Facetime with a Batwing
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Joined: Jul 2007
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From: Indy area
Facetime with a Batwing
Got an 07 Road King Classic and have put nearly 14,000 miles on her (Pearl) since a year and a couple weeks ago. Have 2-inch-baffle Rush mufflers on the stock pipes, a K&N airbox, and a PC-III piggybacked on the ECU with a map (now) mostly from Jamie at Fuelmoto.
I was slightly perplexed after putting the PC-III and airbox on after about a thousand miles of just the mufflers. Learned all about the Delphi Adaptive Fueling then reset my AFVs by putting everything stock again for a Saturday morning ride. Put the aftermarket stuff all back on at once and all is well since then.
Had a chance tonight to spend some time on an 08 Ultra Classic with about 800 miles on the clock. I do not reckon it was any more than about 25 miles total, but it was the perfect combination of them just about possible.
It had the same mufflers as mine as-is from the dealer. No ECU flash so far as I know (not that there even is one for those mufflers).
Okay.
I have been wanting to try both an 08 and an Ultra Classic and this was a perfect opportunity.
First impression is it lifts off the jiffy stand a bit more difficultly than mine. Sounds close to the same. Just like mine did with just the mufflers (mine sounds better now. It is less raspy and deeper/fuller).
Once rolling it does not feel so drastically different from mine. Sure there is a bit more weight, a lot of it fairly high, but it aint far off.
I do not know if it had the antilock brakes. I did jam on just the rear and it did not lock up, but it was not the best condition to maybe make it happen anyway the one time I thought of it. Maybe it was just the extra weight, but I do not see what all the hubbub is about the Brembos. Seemed to take more pressure on the lever and it seemed a bit mushier than mine.
The cableless throttle feels a bit different, but not worse, really. Just different. Maybe a little less connected-feeling. But part of that may be the definitely more anemic feel to the powertrain. But part of that may be the greater weight.
The front cone on his right muffler was golden. Mine have never done anything at all like that. They are almost still as beautiful as the day I got them. Did I already say that I had put about a thousand miles on the bike with just the mufflers? My Rushes look very good still, even after nearly 13,000 miles of undue neglect in the bike-cleaning department.
So anyway. The blockage of the near-in-front roadway by the batwing was not quite as objectionable as I had thought it might be. All the instruments made me feel oddly more like I was in a cage, as did the sound system. The seat seemed at first like it should be good for several hundred miles. After a few on it, though, I felt like I was sitting higher and further forward from what I am currently used to, but part of that may have been the handlebars. And it really only offered me pretty much just the one position. I do not know how that would pan out for me in the long run.
The dash and tunes were certainly entertaining. I can see their utility.
But the ride home on my own mount afterward really cemented a couple of really great attributes that my bike has. It is definitely more nimble and peppier. Again, some of both can be directly attributed to the weight difference. But riding my Pearl was just plain more elemental, for lack of a better single word. The Ultra Classic experience is just more car-like. Not really saying that is bad, but to me right now it is not the more desireable of the two. Maybe if my riding was primarily two-up things would be different...
The only bike that has really caused my eye to wander from Pearl so far has been the 07 Street Glide. It was just for a moment once late last summer.
I am happy with my purchase(s) [now happier] and think she is a keeper. Thanks anyway. Nice try. Maybe check back in with me in a few years, okay? For now I am sure I have made the best decision.
I was slightly perplexed after putting the PC-III and airbox on after about a thousand miles of just the mufflers. Learned all about the Delphi Adaptive Fueling then reset my AFVs by putting everything stock again for a Saturday morning ride. Put the aftermarket stuff all back on at once and all is well since then.
Had a chance tonight to spend some time on an 08 Ultra Classic with about 800 miles on the clock. I do not reckon it was any more than about 25 miles total, but it was the perfect combination of them just about possible.
It had the same mufflers as mine as-is from the dealer. No ECU flash so far as I know (not that there even is one for those mufflers).
Okay.
I have been wanting to try both an 08 and an Ultra Classic and this was a perfect opportunity.
First impression is it lifts off the jiffy stand a bit more difficultly than mine. Sounds close to the same. Just like mine did with just the mufflers (mine sounds better now. It is less raspy and deeper/fuller).
Once rolling it does not feel so drastically different from mine. Sure there is a bit more weight, a lot of it fairly high, but it aint far off.
I do not know if it had the antilock brakes. I did jam on just the rear and it did not lock up, but it was not the best condition to maybe make it happen anyway the one time I thought of it. Maybe it was just the extra weight, but I do not see what all the hubbub is about the Brembos. Seemed to take more pressure on the lever and it seemed a bit mushier than mine.
The cableless throttle feels a bit different, but not worse, really. Just different. Maybe a little less connected-feeling. But part of that may be the definitely more anemic feel to the powertrain. But part of that may be the greater weight.
The front cone on his right muffler was golden. Mine have never done anything at all like that. They are almost still as beautiful as the day I got them. Did I already say that I had put about a thousand miles on the bike with just the mufflers? My Rushes look very good still, even after nearly 13,000 miles of undue neglect in the bike-cleaning department.
So anyway. The blockage of the near-in-front roadway by the batwing was not quite as objectionable as I had thought it might be. All the instruments made me feel oddly more like I was in a cage, as did the sound system. The seat seemed at first like it should be good for several hundred miles. After a few on it, though, I felt like I was sitting higher and further forward from what I am currently used to, but part of that may have been the handlebars. And it really only offered me pretty much just the one position. I do not know how that would pan out for me in the long run.
The dash and tunes were certainly entertaining. I can see their utility.
But the ride home on my own mount afterward really cemented a couple of really great attributes that my bike has. It is definitely more nimble and peppier. Again, some of both can be directly attributed to the weight difference. But riding my Pearl was just plain more elemental, for lack of a better single word. The Ultra Classic experience is just more car-like. Not really saying that is bad, but to me right now it is not the more desireable of the two. Maybe if my riding was primarily two-up things would be different...
The only bike that has really caused my eye to wander from Pearl so far has been the 07 Street Glide. It was just for a moment once late last summer.
I am happy with my purchase(s) [now happier] and think she is a keeper. Thanks anyway. Nice try. Maybe check back in with me in a few years, okay? For now I am sure I have made the best decision.
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