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Supreme Being
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Last Login: 15th July 2009 14:41
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| Blenk will probably be able to answer this one. I am fortunate enough to have been lent a 2008 Harley-Davidson Fatboy. I've ridden it home this evening, (relatively gently I may add for those who know me and assume the worst etc). The ground clearance is absolutely atrocious, anybody else suffer the same problem on this or a similar Harley? Is there a simple mod to raise them or jack the suspension up a little? I followed a bike cop home for about six miles so well within all the limits and conscious of the vigilance of the law man in front, it was quite embarrasing. Come on Harley Riders let me know, share the lore!
Sideways through time
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Supreme Being
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Last Login: 21st May 2009 15:43
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| Actually, while you've mentioned it, I had the pleasure of sitting on said Harley and found it curious that there were TWO gear levers. One on your toe, and one on your heel. Blenk, is for ease of changing or something? 'Tis a nice bike, very wide and very solid but not something I'd spend oodles of money on.
Yamaha FZS 600 Fazer ... in gold! Ride safe, and look out for the Rainbow of Death! There're only 3 kinds of people in the world, those who can count, and those that can't. Roses are red, Violets are Blue, I'm a schizophrenic ..... and so am I! Take pity on the man who invented the drawing board, when he screwed up, he had nothing to fall back on. Stuff everything, I've always got my bike.
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Forum Newbie
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Last Login: 25th November 2008 14:30
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As the fatboy is a softail they sit low and as the single shocker is underslung it will ground on a catseye I run a dyna streetbob and they are much better although they still tend to grind when two up. Its all part off the fun
Live Long and Fart Loudest
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Supreme Being
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Last Login: 15th July 2009 14:41
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| Hello Tubby, a wafer thin catseye at that. Took a colleague into work this morning so that I could get a pillion opinion, the 96 cubic inch motor certainly noticed Mr. Bison on the back, and lost several more kilos off the footboards. Definitely needs raised footies, the bike solo is nice and smooth (in a lumpy sort of way) but considering it's a large moto bicycle from a riders point of view it wasn't a pleasent experience with a fatbloke on board. (Sorry Bison, it's probably pure muscle).
Sideways through time
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Supreme Being
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Last Login: 16th May 2010 15:09
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| Still on the Harley? That's some dedication to the cause of road-testing, chap. I have to say I've only ever tried the 883 Sportster and didn't really get along with it - or it didn't get along with me. I did make a certain amount of effort to think the way I thought a cruiser rider would think, but it wasn't an unqualified success. It's really not what I personally look for as a rider, although I do like to look at well-turned out examples of the breed. And I might be swayed by the matt-black V-Rod on ultra-street-cred looks alone if anyone was generous enough to give one to me! That is a truly iconic piece of design work: wonder what they ride like - anyone know?
>> ex silens nox noctis <<
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Supreme Being
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Last Login: 15th July 2009 14:41
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| All in the call of duty old bean, I'm a biker, its a bike, beats sitting in a car some days. V-Rod And if anybody does know the answer to Mr.Endo's question, more to the point whats the ground clearance like, if memory serves me correct, they are evn lower and longer than the Fatboy
Sideways through time
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 23rd April 2009 00:16
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I've just recently become very interested in Buell, specifically the Ulysses XB12X. I like the firm's ethos (the trilogy of tech) and after reading Roadhoover's review I just had to go along to my local HD outlet to have a look for myself and I wasn't disappointed. The sales guy, Ian, has a Lightning and swears by them. He also has an R1 but never rides it these days because he has so much fun on the Buell and it wasn't just a sales pitch either not when I saw the fervent gleam in his eyes as he starting talking about his bike. Servicing costs aren't too bad at £250 ish but it is every 5K miles and there is no leeway on that because as usual it's tied into the warranty. As soon as I sat on the wide saddle I felt right at home and I could put both feet on the ground (with 29" insiders I usually only manage tiptoe of one foot) but what really surprised me was the feeling that I was part of the bike and not just perched on it and it was surprisngly light as I could rock it from side to side easily no doubt due to its low centre of gravity. I was told the new 2008 Thunderstorm engine has been significantly upgraded in respect of vibration isolation and management of the fuel injection system for a more responsive and enjoyable ride. As soon as I get the feeling back in my right leg (courtesy of a cellphone wielding white van p**t on a roundabout last week, no damage to my XT as my leg took the clip. Give the guy his due he did pull over at the next layby and apologised profusely for his stupidity) I shall book a test ride. I'll keep you posted as to how it goes.
