Test ride a 2014 SGS
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 80
Likes: 0
From: Detroit
Test rode a 2014 SGS
To sum it up....I'm not impressed. I like the looks of the new glides and had plans of getting a new one early next year. After riding the "demo/rental" the local shop had, I will put 10k into my current bike before I would buy new one...
Pros:
I like the radio with navigation. Although $2500 is steep. I could have a sporty to park next to it for that!
The inner fairing is sharp all painted to match. The bike looks good with the "custom" touches.
The bike rides really smooth. More so than I expected.
Cons:
The seat was way too far forward. I'm 6'2" and I had a hard time using the rear brake. They would sell me a "tall boy" seat though, not too bad to fix.
Bike was too quiet! Again easy fix, just more $$$!
The motor seemed to stumble on take off but leveled off when it was at higher rpms. Maybe this one was beat up when rented, but the salesman said it was normal and I should rev it a bit higher. I expect it to be smooth at all rpms...idle to redline.
Motor seems underpowered. Cannot believe how sluggish it was. I am used to a TC88 with intake, exhaust, and cams...my bike is certainly peppier!
Worksmanship and quality seems to have declined in the last decade. The leather had tears from boots dragging on it. Appears to be thinner than the older bikes. Chrome was blued on the pipes and other engine parts. Is it now done overseas? Really dissapointed. Handlebar controls feel cheap...a joystick? Is this Atari? seems like it will fail and be costly to replace too.
The biggest issue? Price!... 27k for this bike? Really? Then pipes...350, intake...200, seat...300, tuner...300, windshield...125.
I don't think I will ever get rid of my bike. Anyone else feel the same way?
Pros:
I like the radio with navigation. Although $2500 is steep. I could have a sporty to park next to it for that!
The inner fairing is sharp all painted to match. The bike looks good with the "custom" touches.
The bike rides really smooth. More so than I expected.
Cons:
The seat was way too far forward. I'm 6'2" and I had a hard time using the rear brake. They would sell me a "tall boy" seat though, not too bad to fix.
Bike was too quiet! Again easy fix, just more $$$!
The motor seemed to stumble on take off but leveled off when it was at higher rpms. Maybe this one was beat up when rented, but the salesman said it was normal and I should rev it a bit higher. I expect it to be smooth at all rpms...idle to redline.
Motor seems underpowered. Cannot believe how sluggish it was. I am used to a TC88 with intake, exhaust, and cams...my bike is certainly peppier!
Worksmanship and quality seems to have declined in the last decade. The leather had tears from boots dragging on it. Appears to be thinner than the older bikes. Chrome was blued on the pipes and other engine parts. Is it now done overseas? Really dissapointed. Handlebar controls feel cheap...a joystick? Is this Atari? seems like it will fail and be costly to replace too.
The biggest issue? Price!... 27k for this bike? Really? Then pipes...350, intake...200, seat...300, tuner...300, windshield...125.
I don't think I will ever get rid of my bike. Anyone else feel the same way?
Last edited by shizzomynizzo; Aug 8, 2014 at 10:33 PM.
Road Master
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,026
Likes: 4
From: Lansing, MI
I think the craftsmanship is first rate. I'm only slightly disappointed in the performance but that's because I came from the sport bike world, but it is more than I expected. Overall, I love this bike.
Road Warrior
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 1,879
Likes: 10
From: Jacksonville
I've ridden a 90 low rider and a 2000 RKC. I'm coming directly from the 09-13s though. The seats on the older harleys were bricks. I believe the 09+ frames are actually longer. I thought the SGS seat was decent, although I changed it out. The Ultra seats really cram you on the tank. The RKC seats lift you up too high.
Not much HD can do about the sound though, EPA requires it to be super quiet off the floor. What sucks even more is there is a cat in the header pipe instead of the muffler, so to really make it loud, you gotta change that out and get a tune (if you're used to carb).
I put extended floor boards and extended shifter on it. They don't have the extended brake pedal yet, but hopefully soon. I lifted the handle bars to the maximum height. The foot brake is a little awkward, but I got used to it fast. HD can't make a bike that fits everyone. I'm 6'3". They're generally made for 5'9" folks.
As far as sluggish, it's pretty damn peppy compared to the 09+ years. The 2000 RKC was surprisingly peppy stock.
Mine is smooth on acceleration and at speed. Those demo and rental bikes get ragged to hell by new riders, you might wanna try to see if you can find a different one.
I'm really happy with it. It might just be that it's different from what you're used to, especially if you've been riding the same one for a long time.
Having said that, there's something cool about the older HDs, especially the carbed ones. They're very mechanical which has a feeling all it's own. My wife has a 2004 1200c that's carbed and that bike is the ****. I take it out here and there but it's pretty small on me.
Not much HD can do about the sound though, EPA requires it to be super quiet off the floor. What sucks even more is there is a cat in the header pipe instead of the muffler, so to really make it loud, you gotta change that out and get a tune (if you're used to carb).
I put extended floor boards and extended shifter on it. They don't have the extended brake pedal yet, but hopefully soon. I lifted the handle bars to the maximum height. The foot brake is a little awkward, but I got used to it fast. HD can't make a bike that fits everyone. I'm 6'3". They're generally made for 5'9" folks.
