy the throttle response, Appreciate the brakes. And the sticker price.

Then come back and tell us how much your definition of "amazing" has changed...

Why pay double, for half?



You won't get flamed from me . . . been the Harley route when I was much younger. Only bike you can set a quart of milk on at a traffic light and watch it turn into cottage cheese (Milwaukee Vibrator). . . miserable heat, vibrates at an unreasonable rate, excessive noise . . .

Big Honda bikes - like the Shadows, VTX and Gold Wings will run circles around any HD bike out there, and won't cost you out the wazoo to maintain.


Pablum. Tbe vast majority of Japanese bikes have much higher PM costs, since they need regular valve adjustments, which can be (very) pricey. The reason my next bike will probably be a Sportster is basically this: no chain to worry about, no valve checks, no carbs to sync, just put gas in and ride.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Originally Posted By: grampi
The fools are those willing to make a house payment for a bike because it has nice paint and chrome...


It's all about priorities. The motorcycle would be like a payment on a cheap car. If your car is already paid for, house is already paid for, etc. then it's not a big deal. BTW I've ridden an M109 and this 114 Harley would pull on it.


It should. It's a bloody car-sized engine!

 

[Silverado12]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Originally Posted By: grampi
The fools are those willing to make a house payment for a bike because it has nice paint and chrome...


It's all about priorities. The motorcycle would be like a payment on a cheap car. If your car is already paid for, house is already paid for, etc. then it's not a big deal. BTW I've ridden an M109 and this 114 Harley would pull on it.


It should. It's a bloody car-sized engine!


Uh, 5 c.i. bigger.

 

[Silverado12]

Another reason I like H-D is they are relatively easy to work on. Although I had to buy some weird tools I didn't have (T27 socket, 10mm 12 point socket and some others I can't think of) it's straight forward to work on and any decent mechanic can do the work (not necessarily a m/c specialist).

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: HouseTiger
Originally Posted By: propuckstopper
Originally Posted By: Silverado12

This thing is amazing.


I am going to take a ton of flame for this, but here goes...

Ride a Japanese bike. Enjoy the lightweight feel. Enjoy the throttle response, Appreciate the brakes. And the sticker price.

Then come back and tell us how much your definition of "amazing" has changed...

Why pay double, for half?



You won't get flamed from me . . . been the Harley route when I was much younger. Only bike you can set a quart of milk on at a traffic light and watch it turn into cottage cheese (Milwaukee Vibrator). . . miserable heat, vibrates at an unreasonable rate, excessive noise . . .

Big Honda bikes - like the Shadows, VTX and Gold Wings will run circles around any HD bike out there, and won't cost you out the wazoo to maintain.


Pablum. Tbe vast majority of Japanese bikes have much higher PM costs, since they need regular valve adjustments, which can be (very) pricey.


I've heard many people say this over the years and I have to say it's baloney. In over 40 years of riding and owning more than a dozen metrics, I have never had the valves adjusted on any of them, and none of them ever blew up or ran poorly, so I'm guessing this claim just ain't true...

 

[David_g]

Valve adjust hasn't been too big a deal on my Japanese bikes. Even less (diy) or more (dealer) for my BMW (frequent, but easy).

Constrast with my Sportster buddy who at a bit over 75k miles needs lifters and more replaced on his bike--for a lot at the dealer or less at independent mechanic. I'm curious how much work he really needs (or finally gets) and what it costs.

For example, my Versys needed valve check every maybe 23k miles. Which is 3 valve check/adjusts, TB syncs over a 75k mile period. 3hrs labor with my independent mechanic.

My FZ1 needed it every 30k mile. Manual said 26k, but common wisdom was 30k if ridden gently (not frequently exploring upper rev range), and when I sold it at 51k miles and one valve adjust, the 30k mile interval seemed to be working fine. More labor than the Versys (20 valves, and needs a radiator hose disconnected). 4 hours? But it only needs it twice over 75k miles.

It isn't obvious to me how my experience will compare to my Sportster buddy until he gets the work done. But it may be that owning a Harley with no valve adjustments won't save him valvetrain service money over the long haul. If he took it to the dealer and had them do the service they quoted, the Japanese bikes would win.

I guess if you own the Harley but don't ride it much or keep it long it's more of a sure win on service. Though TBH I'm not sure most Japanese bike owners keep them a full valve check interval either (excepting bikes that call for an early valve check).

 

[CT8]

Ride what you like and like what you ride Because that s all that matters.

 

[LoneRanger]

Originally Posted By: CT8
Ride what you like and like what you ride Because that s all that matters.


+1

 

[endeavor to persevere]

Why would grampi or any one else for that matter care what may or may not be wrong with a bike they will never own. It does not effect them. I do not set around and worry about what I may not like about a bike I will never own. I will never go on one of their forums to tell them I think their bikes suck. I guess its easier to do when hiding behind a key board. They wouldn't fair too well face to face. I guess these people are just busy bodies and have nothing better to do.

 

[endeavor to persevere]

Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
Originally Posted By: CT8
Ride what you like and like what you ride Because that s all that matters.


+1


+2

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: grampi


I've heard many people say this over the years and I have to say it's baloney. In over 40 years of riding and owning more than a dozen metrics, I have never had the valves adjusted on any of them, and none of them ever blew up or ran poorly, so I'm guessing this claim just ain't true...


Denial is an ugly thing. Just checking the valves sometimes calls for major disassembly.

 

[SlipperyPete]

Originally Posted By: alarmguy
Originally Posted By: endeavor to persevere
I don't post here hardly ever at all. The reason is all the hate for the Harley brand. I just don't care to deal with all the people with their issues. Every one go back to your regularly schedule postings and I will go back to riding and enjoying what time I have left on this earth. Hope you have a good one and may the force be with you.


Wow, wait! your screen name is "endeavor to persevere" ! So persevere already! )

Dont let "them" win. The ones that make the most noise are just a tiny minority with large mouths to appease their insecurities.
Only an insecure dweeb trashes another mans possessions, the insecure dweeb needs to make himself feel significant.

Im sure you noticed as I have also come from two different metric bikes to my personal holy grail of a bike, 2014 Road King, I have noticed TIME AND AGAIN, its metric bikes owners (not all by any means) that are insecure and need to trash another brand bike.

You will find a FAR, FAR many more Harley bashing threads from a tiny, tiny insecure,insignificant minority of metric owners vs the majority of Harley owners.


How insecure must one be to bother with defending a corporation on the internet against people who don't like their products, as if their own sense of self worth was based on their ownership of an object? Plenty of pathetic to go around.