Re: Are they any decent motorcycle newsgroups?

 


Yep.  Rec.motorcycles.harley.  But, too bad...  You don't ride a
Harley!

As with here, racist trolls try to establish a presence there once in
awhile, but the folks in RMH are a pretty disciplined bunch.  Nobody
responds to them (and if anyone does, he gets shit for it), so the
trolls soon tire and don't return.

Things we could learn from them...

 


I think can.rec.motorcycles is a good NG.

If all the Canuckistanis would use that instead of reeky, the rest of
the usual suspects would follow them over there.

And trolls wouldn't find them there, so they could have their suckfest
undisturbed.

 




Speaking of H-D:  A buddy of mine has two Harleys.  One is a 1999 Heritage
Classic Springer (or something like that) and the other one is a 2008 Road
King Ultra Classic (or something like that) with fairings, bags, trunk, etc.
I have sat on both of them and they both seem to be too small- they are very
cramped and I do not think I would be comfortable on them.  Compared to my
Kawasaki MeanStreak, these two H-Ds just don't seem all that comfortable.
The Springer is stone stock, but the RoadKing has a Mustang seat.

Are all H-Ds like this, or is there a model that would be better suited for
a larger guy?  My buddy never complains- he and I are very similar size and
build.  We are both 6'-3" and ~300 pounds.

I sat on a few Victories (don't remember what models) and don't remember
them being so small.  What gives here?

Any advice or thoughts?  I am finding that I am too old for the MeanStreak,
and I need something with a real passenger seat and some saddle bags, so I
am thinking about trading one of these days.

THANKS.

 

On Sun, 25 Apr 2010 17:05:28 -0500, "Oscar_Lives"


When I first bought my Road King I too found it a little cramped. I
had been riding a Venture which is darn near a perfect fit for me.
Lots of leg room.

One thing about HD's is that there is a wide variety of accessories
available for them. Some of those accessories can be used to modify
the ergonomics of the bike. In  my case I swapped out the stock seat
for a comfort stitch c/w a driver backrest, added front pegs to the
engine guards and installed floorboard extenders [1]. After that the
RK was almost as comfortable as the Venture.

After a few modifications I can ride the RK from sun up to sun down
without being bent like a pretzel or spending the rest of the evening
in pain.. If you decide on an HD my guess is you will be able to make
it a good fit for you. It will cost a few bucks though.

[1] I have taken the extenders off again. With the boards extended I
found I was scraping them far too often while cornering.

 


I'm 6' 3" as well (although a lot lighter).  I also find the Ultras
and Road Kings a little cramped for my size.  As a stock machine, the
best bike for tall guys like us is definitely the Road Glide.  As it
comes from the factory, it seats the rider further back.  I've ridden
mine for 12 years and over 200,000 kms, many, many long days and it's
perfectly comfortable.  I never even changed from the stock seat.

A friend of mine recently bought a Road King.  He's 6' 7" and, like
Calgary says, HD has so many accessories you can make the bike suit
almost anyone.  He reports he's comfortable, but he had a tall-boy
seat and taller handlebars put on it to achieve that.

For my second bike I ride a Street Bob.  Again, I found the stock seat
perfect, but I couldn't stand the mid-controls, so I bought a set of
Kuryachin forward controls for it; the extended ones.  Perfection.  As
with the Road Glide, I can sit on that bike all day without getting
tired - even though it's never had a windshield on it.

My wife has a Softail Custom that comes equipped with forward
controls.  Way too cramped for me.  If it was mine, I would put
something on that I could stretch my feet out on.  Then it would be a
good ride for me.

Some people frown on forward controls, but I like 'em; especially for
highway riding.