Who Rides?

[Papa Van Smack]

Been looking at buying a bike......I kinda dig the Harley Soft-Tail Fatboy.....Same one Arnie rides in T2.

Who rides? I'm ignorant on all these things, what should I know? Look out for?

I know the fatboy's more of a cruiser....that's what i'm looking for....200mph is not in my blood.

 

[aeliop]

Been looking at buying a bike......I kinda dig the Harley Soft-Tail Fatboy.....Same one Arnie rides in T2.

Who rides? I'm ignorant on all these things, what should I know? Look out for?

I know the fatboy's more of a cruiser....that's what i'm looking for....200mph is not in my blood.

I have all kind of bikes for the last 20 years or so and the bike that I have now is by far and away the best all around bike that I have ever had. It is a 2005 Harley Police Road King. The Road King in itself is a great bike and I think the Police version is a little more heavy duty. It is very plain (suits me) White Bike with very few upgrades. I do have a Screaming Eagle Kit and I put a gas tank emblem circa 1950's Harley. The pipes are part of the Screaming Eagle Kit and are very quiet while idling (a good thing, especially for your neighbors) but has a nice sound when opened up on the road. Fuel injected, anti lock brakes, the bike will cruise very easily at 90 mph. A while back while in between cars I used it everyday for about 6 months 60 miles round trip. Great Bike and best of all I can load my wife Marilyn on the back and all of our stuff and we can pretty much go anywhere. Every year we have a blast at bike week.

 

[Dusty Hanshaw]

I have had a ton of bikes. What you want to look at is how long your rides will be and are you bringing a passenger. My two favorite bikes that I have had were my American Ironhorse pro street bike and my 2007 Harley Davidson Street Glide. These two bikes couldn't be more different. The street glide was so comfortable but the pro street was just bad ass looking. Evian was a bigger fan of the Ironhorse because she loved bar hoping and the way it felt to be on a factory custom.

I also always loved my Dad's HD Springer Soft Tail.

one thing that isn't good about the Fat Boy is that the factory rims are solid which means that you can get tossed around if you are ever caught in a wind storm.

 

[topfuel]

Here's what to look for.......

Been looking at buying a bike......I kinda dig the Harley Soft-Tail Fatboy.....Same one Arnie rides in T2.

Who rides? I'm ignorant on all these things, what should I know? Look out for?

I know the fatboy's more of a cruiser....that's what i'm looking for....200mph is not in my blood.

If you are looking for a good used Fatboy just keep the year no older than 2000. That was the first year of the Twin cam counter balanced motor. It is smoother and more powerful with better reliability. A little history about how the motorcycle got it's name. It was released originally in 1990. The colors were silver with a yellow stripe which went around the head spacer.These were the colors that were painted on the atomic bombs. It also had the military style logo on the tank. Harley took one name from each bomb we dropped on Japan back in WW2. One bombs name was Fat Man and the other was Little Boy. H-D combined the two words to come up with FATBOY. This was an obviuos move to slap the Japanese motorcycle manufactuers. I hope this helps.
Topfuel

 

[thebrick]

one thing that isn't good about the Fat Boy is that the factory rims are solid which means that you can get tossed around if you are ever caught in a wind storm.

I have a Fat Boy and I will def second that. + side is they are easy to clean

BTW, bought mine new as an '01 and its never given me a bit of problem. I still love the bike for cruising around town.

 

[aeliop]

I have a Fat Boy and I will def second that. + side is they are easy to clean

That is a nice looking bike brick

 

[mikeyt869]

If you are looking for a good used Fatboy just keep the year no older than 2000. That was the first year of the Twin cam counter balanced motor. It is smoother and more powerful with better reliability. A little history about how the motorcycle got it's name. It was released originally in 1990. The colors were silver with a yellow stripe which went around the head spacer.These were the colors that were painted on the atomic bombs. It also had the military style logo on the tank. Harley took one name from each bomb we dropped on Japan back in WW2. One bombs name was Fat Man and the other was Little Boy. H-D combined the two words to come up with FATBOY. This was an obviuos move to slap the Japanese motorcycle manufactuers. I hope this helps.
Topfuel

thats some really neat info thankyou for sharing that!

