Motorcycle users group, seriously !

[Whippet]

To pile on the agony with the Harley debate:

Prior to 2010 I had a race bike, VFR750 and a Norton Commando. The race bike made me realise that a sports bike can never really be ridden properly on the road ( and live ), while the Norton was fun on country B roads but coated my boot with oil. I test rode a Harley Road King to get the classic vibe but with the oil staying in the engine. First thing I noticed after pulling out of the dealers was a group of girls giggling and waving as I went past - this never happened on my VFR. For 24 hours after the test ride I was giggling to myself, the bike was so over the top, it was hilarious. I therefore bought it. Very soon I changed to an open faced lid as often when I parked up in towns I would have little old ladies coming up to me for a chat. In practical terms the bike is a great tourer, extremely comfortable and very relaxed to ride. I’ve done 25k miles on it.

[Hobbs1951]

To pile on the agony with the Harley debate:

Prior to 2010 I had a race bike, VFR750 and a Norton Commando. The race bike made me realise that a sports bike can never really be ridden properly on the road ( and live ), while the Norton was fun on country B roads but coated my boot with oil. I test rode a Harley Road King to get the classic vibe but with the oil staying in the engine. First thing I noticed after pulling out of the dealers was a group of girls giggling and waving as I went past - this never happened on my VFR. For 24 hours after the test ride I was giggling to myself, the bike was so over the top, it was hilarious. I therefore bought it. Very soon I changed to an open faced lid as often when I parked up in towns I would have little old ladies coming up to me for a chat. In practical terms the bike is a great tourer, extremely comfortable and very relaxed to ride. I’ve done 25k miles on it.

The comment about oil staying in the engine is so out of date. However the Road King, like many other H-D models is a parody motorcycle (imo) which is why I ride a Dyna...the Road King (as mentioned like a number of their models) is even regarded by H-D dealers* as a bit of a posers bike !

Ok you've done 25k in 8 years so respect for that.

John.

*having worked for H-D (not a dealer I add), I feel qualified to hold an opinion.

[pete75]

Must admit Harleys have never really had any appeal except for a brief period after I first saw Easy Rider. Cured when I was offered a BSA Rocket Goldstar for £115. It had even been fitted with Norton Roadholder forks so cornered almost as well as a featherbed.
From what I've heard in 1953 the Vincent Black Shadow had a much more advanced engine design than the Harley V Twin and in 2018 the Vincent still has a more advanced engine design than the current big Harleys - well apart from those with the Porsche designed engine.

[landsurfer]

Picked my New (to me ) Royal Enfield Himalayan up from the dealers in Macclesfield this morning and rode home through the Peak District, in the snow and into a raging head wind ..... bliss

[Hobbs1951]

From what I've heard in 1953 the Vincent Black Shadow had a much more advanced engine design than the Harley V Twin and in 2018 the Vincent still has a more advanced engine design than the current big Harleys - well apart from those with the Porsche designed engine.

Why might that be ?

John.

[tatanab]

Picked my New (to me ) Royal Enfield Himalayan up from the dealers in Macclesfield this morning and rode home through the Peak District, in the snow and into a raging head wind ..... bliss

When I collected my brand new Ducati Monster in February 1994 I rode home in snow, on a bike with disc brakes that I'd never used before, with gear change on the wrong side for me, and with radial tyres which I'd never ridden before. The tyres were Michelin and like blocks of wood. I soon chnaged them for Pirelli Dragons which transformed the bike even to a grade a wimp like me. I found the hydraulic clutch a bit wearisome after 2 hours being used to the light action of my old cable clutches. It also suffered a bit from carb icing, which is quite exciting. The reason I bought it was because I wanted something modern, but not too modern. Enfield- the new iteration of Continental GT quite appeals to me.

[Whippet]

Picked my New (to me ) Royal Enfield Himalayan up from the dealers in Macclesfield this morning and rode home through the Peak District, in the snow and into a raging head wind ..... bliss

Enjoy your new bike. They have a real classic feel to them don’t they? PS I imagine your currently washing the salt of it and spraying it with WD40

[pete75]

From what I've heard in 1953 the Vincent Black Shadow had a much more advanced engine design than the Harley V Twin and in 2018 the Vincent still has a more advanced engine design than the current big Harleys - well apart from those with the Porsche designed engine.

