Well I did it....... - Motorcycle-Journal Forums

Dave Nadeau · 09-08-2007, 04:11 PM

Well I did it!! I am joining the DARK SIDE, so to speak. I ordered a 08 Electra Glide Classic.. in black.

It will be at the dealer on November 7 to the 15th. Only option is security system. If I need any of the other stuff that is on a Ultra I'll put it on later. I might do GPS and Cruise control.
Really liked the C50 but its just to small for me and the Mrs. I wanted more room for my stuff.. I HATED having to bring it in to have the valves adjusted. I did it once and now again this week. Just a PIA if you know what I mean. I have done 16000 miles in 16 months and I use it to commute also...
I had concidered the Goldwing but the wife and I have a thing about American made. I did not like the seating possition for the rider. We took and hour yesterday on a pewter Classic and I hit every bump I could see to compair it to the C50. The torque was assume. Wifey thought that the ride is much better.
I think that my daughter and her husband will buy the C50 off me so they can get into riding. Great bike for them.

The deal was ok....msrp and they eat the shipping and the setup. 1000 check for free but I heard that that was included anyway. I know some dealers around my way charge exta for it. Plus 2 hours free labor on any accesories we buy off the dealer and and they install. 9 weeks and counting!!!

St0nkingByte · 09-08-2007, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Nadeau

I had concidered the Goldwing but the wife and I have a thing about American made.

Just FYI GoldWings are made in Ohio since 1979.

Honda of America Mfg. Inc. - Detecting Flash

Honda of America Mfg., Inc. - Marysville Motorcycle Plant

Quote:

Location: Marysville, Ohio

Started Production: September 1979

Plant Size: 260,000 square feet

Capital Investment: $165 million

Associates: 600

Photo of Marysville Motorcycle Plant

Models in Production:
#
Gold Wing 1800
#
VTX 1800 V-Twin Cruiser
#
VTX 1300 V-Twin Cruiser

Dave Nadeau · 09-08-2007, 05:05 PM

Yes I know BUT the money still in my opinion goes back to main land Japan....They don't build them here out of the good graces of thier heart.

GregR1 · 09-08-2007, 06:47 PM

cool! i'll likely join the HD group next year - something from the Dyna or Softail range.

Atlas68 · 09-08-2007, 07:18 PM

Great bike Dave.

You and the missus will be riding in comfort and style. As you know, the '07 served my wife and I well. Keep safe and enjoy you two.

NA7A · 09-08-2007, 11:36 PM

Congrats Dave.

Man, having to wait until Nov is going to be hard!!!

Black is a nice color on the bike and the chrome really stands out.

That's great you and the wife ride togeather a lot, the EG will really make you both feel more comfortable and wanting to go on longer rides. Don't get me wrong, the C50 is a nice ride too but like you said, room and power really are handy when your ready for a change.

Well at least now you can spend the time reading up on the bike and all the options you wish to add later. You might want to search out a forum or specific section of a forum just for EG's so you can get to know it better from others who own them.

Keep us all up to date.

Rickster · 09-08-2007, 11:42 PM

Bwahahaha. Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated.

650Doug · 09-09-2007, 05:45 AM

FWIW I'll apologize in advance. This is in no way any kind of "flame", but the voices in my head a forcing me to ask the question that's begging for an answer....

If you have a thing for "American Made", why is your current bike a Suzuki? Suzuki was born in the same Japan that Honda was....

Why not say something like, "after careful consideration, I bought the HD because it's the one I like"?

Dave Nadeau · 09-09-2007, 09:08 AM

650Doug,
Really no apology is needed...I bought the Suzuki because I was returning to riding after a 30 years away from it. I did not want to buy an bigger and more expensive machine if my wife was not going to ride it with me. She's a Nurse and refused to ride. She has seen too many Squids in the ICUs years ago. AFTER I did the humble begging thing and she tried it she found out that she loves it as much as I do. So now we are at an age where the kids are on thier own and we have the time to ride. I wanted to take her greater distances and see different things. 400 miles on the C50 is a little cramped. The C50 is a nice machine but for the ride and comfort it really not the same. Just think Honda Civic vs a Town Car. Just the old man in me I guess.
What do you ride any way? Its not in your profile.

DrBob · 09-09-2007, 09:13 AM

Congrats on the new Electra Glide. You will LOVE it!

Fishpart · 09-09-2007, 09:19 AM

Welcome to the Dark side, I love my Electra Glide, man it ride awesome! 14,000 in the last 11 months!

