Harley Davidson is an American motorcycle company founded in 1903. It is one of the most iconic brands and has a huge fanbase.
I have a friend who is a Harley fanboy and he knows each and every model of Harley motorcycles in and out and also has connections with people who ride Harley throughout the world.
Most of the Harley Davidson fans are like that. They see the motorcycle brand not as a motorcycle but as a lifestyle product. For them Harley Davidson is a sensation, a feeling.
Personally I'm not so much into cruisers. I prefer naked bikes since they are easy to handle and are pretty comfortable. So naturally I'm not a big fanboy of Harley Davidson.
But I do have a dream of having a Harley Davidson in my garage, preferably the smaller among them like the Iron 883. It has the Harley character as well as it's easy to handle.
One of my friend owns a Harley Davidson 48 Sportster and today I got an opportunity to ride it on the highway.
The motorcycle has a 1202cc V-Twin air cooled engine which produces a max torque of 107 Nm at 4000rpm. When it comes to real world experience, it pulls like a mad bull.
My KTM Duke 390 itself is a beast of a machine but after riding the 48 for a longer distance today, I felt like my 390 was like an underpowered bicycle.
I could easily hit upto 120kph on the straights and I was not feeling very confident crossing above 120kph mark. It is mostly due to the wobbling on the handlebars after crossing 120. I'm guessing either the tyres are the culprits or there is some alignment issue which needs addressing.
In the highways, there's absolutely no heating issues but in city it heats up very quick and turns your legs into a human shawarma. This is because it is air cooled and it needs a continuous flow of air to the engine.
The brakes weren't that great. This could be due to old worn out brake pads, disk or master cylinder. It could also be that I was expecting it to perform better than my modern machine, the Duke 390 which itself has a good stopping power due to less weight.
Also, one thing I felt after riding it for a while was that you get used to the torque and then you'll not feel like it is highly torquey. It starts feeling like a normal bike.
What I love about the bike is the sound it makes. The V-Twin makes a unique thump that gives you a feeling that's hard to describe. Let me share you the sound of a V-Twin so you can undertake what I'm trying to explain unsuccessfully in words.
Overall it was a wonderful experience and if you ask me whether I would be interested to have this in my garage, I'd say maybe I'd keep it for about 6 months before getting bored and selling it.
Thanks to my friend Kiran for the ride and also, thanks to you guys for reading till the end.
Cheers,
@wandereronwheels
Great Article Bro!
I love the sound it makes. If anyone makes an entrance with harley 48, The eyes are bound to turn.
Ah!! Keep it for 6 months and sell it.. I like that plan.. Has always been my suggestion to everyone who ever wants to own a superbike..
Best idea to experience all kinds of superbikes. Keep shuffling between different bikes and experience all of them. Also, sometimes can even sell at a profit.
I love Sportsters and spent some time riding a friends 883 many years ago. I had hoped to get myself an Iron 1200 this summer but then COVID happened. They certainly cater for an odd market. They're not the fastest on the market nor are they the most comfortable. Odd for a bike renowned for tackling Route 66. I guess that's where the Electr-Glide range comes in but to be honest you might as well get a car at that size and price range!
883 was the first ever Harley that I have ridden and I became a huge fan of the sound and the attention it commanded on the road.
Covid certainly has changed so many people's plans it seems. This friend of mine bought his 48 during the covid though.
I feel the same about those electra glide kind of bikes. It really doesn't make sense to me to pay so much for such bikes. They aren't practical either. Rather I'd just get a comfortable adv for much lesser like Triumph Tiger or a BMW GSA.
Thanks for commenting! :)