Why might that be ?

John.

Why might what be?

[100%JR]

Interesting opinion but they all sound the same...ie "agricultural".

If you've only ridden an H-D with an Evo engine (which Sportsters have - to keep prices low) then I can understand your comment/experience. Mine has the Twin Cam 88* (1450cc) and is a Dyna (rubber mounted in the frame) and is light years apart from the Evo motor - it's a V of course but smoother (not smooth though, it has character).
In addition another nice H-D product I had was a Buell M2 Cyclone - tuned 1200 Sportster motor.

Interesting your comment about the K75 - I think they're a little unrefined (and bland to boot) !
John.

I'm not just red-circling Harleys..all V-twins sound "agricultral".Even Ducatis.
You'll never convince me re HDs or any other V-engined bike!
I owned the K75 over 20 years ago and although not anywhere near as good as any Japanese bike i owned it was good for what I used it for.

I thought the K75 was an horrific bike - didn't it have 90 degree crank?

I didn't say it was a good bike by any means but for the purpose in hand,ie Despatch riding,it just worked.Apart from oil,tyres and pads I never touched it in over 300K.At that time the Honda CX500 was the weapon of choice for most long-haul couriers but the K75 was fully-faired with panniers and just better suited IMO.I could also park it anywhere without fear of it being nicked

[bigjim]

The beauty of the BMs was the ful fairing on many of them though it did channel a lot of noise to the rider. I always hated being out in the inclement English weather on a motorbike. Especially on motorways. i added Vetter fairings to my Suzuki GS 850s. IMO, the Suzy's were a much better touring bike than the Beemers in the 80s. Smoother more powerful engine and the gearbox was a delight. Regarding Harleys. Didn't the Indian name reappear a few years ago?

[pete75]

The beauty of the BMs was the ful fairing on many of them though it did channel a lot of noise to the rider. I always hated being out in the inclement English weather on a motorbike. Especially on motorways. i added Vetter fairings to my Suzuki GS 850s. IMO, the Suzy's were a much better touring bike than the Beemers in the 80s. Smoother more powerful engine and the gearbox was a delight. Regarding Harleys. Didn't the Indian name reappear a few years ago?

Mnay think BMW were the first to take wind tunnel designed weather protection seriously with the fairing on the RS100. However Royal Enfield beat them to it by about 20 years with their AIrflow fairings developed in conjunction with the Bristol aircraft company. They were available as an option on most of their bikes and on something like the Constellation increased top speed by 5 mph and reduced fuel consumption by around 5 mpg. The Ariel Leader was a brave attempt at the same sort of thing but was a little too radical to sell in large numbers so was outsold by the naked, sportier looking Arrow.
Indians are now in full scale production. Some are styled on the old Indian Chief and even have engines dressed up to look like side valves though valves are upstairs.

[100%JR]

The beauty of the BMs was the ful fairing on many of them though it did channel a lot of noise to the rider. I always hated being out in the inclement English weather on a motorbike. Especially on motorways

As well as the bomb-proof engine this was another reason for it being ideal for Despatch riding.I was out in all weathers,could do 10/12/14/16 hour days up and down the M1.90% of our work was taking stuff from Sheffield to London but in general we covered the entire UK.
Longest day I had was Sheffield to London then on return to Sheffield I was sent to Aberdeen,I arrived in Aberdeen at around 18:30.It was horrible and wet all day.I'd already had over 10 hours on the bike then I had to ride home It was miserable on the K75...I hate to think what it would have been like on it's predecessor a GPz750

[bigjim]

i was a despatch rider for a while. My steeds were a Divi 600 and a CX500. Nothing bad to say about either bike but would have liked a full fairing at times.

[hondated]

Enjoying reading this thread and it might of f motivated me if it stays dry to get out in the GS rather than my Roberts later this week. This thread is also proving to me that the animosity that exists between some motorcyclists and cyclists is totally unnecessary. After all surely two wheels are best, aren't they

[Cyril Haearn]

Enjoying reading this thread and it might of f motivated me if it stays dry to get out in the GS rather than my Roberts later this week. This thread is also proving to me that the animosity that exists between some motorcyclists and cyclists is totally unnecessary. After all surely two wheels are best, aren't they

One wheel is good too, or two saddles
There are so few motorcyclists now, one is rarely troubled by them