I bet any car would have bounced around on that rode. It's a motorcycle!!!! It's seems everyone lately wants to take a cruiser to the limit. Remember these two words when riding a bike beyond its means, "Ground Hurts". The bike was made to cruise and relax. There are other bikes for different rides.

 

Is it just me. I love the changes made to the Rushmore line but it seems like the RUBs will never be happy.

 

No, its not just you.

 

I'm with you. If anyone wants a long travel suspension on a Harley then the bike is going to look God Awful. Also, do you like that 25" seat height? Not a chance can you have that if you want , that's why BMW's and such look the way they do. Go ahead and add 3" on to an SG rr fender and se how the bike looks - i'm sure you'll hate it. And think about how much space is going to be between the road and your exhaust - can you say dirtbike? YOU CAN"T HAVE IT ALL. Oh and my SGS handles potholes and manholes like crap too, I doubt the premium cartridges are going to make a big difference, and anyway it's the rear that is the killer and the only way to solve that is to add the 2-3 inches of travel and I'm too much in love with the SG look to do that, as I think we all are.

 

Don't hold back..... tell us how you REALLY feel.

 

This ! And my part of TX has some really garbage roads.

 

 

Some interesting responses. If I'm being honest, I expected the typical keyboard hero BS from a few responses - I didn't expect to outright be called a *****.

I got a pretty good kick out of the recommendation to go ride a shovelhead to gain some perspective however...lol...

 

I kinda agree with both sides of the argument, looks vs function, I ride a FLHTKSE and a BMW GS1200 and the roads here in the UK are pretty bad (on the whole, worse than most of the roads between Milwaukee and Sturgis) and I can go down the same roads on both bikes and on the TK it can feel like my fillings are gonna drop out, the GS on the other hand is far more forgiving (no doubt to the extra travel)
My point being, the cost of these things, whether its a roadking, streetglide, FLHTK or the CVO version, WE PAY ENOUGH MONEY FOR THEM TO HAVE OHLINS QUALITY SUSPENSION!!!

 

Lol. I just said what you (to varying degrees) were thinking. I know you love your bike and have defended it as vigorously. Especially the Infotainment system.

Ordinarily my response, if any at all, would have been more reserved. However, I read this thread after a string of similar threads complaining about things that as a motorcyclist, I have accepted as part of the sport for years. That concept having applied to all my bikes - BMW, KTM, UJM, Brit, Harley, etc. Each bike has it's strengths and weaknesses.

Is a 900+ Harley the best choice for twisty, pot holed roads? Absolutely not. For that I would choose my DR650. Could Harley do better in the suspension department? Obviously. But not by adding (much) travel. A Goldwing has only an inch more. I have installed Ohlins 2.5s on my bike, and it is vastly improved. But, I will still feel it when I hit a pot hole.

In the end, right off the showroom floor, the Rushmore is a fantastic, all around bike with a touring bias. I'm as happy running up to the grocery store as I am carving up the Ozarks, as I am setting the cruise at 85 running super-slab. If the Op has Ohlins on the bike, and they are set up properly, and he doesn't feel the same way, in all honesty he should buy a different bike. Why suffer through the agony of riding the one he has? But I suspect there would be something else to complain about - which is my entire point.

And I never said the word "*****" just to be clear.

As alluded to above and on other threads, I agree. That's why I bought Ohlins for my bike. But, I had to buy them for my GS too. I'm not sure what they run now, but when I had my GS in 2007, everyone had the exact same complaint - Why should we have to pay for decent shocks on our BMWs?

The answer is the same for them as it is for Harley - because they know they will sell just as many bikes with the crap shocks as Ohlins. On a production cost analysis, adding that much cost to their bikes is like a bullet to the head. Hell, they sweat pennies. We're talking dollars.