A New Era – part 1
A tough pill to swallow.
That is the best way that I can describe it. The bike is expensive, is it worth it? So many questions…
I was glancing through an old issue of Robb Report MotorCycling magazine the other day, I came across the following in an article written by Robert Ross:
There comes a time in the life of every motorcyclist when a big Harley-Davidson seems like a good idea. It is a primal urge, one that drives more rational motorcycle purchases onto the sidelines. The big Hogs exude an allure unmatched by any other machine, and despite the high prices and unrefined nature of the beasts-or precisely because of these attributes-Harley-Davidson sells almost a quarter-million new machines a year to seasoned bikers, neophytes, and every kind of rider in between.
-One in a Million Spring 2004
I found that paragraph after I bought the bike, so I do not see it as an excuse but as an explanation. I was initially (especially the first night) regretting the purchase of the bike. As time wore on, and I got to know the bike better, I am finding an attachment to it.
The bike is beautiful
I would like to go through the bike and write my thoughts on each part of the bike. I will break it up into three parts, with part 1 being the front of the bike including the front wheel/fender, the forks, lighting, and handlebars/controls. Part 2 will be the tank, instruments, and engine. Part 3 will cover the back end of the scoot.
First, the color
Black was not my first choice, I thought for sure that I wanted a white and black bike
(first choice), or a white and blue bike
(second choice), so the black bike
is my third choice. After all was said and done, I took a look at a white and black bike compared to the all black bike, and wondered why I wanted a white and black bike as a first choice. Perhaps I was concerned about the fact that I have a black Aero. Either way I love the way the black sets off the chrome and other features of the bike, besides, call it what you will “boring black”, “basic black”, I see it as beautiful classic black.
Now, the front of the bike
I have always been a nut for Laced wheels, they are a pain to clean, but the beauty and classic styling more than offsets the cleaning hassles.
A chrome valve cap will be required. Century H-D installed front axle caps, I like them but would like to stick with a theme for the bike and am considering a different style, I noticed in the catalog that there are some old-style H-D Motor co. script front axle/swingarm bolt/rear axle set, this may change though. I have to admit to loving the Hub on the front. Fender is classic Harley-Davidson styling, I am a real nut for the retro or old styles. The bike came with the chrome forks installed by the dealer, a super nice touch that really compliments the style of the bike. The dealer also installed the Chrome controls and old-style handgrips, along with some caps on the triple-tree. Chrome fender tips on the front and rear of the front fender accent the black along with the Deluxe script
adorning the fender above the wheel. I would like to see some accent pieces similar to the styling on the front fender of the Aero to hide the fasteners, not sure how that would look with the fenders shape. It works well on the Aero because of the fender shape, but the Softail-Deluxe fender is very different. I noticed thumbing through the enormous catalog of Harley-Davidson goodies that a front fender ornament is available, and may be considered for the bike.
I will take a conservative approach to the level of chrome that this bad boy gets, I feel that chrome is over applied in many applications. For example the brake calipers and rotors of this scoot will not be chromed nor will the brake hardware with the possible exception of the caliper mounting bolts, because they go through the fork. The fork mounting hardware will be chrome (where the fender is attached to the fork), the zinc really looks cheap, seems to me that the chrome mounting hardware would have been included with the chrome fork legs.
I really like the bullet turn signal lamps better than Harley-Davidsons older style flat turn signals. 
The spotlights are a nice addition both stylistically speaking and from a safety standpoint. I would like to consider the eyebrows for the Headlight and the passing lights, to help compliment the retro look. Behind the headlight the forks are covered in traditional Harley-Davidson fashion with an enormous chunk of chrome accented on the left and right by the mounting hardware for the passing lights/turn signal assembly. The forks are topped off with those nice caps with a bar & shield logo.
During the first ride to Century Harley-Davidson in Medina, the wife complained about the amount of wind that she was experiencing. I have lived with the wind for seven years on the Aero, because a windshield that looks good on that bike does not exist. When I brought up the idea of a windshield for the bike, she was skeptical especially given the small size of the ones available for the bike. The only real experience that she has with windshields is the Goldwing which does a masterful job of blocking the wind (too good IMHO). I left it up to her. In the end the bike got a windshield, the nostalgic windshield available from Harley-Davidson. Obviously we could not take the windshield home on the motorcycle without installing it. Thanks to the Ron (the fellow who sold us the motorcycle) we were able to install the windshield with little trouble. In all fairness the windshield was quite easy to install. The first ride on the motorcycle with the windshield installed was down SR 18 toward Akron.
Much to both of our suprise the windshield was more effective than either of us expected. I feel that she enjoys the motorcycle a lot more, I admit (grudgingly) that I do too. A big thanks to Ron who has done a masterful job before, during, and after the sale.
The handlebars are of a considerably different bend than either of the other bikes that I have, more like one of my four wheelers but a lot higher. Not sure what to make of the Goldwing bend, it is quite comfortable, the Aero is a beach bend that is comfortable but exposes the rider to the wind-big time. The Softail-deluxe bend is higher, and slightly narrower than the Aero, with the wrists not as bent. After riding the motorcycle over 400 miles I am really getting to appreciate the bend.
Harley-Davidson control layout is a bit different than the other makes. The right controls cluster contains the engine kill switch, starter button, and turn signal (right). The left control cluster contains the Horn, High beams, and turn signal (left). In contrast the Honda’s left cluster contains the turn signals (both left and right), high beam, and Horn. The right contains the engine kill and engine start. At this point I will maintain that the Honda layout makes more sense because the left hand is better suited (IMO) to turn signal duty, if you are on the throttle and reach for the right turn signal, you could bump or shut the throttle unexpectedly. Meanwhile the left hand has nothing to do. I am used to the layout by now, and am not really having any problem with it.
The view over the handlebars includes the chrome headlight housing which reflects the rider, as well as a nice dog bone for the handlebar clamp with the “Harley-Davidson” bar & shield logo. I am planning on adding chrome buttons on the handlebar clamp to cover the zinc hardware. I feel this will finish this off better than the chrome hardware.
The mirrors are nicely styled in a fuel tank shape (with a square off small end) and do not vibrate at all, the view is clear and clean. The lack of vibrations in the bike are an enormous suprise to me, I figured this bike would be as shaky as the Aero, more on that later.
Part 2 will be the middle of the Bike