| Author | Message | ||
     Two_seasons |
May be a new direction that me and the wife go. We want to tour Europe when I retire on a bike and this may be just the type to ride over there. I'd be our Europe "scooter" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnntZUOnCXc&NR=1 What do you think? | ||
| 86129squids |
Waitaminute... Do you mean 21"? As in the front wheel? This is purely a styling exercise- you're giving up one disc brake so it looks "kewl" on the kickstand, and going away from the OEM wheel size, also to look "kewl". Note that dude has the cut-down wind deflector, also for "kewlness".  No. In Europe, I'd be leaning towards a Beemer of some sort. | ||
| 86129squids |
Forgot to mention: Aside from the bad idea to give up 50% of your braking force, the contact patch is smaller, plus going away from the thoroughly well-enginnered stock setup WILL affect the overall handling of the machine. Go for a stock Beemer, and farkle to your heart's content. | ||
| Kyrocket |
Was that Andrew Zimmern from the weird eats show piloting that scooter? | ||
| Swampy |
The other night...before beers...I stopped at a friends shop. He had just finished a Triump bobber with a springer front end, hard tail. I took it for a little ride, what a POS! I could not believe how heavy the front end was for steering! I almost was not able to turn it in the corners. The crazy thing about it was he had already sold it! | ||
| Carbonbigfoot |
Uuuuuhhhh, guys? It's a CHOPPER! They never made any sense in the first place! R | ||
| Crusty |
If the bike appeals to you, then go for it. There are better handling, or better braking or more practical machines, but it's much more important to ride the bike that calls to you. Hell, if you really want to be practical, you should buy a Toyota econobox to drive around in. You'd get nearly the same fuel mileage, (or even better) and you wouldn't have to put on rain gear if the weather turns foul. It just wouldn't be as much fun. There's always a reason why you shouldn't do something, if you look for it. So if you'd really get a kick out of riding a very Orange and Black custom bagger around Europe, Go For It! Have a ball! One thing's for certain; if you do go with a bagger like the one in the video, people will notice you! | ||
| Guell |
Squids, that's a 26" wheel. I think they look good and crusty pretty much nailed it | ||
| Phelan |
That's a sick bike. I would rock it. | ||
| Two_seasons |
If you look on youtube for 26" baggers, there are alot of cool looking ones out there. I think the reason they appeal to me is that with the 1125r, there is no way a passenger can get comfy. My 13 year old son knows. And he is still a lightweight. He and I went to Philly on it last year. This year, on one of my X1's, I did the Philly trip alone. Anyway, even with the X1's and mesh saddlebags with a tank bag, there isn't much room to go comfy two up. I'm not sure if I'm fooling myself regarding the comfort of a 26" bagger too. They may be about the same as the bikes I now own. One thing is for sure, a 26" bagger would look very odd sitting amongst a bunch of scooters in Italy! And about the orange and black, not really keen on those colors. The video just represented what it would look like doing a two up ride. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
I dont like orange much....but that thing is pretty cool looking! | ||
| Dannyd |
Actually if you do a single 13" rotor (such as from PM) with a 6 piston caliper on the front it has about the same stopping power as HDs dual 11.5" rotor set-up. Funny that Buell guys would bash on somebody for only having a single front brake???? | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
good call Danny | ||
| 86129squids |
Hahaha- Danny, good one! You're probably right about having the right single brake setup- my point is it's big $$$ to do the conversion, so if that doesn't matter, sure, go for it! (On a fancy wheel it DOES look pretty good...) But, seriously? A 26" front wheel? Just going from the stock 19" to a 21" affects the handling... I seriously doubt that a 26" wheel would handle like anything but a turd. I've never ridden anything with a wheel like that so I really don't know- but I do know that major changes to wheel size have consequences... One thing for sure- 2 up on an FL is great compared to 2 up on a Buell, unless it's a Uly! Good luck! | ||
| Phelan |
Actually, jumping from a 19" to a 21" front wheel with Harley's standard sized tires equates to 3/8" difference in height between the two (because the 21" tire has a shorter sidewall) and affects the handling very little. | ||
| 86129squids |
I've ridden an FL with a 21" wheel- I could tell the difference, not sure I liked it- but I'd have serious doubts about 26". Not having tried one, I really don't know- but it just seems like overkill. | ||
| Crusty |
The difference between a Softail with a 21" wheel, ans a Softail with a 16" front wheel is very pronounced. I much prefer the feel of the Softail custom (21") to the feel of a Heritage Softail (16"). Where do you get tires for a 26" wheel? | ||
| Gunut75 |
It's nothing new. There is a set of triple trees you can buy that rake out the front of the bike to accommodate the wheel. Yes, they are getting to 26". D&D Customs down the road from me is making these like crazy. Most of them have sound systems in them that put most cars to shame. I have no input on how they handle. | ||
| Two_seasons |
For 39 years, I've never owned a bike with a radio. And don't expect to for the next 39 years. |
