201631 Resource 106835 108325 108325 1207930059328 1207930059328 Controlled Street Glide Test Ride

Lowered, Sleeker Glide

I've been talking to Arnie Araujo at Bob Dron Harley Davidson about - yep, the new Street Glide.  Calling Arnie a "salesman" is really the wrong thing, as it would be hard to imagine anyone lower key or more knowledgable about Harleys.  I was quite impressed by his ability to "dial in" what I was looking for, and to give me the real information I wanted.  Arnie is one of the great guys of motorcycling, but out of respect for his privacy, I won't go into it here.  Anyway, if you are thinking about buying a Harley, I can't make it any clearer for you, call Arnie.     It's quite a range from the new Speed Triple to a Street Glide, but hey, on two wheels, it's all good.      My thinking is, that I have been riding in the "sport/touring" sweet spot for awhile now, how about splitting the two tasks into "sport" and "touring"?   That way, you have a great sport experience, and a great, relaxed, touring experience.  (Okay, so a Speed Triple isn't exactly a "sport" bike, but you get the idea).     Of course, it is incredible how the Harley engine has been isolated with elastomer mounting, and how the transmission has been smoothed out.  The six speeds are a great improvement, and, What?  ABS brakes?  Big plus, in my opinion.     Anyway, Arnie set me up with Michael Wozniak, "Woz", for a test drive.  For those of you who don't know, "Woz" is the announcer at Bonneville, a long time rider with eleven motorcycles of his own.  Another guy who definitely gets it.     Of course, I immediately screwed up, dropping my Arai full face helmet (hey -- waay overdue for replacement, really).  Most embarassing is that I have told others maybe a million times not to put a helmet on the seat, put it on the ground, so it can't fall.  However, that Harley seat is really wide, much more than what I am used to, and, you know the rest.     Anyway, I had a great time, and no one will be surprised if I end up getting one.  I'd have to sell the BMW, of course, since it would no longer make sense with the other two bikes.      I do want to try the Victory Vision before making a long term commitment.  Plusses seem to be electronics, handling (although there is a dispute about which bike has better low speed handling), love it or hate it styling, and, possibly comfort, electric windshield, etc.  Harley plusses are the low speed handling, the unbelieveable assortment of accessories, the Harley dealer network everywhere you ride, and of course, tradition.  A tough call at best.  The big minus to the Victory is its enormous size, beginning with the 44 inches across the handlebars, and ending with the 850 pound weight.  Then again, it has protection for a low speed drop, and everyone says it feels a lot lighter when you get moving.  Then again, and so it goes.     Stay tuned.  This weekend I will try to get to Arlen Ness' shop and check out the Victory Vision.     The best thing about the Street Glide is that it comes lowered, saving a lot of hassle if you plan on lowering it, anyway.  10 application/xml false Arnie Araujo Bob Dron Harley Davidson Harley Street Glide Michael "Woz" Wozniak Sport Touring Triumph Speed Triple Victory Vision Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.13) Gecko/20080311 Firefox/2.0.0.13 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 mpadway 63.205.182.177 false true false false true 201650 false false true false false false true 201928 Resource 201650 173239 173239 1208462962205 1208462962205 Controlled test comment

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