"Kissing frogs makes you squirm, kissing tarmac makes you scream, stay upright."
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Supreme Being
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Last Login: 15th July 2009 14:41
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| I thought it was just me that noticed that look in Buell owner's eyes, you owe it to yourself to sling a leg over, they are a raving hoot, big grin bike, and as you say you read my review (Thanx It's cool to know it energised you into taking a closer look) you will notice that you can use all the power. I got offered a Ulysses last week to test but opted for the Fatboy. I reckon the Buells will all be similar as they look quite modular to me. That salesman with the gleam in his eye (as opposed to a fin on his back), ask him to write a review for the site, it would be interesting to hear an owner viewpoint (I only had a laugh on one for two weeks) especially as he ignores an R1 in the garage. Have heaps of fun old chap
Sideways through time
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Supreme Being
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Last Login: 15th July 2009 14:41
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| Well The Fatboy has been taken away from me, gonna put the review onsite as soon as 'The Bison' delivers the word from the pillion perch, but here's an excerpt to whet yo whistle etc. ........... In an anthology of stories, newspaper articles and columns cropped from the last fifty years of American bike culture ‘The Mammoth Book of Bikers’ starts with the Hollister ‘riots’ and ends with modern RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) investigations into alleged outlaw biker activity, it’s a rattling, startling and sometimes brutal book to read if all the accounts are true. The last piece by Bernard E. Rollin (doesn’t say when it was published) sums up the reason for the Fatboy and you could argue the majority of the archetypal Harley-Davidson range. The raked low, chromed look that is recognizable by young boys and grandma’s alike and so long as the company is still breathing will probably continue to produce it’s signature product, adapting only to the vagaries of global pollution laws, (that’s sound as well as emissions). I will summarise the lengthy article with excerpts here and there but unlike a politician’s sound bite I hope they will be relevant and related. it’s a piece about Motorcycles being art and why they are featured as such, what they stand for and what they mean to people, in this instance essentially Harley-Davidsons. ‘The motorcycle is an immortal cultural icon that changes with the times. More than speed it embodies the abstract themes of rebellion, progress, freedom, sex and danger. The limits imposed by its possible forms and functions and the breadth of variation that has been expressed within these limitations, provide a framework in which to examine the motorcycle both as object and as emblem of our century‘. After all the motorcycle pre-dated cars by twenty odd tears and aeroplanes by even longer, Harley Davidson were one of the first to build these means of ‘rapid singular transportation in America, and you can still see that heritage in their bikes today. ‘…on a motorcycle you are part of the world through which you speed, the wind in your face and hair, the bugs in your mouth and beard remind you constantly that you are speeding through the world, rather than as in an equally fast car a machine with you in it.’ Okay this is all a little romantic, I haven’t got much hair left personally and I’m sure a fair number of current and future owners are probably in the same boat, bearded or no, I wear a full face lid because I don’t like the taste of bugs, but you get the general idea............
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Forum Guru
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Last Login: 30th December 2008 07:04
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Right then.
I had the same trouble with my street bob to start with so I put the rear spring on max, so now I only ground when I take a fast right hander two up.
Took a little training to lean into corners just that bit earlier but well worth the effort to stop grinding my nut under the exhaust.
However, I sold my Street Bob yesterday and put in my order for a new FATBOY, with a free essentials kit (£900 worth) and a set of bags to keep my waterproofs in (had to pay for them) but got a good deal (only because they had a new silver one in the showroom and I wanted black, I like black)
So in a couple of weeks riding I will let you know about the clearance problem no doubt
Blenk
Riding with the rich folk
http://web.mac.com/blenk2/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html
New photos every week and a good tune to ride to.
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