H-D Forums Asks: ‘What Should My First Harley Be?’

A new member offers a tale of two Softails, and poses a question – which should he buy?

You don’t have to be an expert on all things Harley-Davidson to join H-D Forums. In fact, you’re welcome to join even if you’ve never owned a Harley-Davidson before – or even if you’ve never so much as ridden a motorcycle!

The forums are a great resource for new riders and new owners, where veterans will be all to happy to guide less-experienced motorcyclists through the ins and outs of riding, ownership, and maintenance. A new member, Peevee, recently posed a question to our forum: what should he buy for his first Harley-Davidson?

Questions like this get asked fairly often, and like we said before, our members love to chime in and offer help. What sets this thread apart, though, is the fact that it more or less offers a blueprint for how someone should go about making a thread asking a question like this.

Peevee starts by letting us know what he rides now, and what kind of riding he does. Currently, he rides a Honda VFR 1200, and usually rides for long stretches of about 300-400 miles, with occasional city riding. Sometimes he’ll bring his wife along.

He also lets us know what he’s looking for in a bike – cruise control and luggage space. Lastly, he’s not going in completely blind – he has some idea of what he wants. In fact, he’s narrowed down his choices to two bikes: a Sport Glide with Screamin’ Eagle Stage III kit, or the new Low Rider S. It seems like high performance is also on the menu for Peevee.

All of this information helps our members to make good recommendations. Right off the bat, tx freebird has a great point. As he says, “Buy what you like – the Low Rider. There are plenty of H-D and aftermarket wind protection and luggage options available.” AJ88V shows off his Low Rider, set up for touring with detachable saddlebags and a batwing fairing.

On the other hand, both wittangamo and HuntWhenever post up their beautiful Sport Glides, which both look ready for a long day of high-performance cruising. Whichever bike Peevee ends up choosing, it’s clear that it will be a great choice.

Photos: H-D Forums

Cameron Vanderhorst

Cam VanDerHorst has been a contributor to Internet Brands' Auto Group sites for over three years, with his byline appearing on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Corvette Forum, JK Forum, and Harley-Davidson Forums, among others. In that time, he's also contributed to Autoweek, The Drive, and Scale Auto Magazine.

He bought his first car at age 14 -- a 1978 Ford Mustang II -- and since then he’s amassed an impressive and diverse collection of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, including a 1996 Ford Mustang SVT Mystic Cobra (#683) and a classic air-cooled Porsche 911.

In addition to writing about cars and wrenching on them in his spare time, he enjoys playing music (drums and ukulele), building model cars, and tending to his chickens.

You can follow Cam, his cars, his bikes, and his chickens at @camvanderhorst on Instagram.

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