Softtail Deluxe
Cruiser
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 187
Likes: 1
From: Ottenheim, KY
RE: Softtail Deluxe
This was my first ride on a Harley. It was my new Deluxe. I will never forget it!
The dealer opened at 9:00 so I got my wife and youngest daughter up at 6:00 to get ready. It is about an hour drive to the dealer and I didn’t want to wait an extra minute. After what seemed like hours of them “doing their hair”, we were finally under way. I promised them breakfast at Big Boy so we stopped there on the way. It took me all of 8 minutes to eat. I couldn’t understand why they felt the need to chew their food. Seemed like a waste at the time. Oh well, I sat there tapping my fingers on the table until they were ready to go.
We got to the dealer around 9:30 and I proceeded in to find the sales woman. My wife and daughter went straight for the T-shirt stand. The sales woman was running over the paperwork with the financial lady and they started me off with one of the dealer’s traditions. I made a poker run around the store pulling cards from each department. I didn’t do so well. I only got a pair and that was worth a $10 gift certificate. Oh well, I wasn’t really too excited about that anyway. I was ready for the bike!
We hopped into the elevator and went to the basement for the service department. There was a blue million bikes down there. Every conceivable configuration was represented. It was fascinating to see all those machines.
We went into the service area and that’s when I saw her. (My wife named the bike “Elvira – Mistress of the Dark”.) Elvira was sitting there in all her glory. Vivid black with a ton of chrome attached. I can’t begin to describe the feeling of seeing it there finally. A chill ran up and down my spine as I looked at it. After years of dreaming, my bike had arrived. All I wanted to do was fire it up and ride, but no, we have to go through a multitude of checklists first. We can’t have the dealer liable for any oversight!
This all took place on Saturday, June 16, 2007. It turns out that the local HOG chapter was hosting a ride, which started at the dealership on this morning. I was allowed to push the bike into the parking lot to fire it up. Much to my surprise, there were around 150 bikers standing there watching me. My first fear was that I would drop the bike right in front of them. I fired it up. The engine sounded incredible – even with stock mufflers. I tried to let the clutch out slowly like I was taught in the MSF class, but this thing is no Honda and I soon learned what 96 cubic inches is all about. I immediately pulled the clutch lever and got her under control – whew.
I decided to take her around the neighborhood a few times. It seemed that the learning curve for this bike passed quickly. The bike is low to the ground and feels extremely solid. Learning to harness the power of the engine with the clutch lever was the only real chore. After about an hour of playing around, it was time to head for home.
I went back to the dealer to retrieve my wife and daughter. They were going to follow me home on this trip. We headed out Man-o-war Boulevard, which circles the southern, half of Lexington, KY. This was my first encounter with traffic. Another Harley pulled up next to me at a traffic light. He nodded, that made me feel more confident – I was part of something bigger!
After some lessons in traffic, it was time to hit the highway. The speed limit on Bluegrass parkway is 65, but the dealership told me to stay below 50 for the break-in. my wife ran block for me from behind. I didn’t have any tailgaters on this trip! I took Elvira up to 50 then back to 40 many times on that 18-mile stretch of highway. I was passed by my first 18-wheeler. That was interesting for sure.
From Bluegrass Parkway, we traveled down U.S. 127 to Stanford and on home. It was a pretty boring stretch of road except when we traveled through downtown Harrodsburg. The main drag is decorated with U.S. flags and the town looks be
The dealer opened at 9:00 so I got my wife and youngest daughter up at 6:00 to get ready. It is about an hour drive to the dealer and I didn’t want to wait an extra minute. After what seemed like hours of them “doing their hair”, we were finally under way. I promised them breakfast at Big Boy so we stopped there on the way. It took me all of 8 minutes to eat. I couldn’t understand why they felt the need to chew their food. Seemed like a waste at the time. Oh well, I sat there tapping my fingers on the table until they were ready to go.
We got to the dealer around 9:30 and I proceeded in to find the sales woman. My wife and daughter went straight for the T-shirt stand. The sales woman was running over the paperwork with the financial lady and they started me off with one of the dealer’s traditions. I made a poker run around the store pulling cards from each department. I didn’t do so well. I only got a pair and that was worth a $10 gift certificate. Oh well, I wasn’t really too excited about that anyway. I was ready for the bike!
We hopped into the elevator and went to the basement for the service department. There was a blue million bikes down there. Every conceivable configuration was represented. It was fascinating to see all those machines.
We went into the service area and that’s when I saw her. (My wife named the bike “Elvira – Mistress of the Dark”.) Elvira was sitting there in all her glory. Vivid black with a ton of chrome attached. I can’t begin to describe the feeling of seeing it there finally. A chill ran up and down my spine as I looked at it. After years of dreaming, my bike had arrived. All I wanted to do was fire it up and ride, but no, we have to go through a multitude of checklists first. We can’t have the dealer liable for any oversight!
This all took place on Saturday, June 16, 2007. It turns out that the local HOG chapter was hosting a ride, which started at the dealership on this morning. I was allowed to push the bike into the parking lot to fire it up. Much to my surprise, there were around 150 bikers standing there watching me. My first fear was that I would drop the bike right in front of them. I fired it up. The engine sounded incredible – even with stock mufflers. I tried to let the clutch out slowly like I was taught in the MSF class, but this thing is no Honda and I soon learned what 96 cubic inches is all about. I immediately pulled the clutch lever and got her under control – whew.
I decided to take her around the neighborhood a few times. It seemed that the learning curve for this bike passed quickly. The bike is low to the ground and feels extremely solid. Learning to harness the power of the engine with the clutch lever was the only real chore. After about an hour of playing around, it was time to head for home.
I went back to the dealer to retrieve my wife and daughter. They were going to follow me home on this trip. We headed out Man-o-war Boulevard, which circles the southern, half of Lexington, KY. This was my first encounter with traffic. Another Harley pulled up next to me at a traffic light. He nodded, that made me feel more confident – I was part of something bigger!
After some lessons in traffic, it was time to hit the highway. The speed limit on Bluegrass parkway is 65, but the dealership told me to stay below 50 for the break-in. my wife ran block for me from behind. I didn’t have any tailgaters on this trip! I took Elvira up to 50 then back to 40 many times on that 18-mile stretch of highway. I was passed by my first 18-wheeler. That was interesting for sure.
From Bluegrass Parkway, we traveled down U.S. 127 to Stanford and on home. It was a pretty boring stretch of road except when we traveled through downtown Harrodsburg. The main drag is decorated with U.S. flags and the town looks be
Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 671
Likes: 0
From:
RE: Softtail Deluxe
I started on a deluxe... it's an easy riding bike. You can either ride or ya can't... so why buy a little bike and have to get rid of it in a month? Get what you want and don't worry about it
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