MoonRunner · 09-11-2007, 04:03 PM

Congrats Dave, you will love it. I picked up my 06 Ultra Glide from the dealer 2 years ago this week and and rolled over 26,800 miles last weekend while in Yellowstone Park. I expect to get many more miles of smiles as I'm sure you will as well.

You are really going to enjoy that new 6 speed trans. I have one on my 08 Road King and it makes cruising at highway speeds very relaxed. They do run very warm at city speeds. When you break that puppy in, do it in cool weather and get it out of traffic where you can allow for cooling deceleration cycles as well as the normal heat produced running up the gears. I hope you get some great riding weather for when you pick it up.

Dave Nadeau · 09-12-2007, 10:51 AM

Thanks, I hope to ride all winter IF we get a mild winter like last years. I am good down to 25 deg. with just my gear and windshield. The HD fairing might make it even better. At least when I stop at a light I'll get engine heat!!
When I ordered it I thought 8 weeks wait.. I can handle that...Now I am pulling my hair out. Longest dam 8 weeks since I was getting out of the Navy 40 years ago. Dam...LOL

**intimid8er** · 09-12-2007, 11:18 AM

Good on you Dave! Congrats!

Now.....if you have any notions of having good nights of sleep in the next several weeks....Haaaaa-haaaa-haaaaaaaa!

It'll remind you of when you wanted that Red Ryder B-B gun for Christmas, and you were sure you were gonna get it.

MoonRunner · 09-12-2007, 11:29 AM

meant to edit not quote. OOPS!

Dave Nadeau · 09-12-2007, 12:27 PM

Hey Tim,
Just wondering but on your 08 RK what kind of mileage are you getting? I see in the catoloug they changed it milage from 45 on the 07 to 54 on the 08. Might be the primary gearing etc..... With all the Harleys what do you do with the GW or is it your resident garage princsess. LOL

Rickster · 09-12-2007, 01:08 PM

Dave, I get 45 on my 06 RK, except when I was in the mountains, than it goes up to around 50. On one tank, I got 53.

MoonRunner · 09-12-2007, 03:22 PM

I must ride my machines abit harder than rickster. The 08 has got about 42 mpg every fill-up so far but that's only about four anyway to date. The 06 RK Custom got 40 pretty consistently but it had a Doherty power pacc intake, Sampson slip-ons and a Power Commander IIIusb. The SE Ultra only gets 37 on the average day, 39 on a great day. The SE also has the Doherty power Pacc, a D&D 2 into 1 exhaust and the SE race tuner. Now, the Gold wing can run all day at 75-80 and still get 42 mpg. And I have no garage queens except maybe my Hyundai Tucson with only 6800 miles in the past 2 years. The RK Custom I just traded on the 08 RK Standard picked up a respectable 6000 miles in the 13 months I had it. I would not likely have traded it but the factory lowered suspension on the custom model just literally beat me up on the rough roads we have in MT and I was given a pretty good deal offer at the dealer to trade. The GW has over 5000 miles since purchase late last September (5000 in a year is well above average for Montana). And when you consider the miles on those bikes are in addition to the 26,800+ put on the Ultra in The past 2 years as of this week, I wouldn't consider any of them garage queens. I'd ride more but I work 40 hours a week and have only had 5 weeks vacation total in the past 3 years. I'll work on getting some more ride time in.
Oh yeah the gearing in the 08 is higher, similar to an overdrive. You really can't use 6th unless you are doing about 60 or so. I think HD says 55 on level terrain.

GregR1 · 09-12-2007, 03:27 PM

just out of curiosity, how are the HD transmissions for handling a bit of mild abuse and skipping gears (on purpose)? i mean, if you're loading along in 6th but need to pass or go up a hill, will it happily come down to 3rd or 4th and let you pour on the juice?

MoonRunner · 09-12-2007, 04:04 PM

To be honest with you I have never had to downshift more than one gear to pass any one and normally don't downshift at all. I too was a bit curious about how much torque the new 6 speed could get to the road but rode my RK up a fairly steep incline starting at around 4400 feet right up to 6300 feet in six gear at 70 mph and was able to accelerate some at any point along the way. In any normal passing situation I seldom find the need to downshift any of my bikes in order to get the job done in plenty of time.
Now that being said; I do weigh 250 in leathers and the wife an undisclosed amount above her High School years so when two-up there are times when a single downshift is warranted due to a short passing lane or when the cager idiot decides to speed up while I'm pulling out to pass. Harleys best torque range is at the lower to mid rpm (2500-3800) so downshifting two gears would be overkill. Now on the GW, peak torque is somewhere above 4000 rpm I would guess but on my SE103 it is at under 3500. On the new 96ci max torque is down around 3000 rpm stock.

