After running a few errands I was left with a some rather unexpected spare time at hand, and suddenly found myself driving by the
Harley Davidson dealership. An inner voice (weirdly enough it seemed to come with a British accent, very much sounding like a
certain bloke I recently had the pleasure to meet in person) told me to have a look at the Sportsters on display. The sales guy saw me coming with riding gear at the ready and offered me a test ride, which I gladly accepted.
I rode the 2011 Sportster Iron 883 (be back in 10 minutes, is what I said). To be honest, I wasn't expecting anything, but heck, was I in for a surprise. A five hundred pounds pile of iron, somewhat heavy, but it was yellow, so what could go wrong.
The bike was as spartan as the
Bonnie, a tachometer, some idiot lights, hey, self cancelling indicators, but that was it. A push on the starter button and a deep rumble came to life, the beast awoke and shook its booty, actually the the full body was in motion, but it was a pleasant feeling of power.
First I struggled a bit with the awkward riding position, but while in motion the seating wasn't too different anymore from riding my Vespa, comfy and with arms and legs in relaxed position.
Once on the road this baby was so easy to handle, and took the turns gracefully. I rode lazy on the clutch, there was no painful shifting up and down in slow traffic like it used to be with the Beemer.
The sound of the motor mesmerized me, I must have fallen in some kind of trance, and suddenly realized that I had just missed the road back to the dealership...
I returned the bike almost an hour later, thinking: What the hell just happened?
Baby what a big surprise
Right before my very eyes
Yesterday it seemed to me
My life was nothing more than wasted time
But here today you've softly changed my mind.
(Apologies, I am a product of the 70's, lyrics taken from Chicago)
Cycle Ergo Result:
Not much of a difference if you ask me...
Not much of a difference if you ask me...
Sigh....the Devil is whispering in your ear Sonja!
ReplyDeleteOr Gary....probably one and the same person :-)
Glad you enjoyed the ride. And they even let you take a yellow one out.
ReplyDeleteI think the last time I was on it, it broke down on the way into downtown Calgary. She taught me a little poem:
"Ride a Harley,
Ride the best.
Ride a mile,
Walk the rest."
I haven't been on a Harley since. Hers was stolen a while after my brother's was stolen. Damn crooks. Was either in Calgary or Edmonton where both were stolen.
Oh, and thanks, I now have that song stuck in my head. I don't mind though, Chicago is one of my favorites.
@Geoff: Oh, boy, first there was the North American Beemer Kool Aid crew, then it was the Kiwis pushing towards Triumph, and now it is a Brit who planted the seed of a Harley... not sure were this will end.
ReplyDelete@Trobairitz: At least they offer alarm systems and 24h road side assistance these days, eh?! Bummer you guys lost your Harleys to those suckers. And you must be a kid of the 70's too.
I rented an 883 Sportster once and had a wonderful time on it. I liked it a lot. Liked the power, enjoyed the sound and the "feel". I was in the local Harley dealership to talk to them and noticed the used airhead there on consignment which is the bike I ended up getting.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you liked it. Personally I prefer the Iron in black as it looks so mean – put “883 Iron” into Google Images to see what I mean as nearly all are black. Combined with some aftermarket pipes (Vance and Hines are recommended) to get more of the Harley ‘rumble’ this bike might just be what you are after! Just imagine those looks you will get riding a Harley! One slight problem could be storage, but you can get soft saddlebags which look good and can be taken off to keep the great look of the bike without them.
ReplyDeleteBUT, whatever you do, you MUST wait until 21st July, when the 2012 models will be unveiled by H-D. If you are seriously smitten with the 883 Iron, then waiting to see the 2012 models is a must!
@Geoff – Innocent me? The Devil? LOL
If it has ABS get it!
ReplyDeleteAh, the Harley mystique. And it does look like a good fit!
ReplyDeleteSorry for the half garbled comment Sonja. I was having trouble with the comment feature last night. It was meant to say the last Harley I was on was me mum's and it broke down the last time I was on it. Before cell phones of course. We had to walk to a pay phone.
ReplyDeleteMy brother's was stolen right from the lot of the Harley dealership where he worked. It wasn't even registered in his name yet, was too new. And no one bats an eye when they hear a harley start at a harley dealership so they didn't notice until later. Doh!
@Richard: For me it was a first time on a Harley and I was so different from what I expected. It doesn't really compare with anything I rode or owned before.
ReplyDelete@Gary France: Oh yeah, flat black would be nice, and as few chrome as possible with this bike. I haven't thought about storage yet, as I was so in the moment. That might become an issue. The salesman also mentioned the new model release, not sure if we get all of it in Canada, as it says 'selected distribution'.
@Nikos: I am afraid it needs another decade before HD puts ABS on all bikes as a standard, but the breaks on the Iron actually felt pretty good.
@Canajun: It does, doesn't it? One more thing to think about.
@Trobairitz: Your mum rode and your bro worked at a Harley dealership? How cool is that. BTW I broke down with my old R80 Beemer once before the cell phone era, it is not really limited to brands I guess ;-)
the sound, the feel, the fit...there is something about the 883's :)
ReplyDeleteThat is about the same reaction the first time I felt comfortable enough to ride Oilburner's 1200 Sportster. I was amazed at the confidence I had in handling and corner. That thing was just fun to ride. Just not quite enough to make it mine though. ;)
ReplyDelete-Lori
@mq01: Yep, I got a glimpse of why people ride Harleys.
ReplyDelete@BeemerGirl: Lori, I am still sitting on the fence but at least in already narrowed it down to three brands: Beemer, Triumph and (should be OR, my hubby corrects me) Harley.
A harley eh? Talk about straying from the path!
ReplyDelete: )
As to comparing riding styles of HD riders and scooters....methinks that the piraty crowd may object to the comparison. : )
dom
Redleg's Rides
Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner
Yellow - it's such a happy color!
ReplyDelete@Charlie6: I am surprised that no pirate cried out loud when I made the ergonomic comparison ;-) But honestly it feels almost the same. Maybe lots of HD riders are indeed closet Vespa rider...
ReplyDelete@VStar Lady: Yellow has worked for me so far.