I appreciate both sides. Thanks for the replies. I know full well that I should start on something small BUT I'm gonna have a hard time explaining to the wife that I need to buy TWO bikes and when I suggested starting small to 2 seasoned riders (one built bikes his whole life, the other rode for decades) they both looked at me like I slapped their mothers. They said, "who told you that?" They were suggesting I start on even bigger, a road glide or a street glide lol.
I definitely would do the smaller bike thing, but I don't think my financial or marital situation would allow that, so... I saw a good deal on a Softail and I went for it. I am signed up for the riders academy through Harley and purchased "Proficient Motorcycling" by David L. Hough. I watch videos, I drive class A and B trucks, drove for 5.5 years daily as my job and understand that that is nowhere near riding a motorcycle, but it helps.
I am definitely not the one to take it for granted and treat it as an easy thing. I see it as a learned skill where I must practice practice practice to be good at it.
I also purchased some wild-1 road King II 518's so those will be replacing the tall apes and I hope to have nothing but good news to report in the next coming months! Thanks for all the advice seriously and keep it coming.
I think that you've got the right attitude to start yourself off. As far as all the comments about getting another smaller bike, do this, don't do that, etc., you have to do what you feel is right for you. You've already purchased the bike and have taken steps to get rid of the apes. What's done is done. You've got the bike and you're not looking back. You're asking for some advice from more experienced riders. Just beware that the internet is loaded with "experts" sitting behind keyboards that may or may not know any more than you do at this point. Take your time and learn how to safely ride that sumbitch at your own pace.
My wife lost her bike license due to an error where DMV didn't put the endorsement back on her license at renewal time. She didn't have a bike so just let it go for 20 years or so. I bought her a 2005 Deluxe about 7 years ago. First Harley she'd ever seen. She took the MSF course, got her license and hasn't looked back. You'll be fine in time too.
UPDATE: Haven't dropped her yet. So I went with the classic grips and love my new handlebars. Only thing is now I'm debating on some buckhorn style, just because the beach style bars are wide as all hell! They are comfortable as hell too though. I just don't want to keep worrying about getting so close to ppls mirrors when I lane split. I'm sure it will be a while before I switch to anything else.
As for the bike, she's tip top. I'm gonna do the 5k service since I have no record of maintenance on her and I got her at 5600 miles on the odo.
Other than that she's great fun and I can't believe it took me so long to get into riding. Happy trails.
I kinda get the guys that say don't start on a "big" bike, but not really. If you can afford the bike and are smart enough to ride within your limits go for it. I started on a brand new heritage that I bought 2 days after completing the MSF course. I was extra careful because it was an expensive toy and I didn't want to tear it up. I took my time on back roads and practiced slow maneuvers in parking lots until I felt comfortable. Of course if you go out and ride like an idiot there's a good chance you'll get in over your head and tear the bike up, but if you use some common sense and ride within your capability it will be fine. Keep the tire straight coming to a complete stop and go easy on the brakes, it ain't rocket science folks.
Sure cheap small bikes are less to worry about, but a new bike kind of forces you to be more careful. Another downside to small cheap old bikes is a decent size guy can muscle them around and manhandle them through mistakes - trying to do that when you move up to a bigger bike can lead to problems pretty quick. Anybody can throw a 400 pound 450 cc bike around, get used to that and then try doing it when you move up to a 750 lb softail or 850 lb fully loaded touring bike and it won't end as well.
As long as you're careful/talented enough to not have a self-inflicted issue at speed it doesn't matter what size bike you are on to start. As far as going down at a stop sign or in a parking lot/driveway it will happen to everyone if you ride long enough. I'll bet dollars to donuts that 99% of the guys that have ridden for any significant amount of time have had a slow speed drop at least once. I'll even go as far to say that there are 2 kinds of riders - those that have dropped bikes and liars.
What he said. Ditch the apes.....put on engine and bag bars for the first 5,000 miles.
Nice! You have a nice lookin ride. The pipes, they are like women. Everybody has their likes/dislikes. I love them myself, I consistently drag my floor boards and have not had my pipes hit once. It will happen some day but that's on me. Glad you dumped the apes for learning but I'd hang on to them, you will probably want to put them back on someday after you have a few miles under your belt. Take the class if you haven't, you will learn alot. I started riding (mini-bikes) when I was 8 and got bigger bikes over time so I have close to 52 years experience. I took the class because the military required it, I was about 24 yrs old and after all the time I had already on a scoot, I learned quite a bit, well worth the time (and insurance discount). Some guys have drop'd bikes, some not. *I* have 3 times and walked away. Just go slow and learn. Watch where you put your feet down, 2 outa 3 times, my foot slid out from under me, damn gravel. Engine crash bars saved me $$ both times. Good luck, put lots of miles on her!
Last edited by FrozenInTime; 02-20-2017 at 01:20 PM.
10-18-2016, 06:35 AM
. So I went with the classic grips and love my new handlebars. Only thing is now I'm debating on some buckhorn style, just because the beach style bars are wide as all hell! They are comfortable as hell too though. I just don't want to keep worrying about getting so close to ppls mirrors when I lane split. I'm sure it will be a while before I switch to anything else. 
