Never rode a shark before so I figured "why not kill two birds with one stone". I can definitely see why people like the shark nose bikes, but not for me at the moment. Anywho... On to the M8.

Quick reaction: this is a marked improvement on a marked improvement.

To the guys saying that this "ain't a harley if it don't shake" Let me assure you that this is still very much a harley, just a really refined one which has power AND torque on tap all. the. time. For comparison I just recently added power duals, V02 AC and a PV tuned by fuel Moto to my '14 and the new bike will run away from it. I know the RGS is technically lighter than my FLHTK but you can tell.

The motor is almost silent at start up which is what I expected on my metrics but is almost alien to me coming from Harley. The instant heat from the Catalyst that we all expect isn't there at first or as bad. Yesterday was 90 and muggy in Central Ohio and my right calf felt very little heat from the new mill or its exhaust.

The clutch action is almost "springy" but it's very light. Harley is also starting to get the memo on suspension. The bike handled the bumps with a composure not normally associated with stock Harley shocks.

Now for the gripes:

The new saddle bag locking mechanisms. They are essentially a large L shaped screw under tension. For people who never keep anything in their bags thes will work fine, but they take up a considerable amount of space for a small feature and they have to be screwed out. What of your bags are full while touring? You will have to remove items to unscrew the bags.

The exhaust bracket mounting points appear to be differently spaced than the previous years. My parts guy has a SE M8 can prominently displayed and side by side the front hanger mount almost lines up but the rear is noticeably more rearward. Also, the inlet port on the SE can appeared to be offset similar to the OEM cans found on sport touring bikes. Well at least my CBR and FJR were. If this is the case then you may have some angry people at first. Can anyone confirm that they've swapped their old muffs over to a new M8? Aftermarket will need to come through here or someone with a 3D printer can make some money by designing a bracket.

Sorry for the long post, but thanks for reading. Can't wait to hear these things with a good exhaust system on them. I have a feeling they are gonna sound sweet. If I were in the market... Oh boy.

 

Good write up - agree it'll be interesting to see/hear one with upgraded exhaust.

 

Thanks for the post.
Im almost afraid to check out the 17 Road Kings, afraid Ill want one ... and I can see why my wife didnt believe me two years ago when I said Ill keep this one a long time ... *L*
(maybe still will, love the bike, at least a couple years)

 

The new exhaust is completely different. Nothing from the older bikes will fit.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Honestly I couldn't be happier with my FLHTK, especially with the recent mods, but man did that Milwaukee 8 surprise me. It seems like a great motor for the future, but honestly it's not enough to pry me away from my '14 or my '11.

If I had a different bike and wanted to make the jump to a touring model then this would definitely do it. All the wind protection and storage goodies of a touring bike and now with a, dare I say, sporty-feeling motor. This could sway some people for sure.

 

I need to overlay the torque curves from the new M8 and the 103 with the fuel Moto mods I made to my '14 and compare them. I may test ride one of the M8 just to see for myself, but I don't see how a couple ft lbs and a couple HP could transform the bike much.

I don't want anymore refinement to the driveline than the 103, and the comments about silent shifts into 1st, engine whine and a metric level of smoothness really concerns me. I wouldn't mind more power, but not at the expense of the character of the bike.

Now, the suspension comments that are popping up, really interest me. It's the one area of the bike that needs the most attention in my opinion. That could be enough to convert me to a new bike, if it's really that much better.

 

"What of your bags are full while touring? You will have to remove items to unscrew the bags."


>>Especially on the low side if you need to adjust the shocks.

 

The difference you will find in my opinion when you ride one. The M8 power delivery is linear. My 14 feels like it has good power when I am in the powerband. The M8 power is just there.

It's probably not enough to Blow Your Shorts off and make you trade right then and there. But it is nice and we are here now...

 

And here I thought everyone was going ape nuts buying the bagger bolts so they could SCREW ON their bags to prevent them from falling off. Now HD makes them screw on, and people are complaining they gotta screw them on???