Yesterday I decide to try out a few new bikes out of curiosity. Honestly, the newest bike I have ever ridden is my 95 Heritage Softail Classic. I am not closed minded and am open new ideas, but I am a traditionalist. I am also very curious about new things.

Let me start by saying this is in no way meant as a cut, insult, put down, or anything like that against anybody's bike. This is an honest evaluation / first impressions types of thing, so if someone gets butt hurt about it, then they should check their emotions at the door.

The purpose of this is to give a hands on perspective, beyond what spec sheets or numbers say. The results were suprising.

My current specifications:
45 year old American male
5' 9'
29" inseam (pants size, not all the way to the ground)
200 pounds (down from 260 last year)
All around good guy, but can summon a world of baddassery in a moments notice

Now on to the bikes.

2015 VRSCDX Night Ride Special in Superior Blue.

This bike was as far from my bike as can be while still being a Harley. That is precisely why I was interested in it. You know the specs. 240 rear tire. 1250 cc. Water cooling. etc. What does that translate to? The ergonomics were surprisingly good both sitting on it and riding it. Starting it up and listening to the idle is different, but kind of satisfying. Very smooth running, both idling and at speed. Speaking of speed, that is what this bike is all about. Peak torque is at 6,750 rpm. The low end power was soft and somewhat lacking. Midrange was good. High rpm? Hold on tight with both hands and press your feet hard down on the forward controls in order to stay on. It flat out gets it once in its power band. Handling was great, despite the wide back tire. The number thing that impressed me with this bike was the brakes. I didn't think it was possible for a bike to have brakes as good as these. The brakes are so good, that they are worth studying to see what makes them so good in order to plan a brake upgrade on any other bike. I could see myself racking up lots of speeding tickets and possibly killing myself on this bike on the open road. In traffic, the low end was less than ideal. That is the deal breaker for me. It is great for what it is though. Much more comfortable than a crotch rocket could ever be. I think they classify it as a power cruiser. Overall, I like this bike, but it is not for me. I think for people much younger than me that have less city riding and more open highways, it is a good choice. I love those brakes!

2016 Fat Boy Lo. 103". Wide tires, especially the back tire. Lower suspension than a standard Fat Boy. I had high hopes for this one. This is the most disappointing bike in the lineup by far. Ergonomics were alright. I thought the handlebar's low height was going to be a problem but it wasn't. Starting up, first impressions were, is this thing on? OK, I know the stock exhaust is quiet. But vibration. There was none. There was no indication that it was running except for the exhaust. So I took it for a ride. The two words that kept going through my head the whole ride was gutless and sterile. This thing is 103 cubic inches and felt like it had a lot less power than my 80' Evo had when it was stock. There was no feedback to be had anywhere on this bike. Everything was so smooth and I felt isolated not only from the engine but from the road as well. It was that sterile feeling plus the lack of power made this a huge disappointment. The manager and salesman were shocked when I told then how little power it had compared to my Evo. Yeah, my Evo has a mild cam etc. in it now, but even when it was stock, it was still no comparison. Handling was strange. Brakes were adequate, but forgettable. Not great, but not terrible. I guess that bike tire just didn't want to lean over.

2016 Dyna Wide Glide. 103" Skinny 21" front tire, rubber mounted dyne frame. You know the rest. Starting it up, it certainly felt a lot better than the Fat Boy Lo. It actually felt like a Harley. Idling, there was a throbbing type of vibration, like a Harley is supposed to have. Ergonomics were alright, but it needs either taller risers or mini apes, or perhaps handlebars from a Street Bob. On the road, handling was very nimble. The engine was much much more powerful than the Fat Boy Lo. This bike has a lot of things going for it. It has some negatives though. That skinny front tire is the achilles heal of this bike. While the bike certainly was very agile, that skinny front tire didn't feel planted going around curves which didn't exactly inspire confidence. It also let in every single road imperfection. It was not the suspension's fault, as the suspension was pretty good, but that skinny tire seemed to notice every imperfection. So while this started out good, it isn't the bike for me because that front tire is the cause of most of the negatives on this bike. Brakes were better than than the Fat Boy Lo's but were still not something to brag about. They were adequate but not great.

2016 Heritage Softail Classic. 103" Now we are talking. Ergonomics were great and for some reason felt somewhat better than my bike. I am pretty sure it is because the handlebar was different. It isn't like buckhorns, but it is like if my handlebars and buckhorn handlebars had offspring, then this would be it. The handlebars are good enough that I want to look up the specs of them to see if I could get them onto my bike or some that are similar. Starting it up, it wasn't as anemic as the Fat Boy Lo. Engine was really smooth. Bike felt pretty good. Riding it, the power was on par with a stock 80" Evo, but the power delivery was different. It was smoother, less immediate. This is where the spec sheet and real world differ. It was a less visceral experience. Handling was familiar and struck a good balance between agility and stability. Brakes were adequate, but nothing to brag about. Certainly better than my old bike's brakes, but I kind of expected them to be better. The seat was terrible though. There was a hard ridge on the seat that hurt my butt a lot. The saddlebags in 2016 have stiffeners in them already. I don't like what they did with the styling of the saddlebags though. It was extremely difficult to find neutral on this bike. It took me a good five minutes. I also noticed that was a strange sound in the transmission when I would slow down or downshift that sounded like a decelerating whining sound that is hard to describe, like maybe a jet engine slowing down, but obviously not as loud. I think this bike probably has good potential with a few tweaks, such as air cleaner, pipes, better cam, and a matching fuel map (FWIW, a fuel map on my Evo is a map that shows where gas stations are LMAO). So, this is my favorite out of the bunch, but lacked soul. On paper, it seems fabulous, but in real world, it is alright, at least in stock form.

Overall rankings:

1. Heritage Softail Classic
2. Night Rod Special (brakes and handling were that much better than wide glide)
3. Wide Glide
4. Fat Boy Lo (terrible)

Conclusions: I am riding the exact bike I should be riding. There is nothing like a carbureted Evo. Even discounting simplicity vs. computerized argument, the feel is different.

I intend on testing some more bikes out soon and will add them to this thread.

 

Damn Prot that must have been one hell of an itch!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

With the weather being lousy and me waiting on parts, it caused me a Breakout!

Yeah, next round of test bikes will include a Breakout.