Joe try to get hold of the October/November edition of American-V a British mag. Theres a XR thats been "played with" by Adrenalin moto i think you,ll love it.
The mag is available on-line at www. american-v.com

 

What ya' smokin'?

 

scotsport, I get your gist totally. I had a similar experience believe it or not. Saw the new XR1200 at Matlock, and liked the look of it. Few weeks later, the bike (07 Street Bob) was in the dealer for SERT fitment. They gave me a choice of XR1200, crossbones or heritage softail. I went for the former.

I took it out with high expectations. It didnt really do anything for me. I cant remember the ride, all I wanted was the street bob back. Mines like an old friend, Ive never been happier with a bike than this one. And ive had over 50 of them in all.

The XR looks good, but it dosent do anything really well. The bikes confused, not you scotsport !

Ride safe mate

 

ROLLLLLLLLL..... another one, an dont Bogart l.ray

 

Maybe I should have........ but then Jamaca was like the XR: glad to say goodbye.....

 

Hunter S. Thompson was an American writer. See this link for a biography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_S._Thompson

He is most famous for his book about the Hells Angels written in the 1960s. See Amazon.Com link: http://www.amazon.com/Hells-Angels-S...4189230&sr=8-2

In a more recent book, Sonny Barger said that most of what Hunter S. Thompson wrote in his book about the Hells Angels was b.s. See Amazon.Com link: http://www.amazon.com/Hells-Angel-Ba...4189362&sr=8-1

I have read both books. Eye opening.

Richard

 

Importing would be a bit ironic since that bike is made in the USA! I guess there's probably a better market for the XR in Europe, after all they seem to appreciate the V-rod more than we do. I'm not saying I'd buy one, but it would be nice if they'd sell it here at least on some limited basis. Again, it's made here in America, so why not let a few slip out the back door before they get put on the boat?

 

Fit a few tassels and it'll look like a tarts handbag.

I took an XR1200 out for a long test ride back in June. It's a great bike. It's certainly fast and the handling and braking is astonishing. I wouldn't buy one either. If I wanted a sports bike I'd probably go for something like an MV Agusta Brutale.

 

I agree totally, and maybe HD buying MV Agusta will be the death of the XR.

If HD is going to make a sports bike, why not make a proper job of it? A hard core sportsbike with a Harley Davidson badge? I bet its coming.

And the best bit about it when it happens, is that it won't be a cheapskate marketing exercise like I believe the XR is. When it comes, it will be the 'real' thing. It will have european pedigree that will really be worth importing to the USA. The real thing thing.

For me, the marketing puts me off. I would like to think that I bought my Dyna despite the 'guff'. The Dyna is still a solid bit of kit and you can still feel the history and sense of history behind the machine. Only just though. Stretch the quality control any further, and cheapen the product any more, and I won't be so sure. These mistakes bring 'blue chip' companies to their knees, and goodness knows we live in dangerous times.

And this is the issue I have with the XR1200. It's a leap of faith too far. It has outsretched its 'supply lines' and falls short. Sadlly, I believe that this bike doesn't deserve the Harley Davidson badge, despite the fact that it's performance is astonishing by Harley standards. Harley was never about road sports bikes not at least until at least it bought MV Augusta. And when the XR was in pipeline, I doubt that MV was even on the horizon. Bad timing.

Do it right chaps, and with this brave purchase, you might just pull it off.

And in the process the XR will be confined to history.

Discuss...........

 

Did we just get 3 bike reviews in 1 post???