As far as sluggish, it's pretty damn peppy compared to the 09+ years. The 2000 RKC was surprisingly peppy stock.
Mine is smooth on acceleration and at speed. Those demo and rental bikes get ragged to hell by new riders, you might wanna try to see if you can find a different one.
I'm really happy with it. It might just be that it's different from what you're used to, especially if you've been riding the same one for a long time.
Having said that, there's something cool about the older HDs, especially the carbed ones. They're very mechanical which has a feeling all it's own. My wife has a 2004 1200c that's carbed and that bike is the ****. I take it out here and there but it's pretty small on me.
Cruiser
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 112
Likes: 10
From: Florida
I've ridden a 90 low rider and a 2000 RKC. I'm coming directly from the 09-13s though. The seats on the older harleys were bricks. I believe the 09+ frames are actually longer. I thought the SGS seat was decent, although I changed it out. The Ultra seats really cram you on the tank. The RKC seats lift you up too high.
Not much HD can do about the sound though, EPA requires it to be super quiet off the floor. What sucks even more is there is a cat in the header pipe instead of the muffler, so to really make it loud, you gotta change that out and get a tune (if you're used to carb).
I put extended floor boards and extended shifter on it. They don't have the extended brake pedal yet, but hopefully soon. I lifted the handle bars to the maximum height. The foot brake is a little awkward, but I got used to it fast. HD can't make a bike that fits everyone. I'm 6'3". They're generally made for 5'9" folks.
As far as sluggish, it's pretty damn peppy compared to the 09+ years. The 2000 RKC was surprisingly peppy stock.
Mine is smooth on acceleration and at speed. Those demo and rental bikes get ragged to hell by new riders, you might wanna try to see if you can find a different one.
I'm really happy with it. It might just be that it's different from what you're used to, especially if you've been riding the same one for a long time.
Having said that, there's something cool about the older HDs, especially the carbed ones. They're very mechanical which has a feeling all it's own. My wife has a 2004 1200c that's carbed and that bike is the ****. I take it out here and there but it's pretty small on me.
Not much HD can do about the sound though, EPA requires it to be super quiet off the floor. What sucks even more is there is a cat in the header pipe instead of the muffler, so to really make it loud, you gotta change that out and get a tune (if you're used to carb).
I put extended floor boards and extended shifter on it. They don't have the extended brake pedal yet, but hopefully soon. I lifted the handle bars to the maximum height. The foot brake is a little awkward, but I got used to it fast. HD can't make a bike that fits everyone. I'm 6'3". They're generally made for 5'9" folks.
As far as sluggish, it's pretty damn peppy compared to the 09+ years. The 2000 RKC was surprisingly peppy stock.
Mine is smooth on acceleration and at speed. Those demo and rental bikes get ragged to hell by new riders, you might wanna try to see if you can find a different one.
I'm really happy with it. It might just be that it's different from what you're used to, especially if you've been riding the same one for a long time.
Having said that, there's something cool about the older HDs, especially the carbed ones. They're very mechanical which has a feeling all it's own. My wife has a 2004 1200c that's carbed and that bike is the ****. I take it out here and there but it's pretty small on me.
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,912
Likes: 123
From: Spokane, WA
Your correct that the bike is overpriced, all Harley's are as evidenced by the amount of cash that the Moco is sitting on and how newer Harley's no longer retain value like they used to. They will continue to be overpriced until the supply of buyers lowers to a certain point where the bikes sell at a noticeably lower rate (ie they sit on the floor longer). it will take about 18-24 months to see if sales slip to a less frenetic pace compared to the current Rushmore sales bump. But I doubt that the Moco will even respond that soon with more reasonable pricing.
Last edited by Nickatnyt; Aug 9, 2014 at 01:45 AM.
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Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,739
Likes: 153
From: Fayetteville, NC
I test rode one and it didn't impress me either. Know why? Because I didn't want to be impressed. I rode it with the intent to prove that my 13 was a keeper. With that sort of mindset, of course I wasn't going to be impressed. I say that to say----I bet the 14 is a fantastic ride and it requires the same exact money that my 13 took to make it ride the way I wanted. No way the 14 was going to feel better than my 13 …considering I've poured thousands into mine to make it feel and look the way I want.
Baldguy…..my entire crew came from sport bikes. You won't miss that sport bike after a while---just do some minor mods and you'll be quite happy with the performance. I only have a stage 1 with PCV…and I gotta say I love the power. Some of my other buddies who just had to open theirs up….some did CAMS and two guys did a Stage 4.
Baldguy…..my entire crew came from sport bikes. You won't miss that sport bike after a while---just do some minor mods and you'll be quite happy with the performance. I only have a stage 1 with PCV…and I gotta say I love the power. Some of my other buddies who just had to open theirs up….some did CAMS and two guys did a Stage 4.
Last edited by sfcmo357; Aug 9, 2014 at 07:34 AM.
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,833
Likes: 35
From: Southern Maryland
yup, agree....been there done that. had a 2010 Ultra Classic and wanted the bigger engine so i got a 2013 Ultra Classic Limited and did the pipes, cleaner and tuner, custom seat, zumo nav, led headlights. i thought about trading it in but the more i looked at the new ones and the more i rode my bike, the less i wanted to trade. its a vicious never-ending circle if you let it be.