09-08-2007, 04:11 PM	#1 (permalink)
Dave Nadeau TurtleWax Taster Joined: Mar 2006 Bike: 08 ElectraGlide ( IN Vivid Black)!!!!!!!!!! Location: Bridgewater, Ma Posts: 577	Well I did it....... Well I did it!! I am joining the DARK SIDE, so to speak. I ordered a 08 Electra Glide Classic.. in black. It will be at the dealer on November 7 to the 15th. Only option is security system. If I need any of the other stuff that is on a Ultra I'll put it on later. I might do GPS and Cruise control. Really liked the C50 but its just to small for me and the Mrs. I wanted more room for my stuff.. I HATED having to bring it in to have the valves adjusted. I did it once and now again this week. Just a PIA if you know what I mean. I have done 16000 miles in 16 months and I use it to commute also... I had concidered the Goldwing but the wife and I have a thing about American made. I did not like the seating possition for the rider. We took and hour yesterday on a pewter Classic and I hit every bump I could see to compair it to the C50. The torque was assume. Wifey thought that the ride is much better. I think that my daughter and her husband will buy the C50 off me so they can get into riding. Great bike for them. The deal was ok....msrp and they eat the shipping and the setup. 1000 check for free but I heard that that was included anyway. I know some dealers around my way charge exta for it. Plus 2 hours free labor on any accesories we buy off the dealer and and they install. 9 weeks and counting!!! __________________ The faster I go the behinder I get..... US Navy 68-72 Amphibs, Little Creek, Va. "The Old Man" Last edited by Dave Nadeau; 09-08-2007 at 04:23 PM.

09-08-2007, 05:05 PM	#3 (permalink)
Dave Nadeau TurtleWax Taster Joined: Mar 2006 Bike: 08 ElectraGlide ( IN Vivid Black)!!!!!!!!!! Location: Bridgewater, Ma Posts: 577	Yes I know BUT the money still in my opinion goes back to main land Japan....They don't build them here out of the good graces of thier heart. __________________ The faster I go the behinder I get..... US Navy 68-72 Amphibs, Little Creek, Va. "The Old Man"

09-08-2007, 07:18 PM	#5 (permalink)
Atlas68 Sit speling cheker Joined: Jan 2006 Bike: 2006 Blue M50 SOLD '05 Anniversary Edition VMax Location: Vancouver B.C. Canada Posts: 1,675	Great bike Dave. You and the missus will be riding in comfort and style. As you know, the '07 served my wife and I well. Keep safe and enjoy you two. __________________ Rudeness is a weak man's imitation of strength. Cobra Slashcuts Fender Hugger Wire Rack ISO Grips w/ Throttle Boss Billet Sissybar Carbon Tank Bra Mini Floorboards Heel Toe Shifter

09-08-2007, 11:42 PM	#7 (permalink)
Rickster Bridal Boutique Manager Joined: Oct 2005 Location: St Paul Mn Posts: 2,909	Bwahahaha. Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated. __________________ Ever notice that the person telling you to calm down, is the same one that got you worked up in the first place. 2008 1250 Bandit ABS 2008 DR 650 2006 HD Road King 2005 DL1000 V Strom (sold) 2004 Twin Peaks 700 2003 KTM 525 EX/C (for sale) 2005 Santa Cruz Heckler

09-09-2007, 09:08 AM	#9 (permalink)
Dave Nadeau TurtleWax Taster Joined: Mar 2006 Bike: 08 ElectraGlide ( IN Vivid Black)!!!!!!!!!! Location: Bridgewater, Ma Posts: 577	650Doug, Really no apology is needed...I bought the Suzuki because I was returning to riding after a 30 years away from it. I did not want to buy an bigger and more expensive machine if my wife was not going to ride it with me. She's a Nurse and refused to ride. She has seen too many Squids in the ICUs years ago. AFTER I did the humble begging thing and she tried it she found out that she loves it as much as I do. So now we are at an age where the kids are on thier own and we have the time to ride. I wanted to take her greater distances and see different things. 400 miles on the C50 is a little cramped. The C50 is a nice machine but for the ride and comfort it really not the same. Just think Honda Civic vs a Town Car. Just the old man in me I guess. What do you ride any way? Its not in your profile. __________________ The faster I go the behinder I get..... US Navy 68-72 Amphibs, Little Creek, Va. "The Old Man" Last edited by Dave Nadeau; 09-09-2007 at 09:16 AM.

