There are times when the bike gets "walked" no matter what. I back mine into the garage, it gets "walked" backwards. Occasionally it gets walked forward for a short distance also. My Road King did something I never experienced on a bike from any other manufacturer. To keep the weight approximately equal for both feet (bike neutrally balanced) it must lean slightly to the outside of the turn. When stationary, turn the handlebars full to the right and the bike wants to fall to the right, to keep it neutral it must be leaned very slightly left. The opposite happens with the bars full left. When maneuvering too slowly for normal riding dynamics to work this counter intuitive reaction caught me off guard many times and generated some near dumps. It literally took a year for me to get used to that (slow learner perhaps).

The other thing that broke my concentration was the difference in switch location and function. I lost count of how many times I wanted a short tap of the horn and activated the left turn signal instead. That snaps your brain from watching traffic to operating the bike and it takes a while to recover.

The passenger foot boards got me also. I just put my feet a bit wider when I stopped and that took care of the problem. I have been riding solo much of the time for the last couple of years and when I have a passenger I have to re-learn the wider foot position.

I was 63 when I got my first Harley and had a lot of years of other bikes to un-learn. If I could do it, so can you. Starting with a very full dresser was a very big jump. No wonder you are a bit spooked. After years of riding the Harley I now feel rather unsteady on the old Virago when I need to ride it.

 

#1, don't ride 2 up until you feel comfortable solo. I went from a 475lb Vulcan 750 to a 950 lb Ultra. Scared the crap out of myself skidding the rear around on panic stops, so I took the Rider's Edge Skilled Rider's Course. Very worthwhile. I also like the book Proficient Motorcycling.

I agree with getting your feet on floorboads ASAP. I only walk backwards, on treacherous surfaces, or steep tight U-Turns.

Good luck.

 

Gipper, that wasn't intended as a criticism, btw....just saying that even if you keep your feet out for balance/just in case, I doubt anyone thinks it's a good idea to "walk" the bike forward as you are taking off in gear. I don't care how anyone else rides...it is just safer to get your feet up and outta the way is all I'm saying.

 

OK i'll call gipper and anyone else who does that out - horseshit is using your legs as outriggers when you take off or land your Harley - you are fooling yourself if you think your 10 pounds of leg/foot/boot ballast will make an 8-900 pound bike any more stable. I've even seen guys who like to drag their boot soles along when going slow - all that does is wear out your boots. You should be able to pick up your feet as soon as you let out the clutch and put them down just as the bike comes to a full stop. Everything else is just bad riding, even if you've been doing it for 40 years. Sorry but it's the truth...


OP - you are going to have to trust the bike - Harleys have the best slow speed stability of any touring bike - practice relaxing your arms, picking up your feet and looking where you are headed. The bike does the rest...

 

LMAO - I remember dropping the SG (was able to get out the way) the first time a rode it. I had a VStar 650 which has pegs, so when i rode the SG, i didn't put my foot down at a stop - LOL. My foot being now on floor boards felt like my foot was already on the floor - What a dumb ***! LOL. Needless to say, it took an army to get the bike upright again.

OP - ride that beast every chance you get, you will tame it soon enough.

 

MadIrish: No offense taken at all, and didn't even consider the idea that I was being criticized.

 

Joe: I never said that I do that while taking off or even landing my bike. As a matter of fact, I don't. I said that while moving at slow speeds I often stick my legs out. However, in going back and looking at my first post, I see that there was a disconnect between by eyes and brain, which happens all too frequently these days. My first response followed the comment whereby the poster said that he could never understand why someone would take off with their legs dangling....
I agree completely that in taking off, it's NOT helpful. On the contrary.

Carry on.....I'm going back to sleep. Should have stayed there to begin with...clearly.

 

I practice slow speed maneuvers in an empty parking lot, usually early in the morning or at night. Like a wise man once told me, "It is EASY to ride fast, riding slow is the hard part!"

Good luck.

 

I'm a pretty short rider at 5'5" (5'6" w/boots!). I've got an ultra limited low and I was impressed at how easy the bike is to handle at speed. I've always been intimidated or perhaps just overly cautious about low speed maneuvers and the ultra was a concern. I didn't want to drop the bike. I did a bunch of reading and watching (those ride like a pro videos are great) and realized even though I had be riding for 15 years, I was simply not riding correctly. All you guys have hit on the keys to success for low speed maneuvers: strike a balance between throttle, clutch, and use of the rear brake and combine that with looking where you want to go. It really works.

Just the other day I had to u-turn the bike in a small parking lot (not much wider than a 2 lane road. In the past, I would have done the duck walk of shame. But I put my new found skills to the test, and I u-turned that 900lb bike, slow as could be, in less than the width of 2 lanes. I turned my head and that bike came right around with lots of room to spare. Gained a lot of confidence that day.

Now it's all about practicing and getting comfortable. Check out the videos... well worth the time. It's amazing the turn radius of these bikes.

 

lol me too - getting old is not for ******...