I arrived at Toys For Big Boys (HD/Honda Dealer) at 8:30am. The demos were to start at 9. There was a heavy mist in the air so when the staff showed up they decided to wait to see if the weather would clear. I sat down and chatted with a salesman I know for a while and found out that as soon as they unload the bikes they (HD/Buell Canada) charge the dealership $2000. It sprinkled on and off for the next hour and a half, then they decided to unload at 10:30. Sixteen bikes in all including 3 Buells. I was second in line for registration and signed up for the V-Rod (first guy got the V-rod Street rod).
After another hour of testing air pressure, general inspection and gassing up the bikes, I was straddling a future American Classic. I really like the ergomics of this bike. Feet forward and stretched out. Bars low and not too wide, speedo, tach, and gas guage on the bars, nice, comfortable seat.
The Ride - WOW, no wonder it took them something like six years to develope this bike. Smooth shifting, good front brakes, back brakes were ok, but I didn't like the toe up position to get to the brake pedal. This bike would go in any gear and had a really nice low growl whenever you opened the throttle up. It was a very enjoyable 30 minutes.
I then went to the registration table to see if the second ride was full and they said they had a couple of bikes left so I chose the Dyna Wide Glide.
This bike was different than any thing I've been on (which hasn't been much). It had a really nice seat and the feet controls were also stretched out too, but much more upright than the V-rod. Handlebars were apehangers and I felt like Dennis Hopper on this bike. I actually broke into "Born To be Wild" when I rode this beast.
The ride - This bike had more of the Harley vibration I had heard about. For the first few hundred yards we went quite slow so that everyone got out of the parking lot together, and my feet got numb. Once we got up to speed it wasn't so bad. It was a very comfortable ride and the 1450 cc engine responded quickly to an throttle roll I gave it. I do not like the tank mounted speedo, which some, if not all of the Boulevards have. It's seems to far to look and is not what I'm used to.
In conclusion, I did love both Harleys I rode. I would like the V-rod for solo rides and the Dyna would be great for my wife and I to do some long distance.
Thanks for reading. Next up - Honda demo day June 30. I love the look of that naked 599 sportbike. It reminds me of the naked SV.
Dyna Wide Glide
V-Rod
(I think the guy I got to take the pic was drunk)
