2020 SGS Steering
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Cruiser
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 147
Likes: 18
From: Amherst, NH
2020 SGS Steering
This is my fourth Harley, mixed in with a bunch of other makes. I've only had the chance to put a 150 miles on it, so far. But, I've noticed the steering feels a bit light. Almost like the front end just wants to flop at slow speeds and a little twitchy at high speeds. My last bike was a new generation Goldwing, which has an extremely low center of gravity, easy to maneuver at low speeds and super stable at high speeds. Maybe the new SGS just has a different geometry and that is what I'm feeling. Anyone else notice the light feeling at low speeds and a little twitchy at high speeds ?
Tourer
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 309
Likes: 186
What I've noticed on my RK is that the steering is light initially, which I attribute to rake: the touring frames have a bit less rake than other bikes. I say "initial" because the turn-in is light but you really have to focus on countersteering to finish the turn. With a firm hand it's amazing what these bikes can do in high speed turns. Shifting your weight can help reduce risk of dragging parts, and it helps leverage your countersteering, but it's neither necessary nor sufficient to turn the bike
As for low speed turns, yeah there's a little bit of flop but not as much as on my old softail. You're carrying more weight up front so ymmv, but it seems these touring bikes handle great in close quarters if you know what you're doing. Which I don't. So far it seems to do best if I give it a little gas and use the rear brake to tighten the turn. I don't know that's the right answer but the bike seems to feel a little better when I do that
Overall I like the touring frame, I bought it for comfort as much as anything but was pleasantly surprised how well it handles. My LR was quite a bit quicker, both in terms of acceleration and side-to-side transitions (like in S-curves) but just in terms of hustling around a corner, the touring frame doesn't give up a bit to the softail and may be a bit more agile, once you get used to managing the intertia.
As for low speed turns, yeah there's a little bit of flop but not as much as on my old softail. You're carrying more weight up front so ymmv, but it seems these touring bikes handle great in close quarters if you know what you're doing. Which I don't. So far it seems to do best if I give it a little gas and use the rear brake to tighten the turn. I don't know that's the right answer but the bike seems to feel a little better when I do that
Overall I like the touring frame, I bought it for comfort as much as anything but was pleasantly surprised how well it handles. My LR was quite a bit quicker, both in terms of acceleration and side-to-side transitions (like in S-curves) but just in terms of hustling around a corner, the touring frame doesn't give up a bit to the softail and may be a bit more agile, once you get used to managing the intertia.
Road Master
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 1,045
Likes: 102
From: Waukesha, WI
Have the dealer check the neck bearing adjustment, see if you can test ride another they have while they're looking at it to compare to. Sometimes the bearings are adjusted on the loose side of spec from the factory, a good tech can get it dialed in on the tighter side.
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