2018 Fatbob - Peg Scraping?
#21
10-12-2017, 10:28 PM
Grand HDF Member
I wonder just how much lean angle one really needs on public roads...
I rarely scrape the hardware on my Nightster. Sure it's happen, but again it's rare. It's not a lack of twisty roads where I live. I live in Maryland, and finding a straight road in this state is rare. However, the vast majority of curves I encounter are blind. Never thought it a great idea to be overly aggressive with blind curves. Your never know what you are going to encounter. Roadkill, debris/gravel, stopped car? This is especially true on new - never ridden - roads. Is this curve a continuous radius or decreasing? Not to say that all curves I encounter here are blind. There are a few that I encounter that can be seen through and I have made contact in those. But again it occurs rarely.
I figure if I want to really push it far enough that I have to regularly worry about scraping parts, then I should be thinking about getting a bike for track days. Haven't got there... Hence the Nightster has been good enough. Can't imagine having problems with the new Fat Bob.
I rarely scrape the hardware on my Nightster. Sure it's happen, but again it's rare. It's not a lack of twisty roads where I live. I live in Maryland, and finding a straight road in this state is rare. However, the vast majority of curves I encounter are blind. Never thought it a great idea to be overly aggressive with blind curves. Your never know what you are going to encounter. Roadkill, debris/gravel, stopped car? This is especially true on new - never ridden - roads. Is this curve a continuous radius or decreasing? Not to say that all curves I encounter here are blind. There are a few that I encounter that can be seen through and I have made contact in those. But again it occurs rarely.
I figure if I want to really push it far enough that I have to regularly worry about scraping parts, then I should be thinking about getting a bike for track days. Haven't got there... Hence the Nightster has been good enough. Can't imagine having problems with the new Fat Bob.
Now I live in SoCal...still some very technical roads, but loads of sweepers, different sightlines, curves designed from all the lessons learned over the decades of motor vehicle advancement and road engineering. There are plenty of Harleys you can push in this environment, and some you can't as easily. Your nightster with taller shocks would be a blast here and you wouldn't need to be riding recklessly or break the law to do it.
#22
10-13-2017, 06:07 AM
Cruiser
+1
I live at the base of the Colorado Rockies. The vast majority of my rides takes place in the mountains. Sure the major through-ways like 285 don't have any really sharp or tricky corners, but there are dozens and dozens of really scenic roads that were also once used by Miner's getting up to the high country as well as roads that are just tight. There are a few places where when the sign says 10 mph corner, it truly is a 10 mph corner. No "double and add 10" which is the case with alot of corners or is my rule of thumb when riding my Ducati (I may go 15 mph on the Ducati, but too risky).
Scraping pegs even with some "body english" still happens on my Harley.
I live at the base of the Colorado Rockies. The vast majority of my rides takes place in the mountains. Sure the major through-ways like 285 don't have any really sharp or tricky corners, but there are dozens and dozens of really scenic roads that were also once used by Miner's getting up to the high country as well as roads that are just tight. There are a few places where when the sign says 10 mph corner, it truly is a 10 mph corner. No "double and add 10" which is the case with alot of corners or is my rule of thumb when riding my Ducati (I may go 15 mph on the Ducati, but too risky).
Scraping pegs even with some "body english" still happens on my Harley.
It depends on the roads. I grew up in the north east and know the roads you speak of. In my area many were 300 year old wagon paths that got paved. The local road systems there largely developed before heavy vehicle use was a thing. Blind curves, decreasing radius, no shoulders, narrow, dips, anomalies, and imperfections galore.
Now I live in SoCal...still some very technical roads, but loads of sweepers, different sightlines, curves designed from all the lessons learned over the decades of motor vehicle advancement and road engineering. There are plenty of Harleys you can push in this environment, and some you can't as easily. Your nightster with taller shocks would be a blast here and you wouldn't need to be riding recklessly or break the law to do it.
Now I live in SoCal...still some very technical roads, but loads of sweepers, different sightlines, curves designed from all the lessons learned over the decades of motor vehicle advancement and road engineering. There are plenty of Harleys you can push in this environment, and some you can't as easily. Your nightster with taller shocks would be a blast here and you wouldn't need to be riding recklessly or break the law to do it.
#23
10-13-2017, 08:04 AM
Stellar HDF Member
Don't get me wrong. I don't ride like a grandma. But I do try to keep things within reason and not be a public menace.
#24
10-13-2017, 09:22 PM
There’s a pretty good amount of lean on the 2018 Fatbob. I’ve only had mine a few days, just have about 375 miles on it so I’m still kind of taking it easy. I haven’t had any cornering issues yet. I will say this; this bike handles very, very well. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced from an HD product.
I've now heard that the tires made it hard to steer twice now. Compared to what is what I'd like to know? I thought handling was as light and neutral as anything.
As to the scraping, I'm sure depending on the road it wouldn't be too difficult, but so what? I think there's still some clearance before anything too hard hits. Looks to me like the kickstand would be next. The one on my Versys is ground in half. Still goes thru the curves fine while it makes sparklies.
On the exhaust side, you could probably lay it over 40 degrees or more before ever touching those pipes.
Congrats on your new ride!
