Just for curiosity's sake, and because of all the hoopla about them coming back, I test rode an HD Road Glide yesterday. While the bike was typical HD bagger feeling (I've owned three so I'm very familiar with how they handle), I gotta say that fixed fairing feels HUGE compared to the batwing. Sitting on the bike for the first time felt strange, because you have this thing that looks like it's the size of a loveseat strapped to the front of your bike! It totally blocks the view of everything directly in front of you. If the neighbors dog was 5 feet in front of your bike when you left for work, he'd be dead, because you'd never see him. I didn't like that, not at all. It felt very strange. Overall the ride is nice, the fairing DOES block the wind better than my old Electra Glides, but not enough to make me a fan of the frame mounted fairing. Way too many bells, whistles, and buttons on the handlebars................GPS..........stereo system buttons......cruise control.....volume controls.............just too much to mess with for me. Underneath all that IS a motorcycle, I guess. It handled really nice after I got rolling, went through the curves great. I thought the fairing would affect handling because it "looks" like it weighs a ton, but it didn't. Once rolling out on the four lane (we had about a 5 mile route) the bike cruised along nicely. I have to say, though, that even with the 103", the bike felt underpowered. My FXDC is a 96", and from my seat of the pants feel, my bike would leave this thing in the dust. At times I felt like I was on an old 350 Honda, power wise! Must be because it probably outweighs my bike by 300 pounds. The seat was very comfortable...... very comfortable..... but at only 5 miles who knows if that will last after an 8 hour day on it. Paint, chrome, etc. was typical HD......very nice. Pipes were QUIET.

All in all, I liked SOME things about it....seat, floorboards, fit and finish......................but that HUGE, view blocking, fixed fairing would be a deal killer for me. Also....WAY too much "junk" on the bike. I like a simple motorcycle, no radio, GPS, big screen readouts, dashboard motorcycles for me. Looking at all that was like being in a car. Nice bike if you like that sort of stuff........just not for me. And.............for a 103".........the engine felt underpowered. I got back on my Stage 1 96", and felt like I was on a rocket ship in comparison.

 

Thank you for sharing, I have been intrigued by all hype, looked at it at the local dealers, but was unable to ride it as all of the showroom models had been sold.

 

Nice write-up. Even though fairings and baggers never have been my thing.

 

Good write up, I am intrigued by these bikes, like the look of them. But I have never rode a bike with a fixed fairing yet, I would like to get the chance to see how I like it myself, but you paint a good picture of how I imagined it would look.

 

How can the fairing FEEL huge when it's mounted to the frame ?

After riding an RG, I can actually feel the Batwing fairing on an Electra Glide. But I can't feel the fairing on my RG. In fact, the handlebars feel lighter.

 

I test road the new Road Glide a couple of weeks ago and I agree with hd5evr's assessment. Definetly underpowered and there seemed to be a lot of lag time between when I twisted the throttle and when the engine responded. Perhaps this has to do with throttle by wire?

The thing that bothered me a lot was the handlebar. It seemed way too low and came back too far. I am only 5'11" but my hands were at about my mid-section, just above and just in front of my hips. When I turned corners the inside of my forearm would run into my abdomen keeping me from turning as sharply. I know that bars are a relatively easy fix, and maybe I am just not used to that type of bar, but still, I didn't care for it.

 

I guess I should have said "looks" instead of "feels". Either way...it's enormous!!

 

Yeah, I agree, I have an older Road Glide and the new fairing does seem really big. What's odd is the new fairing only has two guages in it but mine has four, yet the new one seems bigger. Fortunately, I got used to the fairing very quickly on mine, so I'm sure the new fairing will be the same way.

While the new RG may seem slow compared to your bike, I'm sure your bike would feel slow compared to my Ducati. So, obviously, we aren't buying HDs for speed. But, yeah, I was hoping for more from the "new" RG, and I'm disappointed. In it. Didn't even ride it, though, so I can't really comment on how it handles. I like the way my RG handles just fine. Goes right whee I want it to go.

 

I kind of like the new RG's.. but obviously I have yet to ride on.. I did put almost 300 miles on a 2012.. I liked the bike but not enough to trade my batwing on one.. Currently, I have a 2014 limited which I really like.. I'll be curious to see the 2016 Ultra RG.. if it happens... I also heard... and have no clue if it's true..that you can't adjsut the angle of the levers on the new RG..due to small weight's being pinned to the bar's for balance.. that might just be people talking.. anyway, thanks for the write up OP.. Cheers

mavrick

 

I came off a soft tail to a RG the thing seemed like a land barge at first but I quickly adapted. I traded with a buddy once to test out his street glide and didn't like how close the fairing is. I guess depending on the rider the experience is different