First Ride 2013

March 30th, 2013 and I got out for my first ride on the new Harley Davidson Street Glide!  I usually wait until the end of April each year due to the road conditions...potholes, frost heaves, loose gravel, etc. Yesterday was a nice sunny day with a temperature of 9C (48F) and the anticipation of riding my new motorcycle was just too great to pass on!  I dug out my leathers/warm riding gear and I was off!

I adjusted the mirrors, completed a quick safety check, tuned in the stereo and fired her up!

Odometer reading - 1Km (0.6 miles)

I pulled out of the yard and I have to tell you that I had a big grin on my face, a grin that lasted awhile!  Overall, my goal for the first ride was to get used to the Street Glide.  It's the heaviest bike that I have owned and I wanted to test her out at both low city speeds and faster highway cruising!  The first thing that I have to say is that the ride is very comfortable.  There is very little engine vibration at riding speeds, the only vibration is at idle and that's just a Harley thing.  I took a quick ride through city streets to get a feel for the bike; so far, so good!  The only challenge that I ran into was with the turn signals; the turn signal switches are separate, not combined like every other motorcycle I have owned.  The left turn signal is on the left side of the handle bar and the right turn signal on the right side...this is going to take some getting used too!  I was pleased to find out that the turn signals are self-cancelling, something the dealer did not tell me.

Turn signal locations

After a quick ride through city streets, I hit the highway for a ride along the beautiful Saint John River.  The Street Glide exceeded my expectations on the highway, comfortable and very easy to handle.  Everything on the bike feels good, from the seat to the riding position, to the acceleration and the braking and the overall handling of the machine!  The "Bat Wing" fairing provides good protection from the wind and cold and the stereo sounds great at highway speeds!  I made a few stops to get some pics! (Click on pics for a full view)

King's Landing (Note: loose gravel)

Mactaquac Headpond

Just a cool picture!

Para-Skiers on the Headpond

Overall, I have to say that I am thrilled with the new ride!  It was nice to hit the road and feel the open air and even better on a new machine!  Odometer now reads 180Km and I look forward to the rest of the riding season!

 

First ride!

Ride safe and keep your right hand cranked!

Delivered

I have been waiting all week in anticipation of my 2013 Street Glide being delivered and yesterday it arrived!  The truck and trailer from the HD dealer backed into the yard and I could hardly contain myself...just like a kid at Christmas!

2013 Street Glide FLHX 103

I purchased the new ride through Eldridge's Harley Davidson and I have to say that the staff at the dealership did an excellent job of making me feel welcome and my business valued.  There was no pressure at all to make a purchase; the team was friendly and very easy to work with!

In addition to the purchase of the Street Glide, the dealer also included an accessory package...accessories of my choice. This was an added bonus that was not offered at the other Harley Davidson dealers I had visited.  I went with the following accessories.

Wind Splitter Windshield & Smoked Signal Lens

Chrome Front Fork Air Baffle

Chrome 4-Point Docking Hardware Kit

I wanted to add the 4-Point Docking Hardware for future accessories; I suspect that I will purchase a quick release back rest and possibly a luggage rack.  An air pump for the rear suspension, battery tender connector and Harley Davidson Indoor/Outdoor cover were also part of my accessory package.  Other options that I did pay for as part of the purchase are cruise control and of course the absolutely incredible "Midnight Pearl" paint!  Initially, I wanted to go with the "Vivid Black" paint scheme, but when I saw the "Midnight Pearl"...well, let's just say I had no choice, I had to go with it!

The other part of the deal that I have to mention is my 2002 Yamaha VStar 1100 Classic.  When working out the deal for the Street Glide, the salesman asked me if there was a bike that I wanted to trade...my response was no.  No, based on the fact that I would only get wholesale value.  The salesman said, "give us try"!  To my surprise, I was offered a deal that would have worked out to what I would have been asking for in a private sale...another part of the deal that made me as a consumer feel valued!

While I was excited to receive the new ride, I was sad, be it only for a moment to see my VStar 1100 Classic go!  For 11 years, it has been an awesome ride...but it was time!

Now I move to the next stage of my riding life and look forward to the 2013 riding season...if only this snow would go!  Until next time, ride safe! 

New Ride!

Famous last words, "I can't believe I did it"!  Just going to let the pictures do the talking for me, will add more in a future blog post! Faceyman's new 2013 "Midnight Pearl" Harley Davidson Street Glide - FLHX 103! (Click on pics for larger view)

Now I can't wait for riding season to begin!  Life is good!