09-08-2007, 06:47 PM	#4 (permalink)
GregR1 ... Joined: Mar 2007 Posts: 2,308	cool! i'll likely join the HD group next year - something from the Dyna or Softail range.

09-08-2007, 11:36 PM	#6 (permalink)
NA7A Clunked into first gear Joined: Sep 2005 Bike: 07 HD Sportster 1200C, 05 Suzuki M50 (sold) Location: Oregon Posts: 220	Congrats Dave. Man, having to wait until Nov is going to be hard!!! Black is a nice color on the bike and the chrome really stands out. That's great you and the wife ride togeather a lot, the EG will really make you both feel more comfortable and wanting to go on longer rides. Don't get me wrong, the C50 is a nice ride too but like you said, room and power really are handy when your ready for a change. Well at least now you can spend the time reading up on the bike and all the options you wish to add later. You might want to search out a forum or specific section of a forum just for EG's so you can get to know it better from others who own them. Keep us all up to date.

09-09-2007, 05:45 AM	#8 (permalink)
650Doug Third gear and cruising Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 459	FWIW I'll apologize in advance. This is in no way any kind of "flame", but the voices in my head a forcing me to ask the question that's begging for an answer.... If you have a thing for "American Made", why is your current bike a Suzuki? Suzuki was born in the same Japan that Honda was.... Why not say something like, "after careful consideration, I bought the HD because it's the one I like"?

09-09-2007, 09:13 AM	#10 (permalink)
DrBob In The Zone Joined: May 2004 Bike: several Location: Decatur, GA Posts: 2,591	Congrats on the new Electra Glide. You will LOVE it! __________________ Dream like you'll live forever, live like you'll die tomorrow. You MUST obey the pug dog!

09-09-2007, 09:19 AM	#11 (permalink)
Fishpart Fourth gear and illegal Joined: Apr 2005 Bike: 2007 Harley Davidson Electa Glide Location: York, Pa Posts: 758	Welcome to the Dark side, I love my Electra Glide, man it ride awesome! 14,000 in the last 11 months!

09-11-2007, 04:03 PM	#12 (permalink)
MoonRunner Seat Tester Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 59	Congrats Dave, you will love it. I picked up my 06 Ultra Glide from the dealer 2 years ago this week and and rolled over 26,800 miles last weekend while in Yellowstone Park. I expect to get many more miles of smiles as I'm sure you will as well. You are really going to enjoy that new 6 speed trans. I have one on my 08 Road King and it makes cruising at highway speeds very relaxed. They do run very warm at city speeds. When you break that puppy in, do it in cool weather and get it out of traffic where you can allow for cooling deceleration cycles as well as the normal heat produced running up the gears. I hope you get some great riding weather for when you pick it up. Last edited by MoonRunner; 09-12-2007 at 11:32 AM. Reason: correct the mileage number

09-12-2007, 10:51 AM	#13 (permalink)
Dave Nadeau TurtleWax Taster Joined: Mar 2006 Bike: 08 ElectraGlide ( IN Vivid Black)!!!!!!!!!! Location: Bridgewater, Ma Posts: 577	Thanks, I hope to ride all winter IF we get a mild winter like last years. I am good down to 25 deg. with just my gear and windshield. The HD fairing might make it even better. At least when I stop at a light I'll get engine heat!! When I ordered it I thought 8 weeks wait.. I can handle that...Now I am pulling my hair out. Longest dam 8 weeks since I was getting out of the Navy 40 years ago. Dam...LOL __________________ The faster I go the behinder I get..... US Navy 68-72 Amphibs, Little Creek, Va. "The Old Man"

09-12-2007, 11:18 AM	#14 (permalink)
intimid8er It's A Conspiracy Joined: May 2005 Bike: '06 XB12X Location: 27 44'17.07" N 82 45'20.16" W Sharkbait Posts: 9,324	Good on you Dave! Congrats! Now.....if you have any notions of having good nights of sleep in the next several weeks....Haaaaa-haaaa-haaaaaaaa! It'll remind you of when you wanted that Red Ryder B-B gun for Christmas, and you were sure you were gonna get it. __________________ Song Pick of the Week 08/06 Warren Zevon - Lawyers, Guns, and Money Ever wonder if the Hokey-Pokey is what it's all about? I'm not foul mouthed. I just like to use the eff word. A LOT!