 

[knucklehed]

I ride daily this time of year

Guzzi V11 Naked

 

[MegatronsMuscle]

I ride a Triumph Thruxton and my wife rides a Triumph Bonneville.

We are really into the classic sportbike look and feel. Cafe Racers rule...

 

[ironwill]

here are our bikes, mine is the black fat-boy, it is pimped...11:1 compression, hi flow heads, intake and exhaust work, decompressors, lots and lots of power...going in for a sweet custom paint job, the ghostrider will be put on it....it will be the sam elliot pic of the skeleton riding the flaming iron horse...
The flaming low rider is countrychics ride, super tuned stage 2 forward controls, side shot pipes sweet ride, # 138 of 200 in the world....

 

[ironwill]

#2
and the harley solid rims dont blow you around, to much, i live in a windy ass province of alberta and mine has no issues....if you load up bags, and 2 people there isnt a bunch of surface area on the rims that will compare to what you have up top, top heavy on the bike....i giggle when i hear the comment about the rims, you will blow around a lot more up top loaded than rims will ever blow you around...Look at the driven sheave on back wheel, it almost covers internal of rim, also front disk brakes also cover most of the openings....old myth...im taking it to mythbusters

 

[Armageddon]

I like my Ninja ZX7R although its alittle older. Would like a new one and let my girl ride this. But economy says different.

 

[harleydude]

The road king, street glide, and fat boy are all great bikes. Another one similar to the fat bay with a little different look is the heritage classic. That is what I have been on for the last 7 years. Just switched over to an ultra classic. Loving that one too for different reasons. I always try to get anyone looking at a new bike to go to one of the demo rides and test out a few to see what fits best. Take your time and enjoy the process of picking out the best one for you. Good luck.

 

[Papa Van Smack]

what are your thoughts on new vs. used......i mean we're talking 8-10k difference......which isn't really that huge, but still a significat chunck of change to consider. what are some common problems to look out for on a used bike?

I was figuring going used since it's my first bike, if i love riding in 5 years and having a used bike bothers me, then i'd go for a new one.

 

[Power Juicer]

I ride a 2009 harley davidson streetbob

 

[pesty4077]

I have a Road King Custom. Anyone going to Bike Fest Oct 1, in Vegas, let me know!

 

[IcyChill]

dam lol, where all the sport bikes at? Im thinking about getting a sport bike, but due to my height and weight, 6'4'' 230lbs, a lot of the nice looking ones out there are for shorter people and have a weight limit of a little over 300 lbs. Which means me and a passenger on a bike= no fun

 

[mojo jojo]

dam lol, where all the sport bikes at? Im thinking about getting a sport bike, but due to my height and weight, 6'4'' 230lbs, a lot of the nice looking ones out there are for shorter people and have a weight limit of a little over 300 lbs. Which means me and a passenger on a bike= no fun

Honestly a sportbike with a passenger pretty much means no fun anyway.

I have an Yamaha R6 but it is a track only bike. I instruct with a group called NESBA. If any of you guys with sportbikes want to really learn how to ride them you should check them out at NESBA.com. It is a non profit organization and a volunteer gig for me so I am not trying to make money on giving them a shout out.

I gave up on riding public roads years ago. When riding a sportbike on public roads I am either A) Not having any fun or B) Doing something stupid.

 

[railslave]

id love to get a can-am spider

 

[iceman1961]

New or used?

Personally now a days I wud neva pay da price for a new bike!
Not too many years back u payed as much or more for used compared to new! All depended on demand an time of year. I've had 5 bikes all Harleys from 1200 sporty fatboy an a Heritage an I never sold one for less than I payed for it,but, those days are gone I'm afraid an u can get some really good deals on some really nice late model bikes that r just outta the breakin in stage. If ya really wanna save,wait till winter. Just my 2 peace