Wenol, all purpose metal polish works very well...

 

Thanks. I'll check it out.

 

Very nice.

 

Great looking bike. I miss the styling of the stock pipe but I'm happy with the sound of my pro pipe. I always loved how the stock headpipe curved forward and then back

 

Be sure to let us know what you tested. Any pics would be nice. Would appreciate your thoughts on the current models.

 

Absolutely! They say they are going to have the Pan America available to ride so definitely going to try to get a ride in on that. Not really my style bike but I like trying new things and really curious how that new engine runs.

 

Looking forward to it.

 

Alright guys had a blast at the demo rides yesterday! Went with a good friend of mine and his girlfriend, my wife is pregnant so no riding for her right now, I was riding solo.

We showed up as ride #1 was leaving out. We went ahead and got signed up to ride and grabbed a free burger while we waited for the next ride. I've done demo rides previously and it was always so busy I was only allowed to sign up for 1 or maybe 2 rides at a time, not today. I signed up for 3 bikes right off the bat and told the guy I would sign up for more once I figured out what I wanted to ride. I ended up doing 5 rides back to back, about 3 hours of ride time total.

To begin with, a couple gripes about riding in a escorted ride with strangers. I don't like riding in groups in the the first place, I typically ride solo or with 1 or 2 other friends at most. Very first ride we almost had a collision. They strictly told us do not turn right on red, if you get caught at a yellow go ahead and stop and the follow bike will come forward to lead the group. We got caught at a yellow mid way through the group and the bike in front of me stopped, as did I but the guy behind me locked the brakes up and swerved and barely missed the guy in front of me (we were staggered). Should have booted him from riding at that point but I digress. Other riders were weaving back and forth like they were on a crotch rockets and speeding up and slowing down frequently and aggressively.

Bike #1 was the Low Rider S. Obvious choice for a low rider owner. I really enjoyed the bike, great power from the 114, the new softail platform is really great, rides smooth, handles well. I didn't care that much for the seating position. Felt too hunched over and aggressive for my taste. I'm sure some others would love the setup. Great looking bike!

Bike #2 was the CVO Street Glide. I mean what can I say, it's the top dog. Has all the upgrades you could want, very cool looking bike. Power was plenty from the 117, even on a big heavy touring bike. Radio sounds good, I like having the radio and touch screen. Ride is smooth and sweet. It is a fantastic bike to just look at, all the details that make the CVO are really cool. Not saying it's not worth it, but I personally couldn't see myself spending that kind of coin on a motorcycle.

Bike #3 was the Pan America. Ah yes, the one I was waiting on, I eagerly jumped on only to realize damn this thing is tall, I'm on the short side but I was tippy toeing trying to hold the bike up. One of the demo workers gave me a quick run down, oh let's switch the ignition on, wow, I can flat floot it now. A surprise feature I didn't know existed, the suspension automatically lowers itself at a stop to allow you better footing, then raises itself back up when you take off. No switch to press, it does it automatically and seamlessly. I could tell when slowing for a stop and putting my feet out I could barely reach but by the time I stopped I was firmly planted on my feet. Really damn cool.

The worker gave me a quick run down of the ride modes, he set me off in Rain, and told me to switch through Normal and Sport as I got comfortable. I didn't bother asking about the seemingly 50 other buttons and switches on the handlebars, too short of a ride to try and play with whatever else is there. I left the dealership and shifted into second, ok lets see what this thing has got. Hmm, feels quick but not fast. A little disappointed in my initial acceleration I remembered the rain mode I was in, ok lets make the switch, I jumped to sport mode and boom, there it is. This demo doesn't allow me to get much space for acceleration but I did what I could. Engine pulls hard, very hard. Makes quite a good noise in the higher rpms and doesn't seem to let up. Reminds me of the VROD engine, power comes in high and strong, engine sounds like it's trying to suck squirrels from the nearby trees. Although my nuts were starting to hurt I had a big grin on my face.

The bike feels light and nimble, the infotainment screen shows a ton of information, all digital. It says phone not connected, not sure what extra stuff you get with a phone connected, there are no speakers. It's a neat bike for sure, the technology is way ahead of anything else Harley has going on for the other bikes. That being said, it doesn't look, feel or sound like a Harley-Davidson. I'm not saying that is a bad thing, I'm sure for the bike to handle what it needs to for it's purpose they had to design it the way they did. For someone into that style of bike I'm sure it is a great competitor, but for me, it's not my style. I would love that engine in a different layout though!

Bike #4 Softail Heritage. The big surprise of the day for me. I really enjoyed this bike way more than I thought I would, I felt like I had more room for my legs than the touring bikes. It felt light and nimble, very planted feeling. But I didn't even want to ride it aggressively. I was so comfortable I just wanted to sit back and cruise. Felt like I could ride this bike all day, seat was comfortable, bar height was perfect, really enjoyed the floorboards, I don't like windshields but even that didn't bother me. The new softail platform is really, really good nowadays.

Bike #5, the recliner, er, Ultra Limited. The bike my wife says we are buying. Feels like you are riding a couch. I felt more cramped on this bike than the heritage. I think maybe it has to do with the low bar height and big fat seat on there. I just felt like I was really sitting up on the tank. I loved the snake venom color, my favorite color of the day. The supreme highway cruiser, feels like you could ride across the state without a break. It's big and heavy, but surprisingly easy to ride once you get moving. I think I would like it more with a seat and bar change just to help me feel a little more roomy on it. I was wearing my mesh jacket on all the rides which kept me nice and cool with the air flowing through it, but on the ultra you get almost no air across your body it feels like. I was starting to get pretty warm riding it around.

Sorry for the long winded post, wanted to get all the details I could remember in there. Feel free to ask questions about any of the bikes I'll try to my best to answer.

 

Thanks for such a helpful and detailed report. It's a couple of years since I test rode the M8s, but I remember that I too felt hunched up when I tried the new Low Rider, and cramped on the Ultra; but, like you, to me the Heritage felt fabulous in every way. My concern about the new Softails is the way they allow road spray onto the battery etc under the seat, through the gap in the rear fender; and there are reports that they've made the metal so thin that it distort and corrodes easily. So far, nothing moves me like my 2015 FXDL.

 

Hmm I didn't even think of that. That too would concern me. I did forget to mention my main takeaways after getting back on my bike for the ride home were 1.) I hate the stock exhaust on bikes, loved hearing mine start back up lol. 2.) I don't realize how much I dislike my stock handlebars until I ride a few bikes with different bars and 3.) I think it's time to save some money for some better rear shocks, my current progressive 412s are ok but much harsher than the new softails. I would love to soften the ride up a little.

It's going to be awhile before I purchase a new bike, currently searching for a house and after that a larger car for the family. So I think I'm going to start putting a little money in my low rider to improve a few aspects and hang on to that for a while longer.