09-12-2007, 11:29 AM	#15 (permalink)
MoonRunner Seat Tester Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 59	meant to edit not quote. OOPS!

09-12-2007, 12:27 PM	#16 (permalink)
Dave Nadeau TurtleWax Taster Joined: Mar 2006 Bike: 08 ElectraGlide ( IN Vivid Black)!!!!!!!!!! Location: Bridgewater, Ma Posts: 577	Hey Tim, Just wondering but on your 08 RK what kind of mileage are you getting? I see in the catoloug they changed it milage from 45 on the 07 to 54 on the 08. Might be the primary gearing etc..... With all the Harleys what do you do with the GW or is it your resident garage princsess. LOL __________________ The faster I go the behinder I get..... US Navy 68-72 Amphibs, Little Creek, Va. "The Old Man"

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09-12-2007, 01:08 PM	#17 (permalink)
Rickster Bridal Boutique Manager Joined: Oct 2005 Location: St Paul Mn Posts: 2,909	Dave, I get 45 on my 06 RK, except when I was in the mountains, than it goes up to around 50. On one tank, I got 53. __________________ Ever notice that the person telling you to calm down, is the same one that got you worked up in the first place. 2008 1250 Bandit ABS 2008 DR 650 2006 HD Road King 2005 DL1000 V Strom (sold) 2004 Twin Peaks 700 2003 KTM 525 EX/C (for sale) 2005 Santa Cruz Heckler

09-12-2007, 03:22 PM	#18 (permalink)
MoonRunner Seat Tester Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 59	I must ride my machines abit harder than rickster. The 08 has got about 42 mpg every fill-up so far but that's only about four anyway to date. The 06 RK Custom got 40 pretty consistently but it had a Doherty power pacc intake, Sampson slip-ons and a Power Commander IIIusb. The SE Ultra only gets 37 on the average day, 39 on a great day. The SE also has the Doherty power Pacc, a D&D 2 into 1 exhaust and the SE race tuner. Now, the Gold wing can run all day at 75-80 and still get 42 mpg. And I have no garage queens except maybe my Hyundai Tucson with only 6800 miles in the past 2 years. The RK Custom I just traded on the 08 RK Standard picked up a respectable 6000 miles in the 13 months I had it. I would not likely have traded it but the factory lowered suspension on the custom model just literally beat me up on the rough roads we have in MT and I was given a pretty good deal offer at the dealer to trade. The GW has over 5000 miles since purchase late last September (5000 in a year is well above average for Montana). And when you consider the miles on those bikes are in addition to the 26,800+ put on the Ultra in The past 2 years as of this week, I wouldn't consider any of them garage queens. I'd ride more but I work 40 hours a week and have only had 5 weeks vacation total in the past 3 years. I'll work on getting some more ride time in. Oh yeah the gearing in the 08 is higher, similar to an overdrive. You really can't use 6th unless you are doing about 60 or so. I think HD says 55 on level terrain.

09-12-2007, 03:27 PM	#19 (permalink)
GregR1 ... Joined: Mar 2007 Posts: 2,308	just out of curiosity, how are the HD transmissions for handling a bit of mild abuse and skipping gears (on purpose)? i mean, if you're loading along in 6th but need to pass or go up a hill, will it happily come down to 3rd or 4th and let you pour on the juice?

09-12-2007, 04:04 PM	#20 (permalink)
MoonRunner Seat Tester Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 59	To be honest with you I have never had to downshift more than one gear to pass any one and normally don't downshift at all. I too was a bit curious about how much torque the new 6 speed could get to the road but rode my RK up a fairly steep incline starting at around 4400 feet right up to 6300 feet in six gear at 70 mph and was able to accelerate some at any point along the way. In any normal passing situation I seldom find the need to downshift any of my bikes in order to get the job done in plenty of time. Now that being said; I do weigh 250 in leathers and the wife an undisclosed amount above her High School years so when two-up there are times when a single downshift is warranted due to a short passing lane or when the cager idiot decides to speed up while I'm pulling out to pass. Harleys best torque range is at the lower to mid rpm (2500-3800) so downshifting two gears would be overkill. Now on the GW, peak torque is somewhere above 4000 rpm I would guess but on my SE103 it is at under 3500. On the new 96ci max torque is down around 3000 rpm stock.