Virago
15th October 2005, 18:33
Motosport Dunedin had their annual open day today, with perfect weather conditions for presenting a good selection of Harley Davidson and Buell models for demo. I took the opportunity to try out one of the 2006 models.
As a cruiser rider, I have been a regular visitor to Motosport Dunedin, throwing a leg across many H-D bikes in the showroom. Finding one to fit me is not easy, being seriously hampered by an arse that is far too close to the ground. While most of the Harley range have low seat heights, they are also rather wide, leaving me balancing the bike on tip-toe - which is not confidence inspiring when you are trying to manouever 300+ Kgs of shiny metal around the carpark. Also, the seriously way-forward controls on many of the range cause my "family jewels" to be uncomfortably close to the fuel tank.
Checking out the 2006 H-D catalogue, in conjunction with their web-site, suggested my best option for a comfortable ride would be either the Low Rider or the new Street Bob, which share the same ultra-low seat height and mid-mounted foot controls.
As it happened, Motosport had a Street Bob available for demo, and I took the opportunity to try out this intriguing machine. Jason Veitch from Motosport kindly offered me rides on any of the demo bikes, but I stuck to the Street Bob for starters.
I had recently test-ridden a Suzuki Boulevard S83 (VS1400) courtesy of Jason Veitch, so the opportunity to compare this ride with the H-D Twin-Cam 88 (1450cc) was well timed.
The first impression when throwing a leg over this new Harley was the quality of build. There's no creaking of cheap vinyl or plastic. And, with it's very low centre of gravity, this bike lifted with surprising ease from the side stand.
Still warm from the previous rider, the motor roared into life with just a light touch on the start button, and was ready to go. The sound of all the demo Harleys taking off, with their Screamin' Eagle pipes, was pure music to the ears.
The Street Bob comes with factory fitted "ape hanger" bars, which for a short-arse like me, put my hands almost at face height. Not too uncomfortable, but I would be experimenting with their position before contemplating a long ride.
A quick blat along the motorway to Abbotsford and back again was a short test ride, but enough to get the feel of the steed.
Harley have promoted the re-worked clutch and throttle controls on the Dyna models, and I was impressed with the soft-touch required on the controls.
Only one minor hiccup on the test ride along the motorway - it took me a while to remember that this 2006 model has a six-speed box - Doh!!!
Being my first ride on a Harley, I was entranced by the sweet rumble from the Twin-Cam 88. Getting back on the Virago afterwards, with it's almost vibrationless 75-degree V-twin and factory pipes, it almost sounded like a sewing machine starting. Now I know why Harley owners alway say "Try it before you knock it".
I'm converted - I'll just have to work on the bank manager...... .
Thanks to Jason Veitch and the team at Motosport Dunedin for putting on a well-organised demo day.
As a cruiser rider, I have been a regular visitor to Motosport Dunedin, throwing a leg across many H-D bikes in the showroom. Finding one to fit me is not easy, being seriously hampered by an arse that is far too close to the ground. While most of the Harley range have low seat heights, they are also rather wide, leaving me balancing the bike on tip-toe - which is not confidence inspiring when you are trying to manouever 300+ Kgs of shiny metal around the carpark. Also, the seriously way-forward controls on many of the range cause my "family jewels" to be uncomfortably close to the fuel tank.
Checking out the 2006 H-D catalogue, in conjunction with their web-site, suggested my best option for a comfortable ride would be either the Low Rider or the new Street Bob, which share the same ultra-low seat height and mid-mounted foot controls.
As it happened, Motosport had a Street Bob available for demo, and I took the opportunity to try out this intriguing machine. Jason Veitch from Motosport kindly offered me rides on any of the demo bikes, but I stuck to the Street Bob for starters.
I had recently test-ridden a Suzuki Boulevard S83 (VS1400) courtesy of Jason Veitch, so the opportunity to compare this ride with the H-D Twin-Cam 88 (1450cc) was well timed.
The first impression when throwing a leg over this new Harley was the quality of build. There's no creaking of cheap vinyl or plastic. And, with it's very low centre of gravity, this bike lifted with surprising ease from the side stand.
Still warm from the previous rider, the motor roared into life with just a light touch on the start button, and was ready to go. The sound of all the demo Harleys taking off, with their Screamin' Eagle pipes, was pure music to the ears.
The Street Bob comes with factory fitted "ape hanger" bars, which for a short-arse like me, put my hands almost at face height. Not too uncomfortable, but I would be experimenting with their position before contemplating a long ride.
A quick blat along the motorway to Abbotsford and back again was a short test ride, but enough to get the feel of the steed.
Harley have promoted the re-worked clutch and throttle controls on the Dyna models, and I was impressed with the soft-touch required on the controls.
Only one minor hiccup on the test ride along the motorway - it took me a while to remember that this 2006 model has a six-speed box - Doh!!!
Being my first ride on a Harley, I was entranced by the sweet rumble from the Twin-Cam 88. Getting back on the Virago afterwards, with it's almost vibrationless 75-degree V-twin and factory pipes, it almost sounded like a sewing machine starting. Now I know why Harley owners alway say "Try it before you knock it".
I'm converted - I'll just have to work on the bank manager...... .
Thanks to Jason Veitch and the team at Motosport Dunedin for putting on a well-organised demo day.