2013 Harley Davidson Street Glide Specifications

General information
Model:	Harley-Davidson Street Glide
Year:	2013
Category:	Touring
Color options:	Midnight Pearl, Vivid Black, Denim Black, Chrome Yellow Pearl, Ember Red Sunglo
Category:	Touring
Engine and transmission
Displacement:	1687.97 ccm (103.00 cubic inches)
Engine type:	V2, four-stroke
Engine details:	Twin Cam 103™ with Integrated Oil-Cooler
Torque:	135.60 Nm (13.8 kgf-m or 100.0 ft.lbs) @ 3250 RPM
Compression:	9.6:1
Bore x stroke:	98.4 x 111.3 mm (3.9 x 4.4 inches)
Fuel system:	Injection. ESPFI
Lubrication system:	Dry sump
Cooling system:	Oil & air
Gearbox:	6-speed
Transmission type, final drive:	Belt
Clutch:	Multi-plate with diaphragm spring in oil bath
Driveline:	Chain, 34/46 ratio primary drive
Fuel consumption:	5.60 litres/100 km (17.9 km/l or 42.00 mpg)
Greenhouse gases:	129.9 CO2 g/km. (CO2 - Carbon dioxide emission)
Exhaust system:	Chrome, 2-1-2 dual exhaust with tapered mufflers
Chassis, suspension, brakes and wheels
Rake (fork angle):	26.0°
Trail:	170 mm (6.7 inches)
Front tyre dimensions:	130/70-BW18
Rear tyre dimensions:	180/65-BW16
Front brakes:	Double disc. 4-piston
Rear brakes:	Single disc. 2-piston
Wheels:	Black, Slotted 5-Spoke Cast Aluminum
Physical measures and capacities
Dry weight:	355.2 kg (783.0 pounds)
Weight incl. oil, gas, etc:	367.9 kg (811.0 pounds)
Seat height:	663 mm (26.1 inches) If adjustable, lowest setting.
Overall length:	2,413 mm (95.0 inches)
Ground clearance:	119 mm (4.7 inches)
Wheelbase:	1,613 mm (63.5 inches)
Fuel capacity:	22.71 litres (6.00 gallons)
Oil capacity:	3.80 litres (0.25 quarts)
Other specifications
Starter:	Electric
Instruments:	Fairing-mounted electronic speedometer with odometer; time-of-day clock on CD player/stereo; dual trip meter; low fuel indicator light and mileage countdown feature; low oil pressure indicator light; engine diagnostics readout; LED indicator lights; 6-speed indicator light Tachometer with fuel, voltage, oil pressure and ambient air temperature gauges
Light:	High beam, running lights, front fender light, directional light bar, neutral, low oil pressure, engine diagnostics, turn signals, security system (optional), 6-speed, low fuel warning, cruise control (optional), ABS (optional)
Color options:	Chrome Yellow Pearl, Black Denim, Midnight Pearl, Ember Red Sunglo, Vivid Black
Comments:	Windshield.

2014 Star Bolt

Yamaha recently introduced the Star Bolt motorcycle.  If I was in the 18-25 demographic, I would be all over this factory style 942cc bobber (I use the term bobber loosely)!

2014 Star Bolt

There is no doubt about the market that Yamaha is targeting, the question is, will Yamaha be able to crack into the ever so popular Harley Davidson Sportster market?  Price point will be a factor for some and the Star Bolt will be in direct competition with HD Iron 883. 

Harley Davidson - Iron 883

Other HD Sportster models such as the Seventy-Two and Forty-Eight are at higher price points than the Star Bolt, a factor that may sway new riders towards the Bolt. A strong point about Yamaha...they build quality products! My 2002 Yamaha Star 1100 Classic has been a bulletproof motorcycle, I trust the Bolt will have the same high standard that Yamaha has set for it's other motorsports products!

It will be interesting to see what happens when the Star Bolt hits the market in July!

First Ride

It has been a long winter or at least I feel that it has been.  Maybe it's my age or maybe it's the fact that I want all of this snow gone and the chance to jump on two wheels and hit the road.  Earlier this week I was spending some time online browsing through various motorcycle websites and I came across this advertisement for a Honda motorcycle.

The advertisement instantly brought a smile to my face and took me back in time, at least for a little while.  Picture it, the year is 1978...now I am giving away my age and a young high school kid gets his first street bike, a 1977 Honda CJ360T just like the one in this advertisement!  For a 16 year old, this was one cool motorcycle, a sporty yet very simple motorcycle!  My CJ360T was exactly like the one in the advertisement with the air cooled 356cc inline twin engine, two into one exhaust and red and black paint scheme.

The CJ360T was a simple motorcycle, nothing complex.  It did not have electric start or disc brakes, drum brakes front and back and a kick starter that never let me down.  I can remember riding this machine everywhere, regardless of weather conditions and it always worked like a charm!  I put so many miles on my CJ360T that during my 3rd summer, I had to have a top end job done...cylinders bored, new pistons and rings.

The CJ was only produced in 1976-1977 and was a bit of a flop in the marketplace...it was not nearly as successful as it's cousin the Honda CB360T, but back in 1978, that did not matter to me!  I had a street bike and I could go anywhere that I wanted.  I enjoyed reflecting back to a time when life was simple and I didn't have a worry in the the world, an experience I am sure that many bikers can relate too!

Leave a comment and let me know what your first street ride is/was?