#25
10-14-2017, 01:08 AM
Grand HDF Member
+1
I live at the base of the Colorado Rockies. The vast majority of my rides takes place in the mountains. Sure the major through-ways like 285 don't have any really sharp or tricky corners, but there are dozens and dozens of really scenic roads that were also once used by Miner's getting up to the high country as well as roads that are just tight. There are a few places where when the sign says 10 mph corner, it truly is a 10 mph corner. No "double and add 10" which is the case with alot of corners or is my rule of thumb when riding my Ducati (I may go 15 mph on the Ducati, but too risky).
Scraping pegs even with some "body english" still happens on my Harley.
I live at the base of the Colorado Rockies. The vast majority of my rides takes place in the mountains. Sure the major through-ways like 285 don't have any really sharp or tricky corners, but there are dozens and dozens of really scenic roads that were also once used by Miner's getting up to the high country as well as roads that are just tight. There are a few places where when the sign says 10 mph corner, it truly is a 10 mph corner. No "double and add 10" which is the case with alot of corners or is my rule of thumb when riding my Ducati (I may go 15 mph on the Ducati, but too risky).
Scraping pegs even with some "body english" still happens on my Harley.
.That's another facet around here... If you are scraping parts and/or attempting to drag knees around here often, then you'll likely often be well into the realm of breaking the law.
Don't get me wrong. I don't ride like a grandma. But I do try to keep things within reason and not be a public menace.
Don't get me wrong. I don't ride like a grandma. But I do try to keep things within reason and not be a public menace.
A good speed limit amusement park are our mountain roads. Typically the limit is 55 which is plenty fast to make your *** pucker on plenty of curves.
#27
10-14-2017, 11:53 AM
My Breakout lean angle isn’t the least of the ‘18 Softail bunch. The Fatboy has that honor. But it’s not the best either. However, I hardly ever scrape the pegs, even with, at times, somewhat spirited riding on country roads. (I’ve been passed... I’m not setting any records.) It’s the very rare occasion I touch a peg. Most days, by far, it doesn’t happen.
Compared with my ‘03 Softail Standard though, the difference is night and day. I don’t know what the lean angle on that bike was, but I think it has more to do with the different suspension. On the ‘03 the pegs were well worn on both sides. It didn’t take much. And the bike was easier to destabilize too.
I say that my Breakout is a cruiser with the heart of a sport bike. It’s not a sport bike, but there’s more to the handling of this new line than can be described with a lean angle spec. Because of the vastly improved handling, I get much more riding enjoyment from it than my ‘03. And the pegs are going to last much longer.
Compared with my ‘03 Softail Standard though, the difference is night and day. I don’t know what the lean angle on that bike was, but I think it has more to do with the different suspension. On the ‘03 the pegs were well worn on both sides. It didn’t take much. And the bike was easier to destabilize too.
I say that my Breakout is a cruiser with the heart of a sport bike. It’s not a sport bike, but there’s more to the handling of this new line than can be described with a lean angle spec. Because of the vastly improved handling, I get much more riding enjoyment from it than my ‘03. And the pegs are going to last much longer.
#28
10-14-2017, 02:59 PM
My Breakout lean angle isn’t the least of the ‘18 Softail bunch. The Fatboy has that honor. But it’s not the best either. However, I hardly ever scrape the pegs, even with, at times, somewhat spirited riding on country roads. (I’ve been passed... I’m not setting any records.) It’s the very rare occasion I touch a peg. Most days, by far, it doesn’t happen.
Compared with my ‘03 Softail Standard though, the difference is night and day. I don’t know what the lean angle on that bike was, but I think it has more to do with the different suspension. On the ‘03 the pegs were well worn on both sides. It didn’t take much. And the bike was easier to destabilize too.
I say that my Breakout is a cruiser with the heart of a sport bike. It’s not a sport bike, but there’s more to the handling of this new line than can be described with a lean angle spec. Because of the vastly improved handling, I get much more riding enjoyment from it than my ‘03. And the pegs are going to last much longer.
Compared with my ‘03 Softail Standard though, the difference is night and day. I don’t know what the lean angle on that bike was, but I think it has more to do with the different suspension. On the ‘03 the pegs were well worn on both sides. It didn’t take much. And the bike was easier to destabilize too.
I say that my Breakout is a cruiser with the heart of a sport bike. It’s not a sport bike, but there’s more to the handling of this new line than can be described with a lean angle spec. Because of the vastly improved handling, I get much more riding enjoyment from it than my ‘03. And the pegs are going to last much longer.
As to handling, the Fatbob is in another league than any of the rest 'cept maybe the Heritage, but the Heritage front end is way too soft and dives hard even looking at the front brake.
I found the Breakout requires a firm and constant input in turns. Unlike bikes with thinner tires, it will not fall into a corner and stay there. It wants to stand up and go straight. I'm sure it could be ridden at a fairly fun pace, it just takes more work. I didn't have to try hard to drag its pegs. No big deal, but it was designed to cruise. It does that well.
The Fatbob genuinely hanldles like a sporty bike.
#29
10-15-2017, 02:03 AM
Ok, reading all the comments on this thread have convinced me that I should be good to not scrape pegs on the Fat Bob unless my form is very poor or i'm speed racing on the road! Neither should be a problem for me so ... i'm going to buy a Fat Bob... damn, I love my Iron though... it's going to be hard for me to let it go... if only my Iron had a bigger engine and more lean angle.... hmm.. isn't that just a Fat Bob???
