Let me guess... You weredoing the factory demo rides at HD of North Texas.Right? I was there for a little while and left just as the dust storm hit. (I got caught in it on my Buell and even with a fullface helmet, I was spitting mud by the time I got home.)

oops... apologies for the thread hijack.

 

Do the dealers in the US not have courtesy bikes? When i bought my first Harley last year I did'nt have a clue what I wanted (all the chrome n shiny bits just dazzled me).
The salesman explained the different type of bikes then arranged for me to test ride a few which I did. I decided on a Sportster 1200c, however i did'nt take into account the fact that my wife would want to go everywhere with me so I needed a larger bike.
My wife picked out a HeritageSoftail but I was'nt sure on the setup I wanted. ie handlebar type, Screaming eagles, tourpak etc.
The dealer picked out two bikes for me and arranged for another to be shipped in from another store so that I could ride different variations to help formulate a decision.
If I had to rent bikes to do that it would have turned out very expensive!!
Even when my bike goes in for service or more shiny bits put on, I am offered a courtesy bike for the duration
AJ

 

Please post up the answer about how to test drive if you get it!!! I am planning to use the people out in Irving too if I don't find a better option. I thought about going to the North Texas HD thing this last weekend but the idea of hundreds of people and radio stations and a carnival atmosphere was not what I wanted when I just wanted time to get used to the bike. Huge formation rides would not be a good idea for me till I get more miles under my belt..... And a 15 minute test drive might not be enough. I am not sure I would need a whole day. A few hours would probably do the trick. A really great option would be a place that would rent for $140/day and let you swap bikes as many times as you wanted during that day so you could get them all in one period and they would be close together so comparisions would be easy...... Let me know if you find it.....

 

I agree with you about the carnival atmosphere at most"factory demodays"rides. Last weekend at HDoNT was pretty crazy until the dust storm hit. I didn't sign up for a test ride so I don't know how long they would have given you to ride but with the crowds, I'm sure they wouldn't have allowed you anywhere close to a full hour on any of the bikes.

Personally, I think you're on the right track by usingEagle Rider http://www.eagleriderdallas.com/. It may seem expensive at first but I'm willing to bet they would cut you a deal if you were wanting to rent more than one bike during the day. This would allow you to ride in all road conditions and ideally, check out the handling in less than ideal weather conditions. Given the cost of a new Harley, it seems like a relatively small investment that will help you to feel like you're made an informed choice. (If Eagle Rider does allow you to swap out bikes, post a message - I 've got a coworker who's serious about moving off of a ricer on to a Harley but he's bewildered at all the choices.)

 

my 01heratige striped with a 70 flh fairing

[IMG]local://upfiles/7791/B1ECACF22F394128A75AD4AB4589DD44.jpg[/IMG]

 

Yeah. I just stopped in to buy a jacket and there was hardly anyone doing the demo rides (for good reason!). So, even though the conditions were poor, I rode 2 of the bikes. It was all I could do to hang on with the wind. And, yes, the dust sucked!

 

Just out of curiosity, how do the bags come off the Heritage Classic? It's hard to tell for sure from that picture, but it looks like there are holes in the fender rails. Do the bags have a detachable system, or do you have to unbolt them?

As for the other points made about Eagle Rider, I had thought about asking them about swapping out since, as you guys said, I don't feel like I need to ride just one for a day, I need to ride two or three at least for an hour a pop (or something like that). I had heard someone mention such a service once and had always assumed it was the dealership rental policy (when you can find a dealership that rents).

Is it just me, or is it weird that the nearest dealership around Dallas that rents motorcycles is in Tyler? I guess they intend the rentals for touring rather than day rides, but still...

 

Love my ultra.

 

OK. It took a couple weeks, but here are a few things I discovered today.

I hit up the demo day at American Eagle Harley in Corinth. The way they timed it was that demos started at 9am, and the "carnival" didn't kick in until 11am, so if you hit them up early you can get right on a demo ride, and avoid the loud music and crowds. Depending on the person signing people in, you might even be able to sign up for multiple rides in advance.

The rides are about 20 minutes going down some fairly tame roads, and ending up on the I35 access road, so you can kick it up a notch on that stretch. They are formation rides, and I was a little nervous about that having ridden less than a year, but they ask up front who has less than a year experience, and they put me at the back of the pack for the first ride. It was not bad at all and nothing to get too nervous about. I didn't initially get the person that was signing up rides in advance, so I basically ended up going on rides staggered with a ride I was not on, so I tried out three motorcycles which probably took about an hour and a half total.

The minus side is that they only have specific motorcycles, so the Softail Heritage was not there, but the Softail Deluxe was there, which was close enough (I think) to give me an idea of what it would be like. They also had a Road King, but it was a Screaming Eagle Road King, so I didn't quite get the normal 96 cubic inch test ride.

The final thing to note (that I was not aware of) is that this dealership will let you test ride their motorcycles. They might only allow it during the week since they are probably swamped on weekends, but whatever the case it gives you at least a couple ways to try a ride out for free. It also might be a way to narrow things down to where you have a good enough initial impression to want to rent the same motorcycle for a day from the place in Irving.

Oh, and it started to become a zoo later on (around 12:30 or so), but even then it wasn't all that bad there. The bigger problem was traffic during the demo rides, but even then that wasn't "bad". As I said, if you can get there by 9am for a demo ride, I think it will go pretty fast and be nice and clear.

 

There's your answer[sm=goodidea.gif]....as far as the bagger lite's goI prefer the Heritage to the RK