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Josequinones
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 - 08:26 am: | 
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Let me add my $.02
This thread is timely for me as I have gone thru the same situation.
Since buying my Zero SR, I found that that it can satisfy about 80% of my riding needs.
So my Buells (1125CR/XB12XT) sat all week. I would ride one Saturday and the other one on Sunday.
So in the past year I had been looking at going from 3 bikes to 2, but for what the second bike needs to do (long distance 2 up touring) I felt neither Buell met my needs for various reasons.
The other issue is physical, my hands were falling asleep riding both bikes.
So I needed something different.
I looked at various bikes: CTX1300, BWM 1200R, Triumph Trophy/Tiger plus others.
But I like American Bikes. So I needed the opposite of the Zero: Big, Heavy, "Slow", CONFORTABLE, touring bikes.
So it was down to a Motus, Victory/Indian and HD.
I can't afford a Motus.
The Victory on paper is the best bike, I have demo ridden all of them over the years, but I did not like the riding experience, I could never find a happy rpm with the engine and it was too stretched out for me. Then they announced the brand shutdown. I'm done dealing with orphan bikes.
Indians are nice, but again too big and "trendy" for my tastes.
So that left HD, FLH's in particular. What sealed it for me was September of last year I demo rode a '16 Vic Cross Country and a '16 Street Glide/Road Glide on the same day. The Road Glide was kind of weird to me. The Street Glide fit me better, and both were smoother at speed than the Victory.
Add the dealer and aftermarket support and its a clear choice.
However, being me, I always try to be a little different, so I did not get a standard Street Glide or a Street Glide Special.
I got this instead:
(Message edited by josequinones on April 11, 2017) |
Josequinones
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 - 08:30 am: |
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A 2016 FLHTP "Cop Glide"
Long story short, sold the two Buells to a fellow badwebber, then found this bike (one of four) sitting on the showroom of Ft. Washington HD, MD.
I bought my first bike, a '98 Sportster XL1200S, and my first Buell, a '99 S3T, from them, so it was a homecoming of sorts.
(Message edited by josequinones on April 11, 2017) |
Josequinones
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 - 08:37 am: |
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The bike, like the three others, were brand new, never put into service.
It does not come with the fancy radio, but I already have a Scala Q3 and a Garmin so no big deal. It does have the suspended seat, which I thought I was going to hate and change right away but it is so nice I am not touching it other than to try to lower it a bit.
I took it up to my local serious twisties (Thorton Gap going up to Shenandoah national Park) and I went fast enough to enjoy myself, which was fast enough for me.
So next is customizing it to my liking (passenger seat/boards, milk crate on the rear rack, different windshield, etc).
So that's what happened to me this year.
(Message edited by josequinones on April 11, 2017) |
Ratbuell
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 - 08:39 am: |
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Nice! You got an FLHT (Electraglide Standard) with a black and chrome motor and one of the best seats out there. I still miss my air ride solo saddle on the old FLHP. Hint: you CAN get a passenger pad that will fit behind the air seat, for when you have a passenger. I don't think I had to move the radio rack...but when I put a box back on my bike I did mount it more rearward, to clear the pillion.
Also love the hockey puck latches. Dig through your bags from the drivers seat. Those things are awesome.
Cop bikes are fun. Wear all black with some white (I had a black jacket and white helmet), no logos or patches, and people in traffic just...wonder.
As they get out of your way 
Miss the ol' FLHP some days...
Oh, and stock up on replacement floorboards now...just sayin'...
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Josequinones
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 - 08:45 am: |
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Joe,
Yes, modifying it now, got the mustang passenger seat and some floorboards.
Will definitely stock up on floorboards.
I got a Givi monolock adapter plate and put it on the back so I can mount my Givi topbox from the Zero on it.
I'm riding around without a windshield right now, the cop one is way too tall for me, waiting on a Long Ride Shield Javelin to arrive in the mail.
Will update with pictures later.
(Message edited by josequinones on April 11, 2017) |
Ratbuell
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 - 08:46 am: |
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Wait.
Yours has civilian saddlebags? You should see if the dealer has the original cop lids...trust me. They ROCK. They probably swapped them to make the bike more "marketable".
And no Standard has a radio - civilian or cop. Makes a nice glove box And the extra handlebar buttons can be used for all sorts of fun stuff...or did they take those off too? Hard to tell from the photo...if they're there, the horn button has two positions. Push for the regular horn. Pull for the siren "yelp" feature (for the cops, when the package is installed). But, you can trace wires and hook the pull-side up to a nice loud air horn. DAMHIK. |
Ratbuell
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 - 08:54 am: |
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I went with a true radio box on mine, for the look (and it actually held a lot of crap!). It came with a high mount LED brakelight installed, which I wired up. But I also added a 2-panel emergency light, hooked to a wig-wag flasher wired to the left hand pursuit switch. Tailgaters? Nah...never had that problem Also made for a nice escort bike for when the dealer had me leading/chasing group rides. "No, officer...I'm just chase bike for that big group demo ride that's getting away from us right now..."
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Josequinones
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 - 08:56 am: |
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I think the post '14 cop bikes share the new saddlebag design, no more pucks. The seat rides on a shock, not an air bladder like before.
It still has the cop wiring harness so I have a few unused connectors to play with, and it does still have the red cop buttons. I have some blue lights that came with it but I will not install them just to avoid any confusion...
There is someone who installed an automotive android based double DIN radio in that space, which you can do a bunch of things with, so I might end up doing that later.
(Message edited by josequinones on April 11, 2017) |
Tq_freak
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 - 08:57 am: |
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NICE
I have an FLHT also. I refer to it as my pickup truck bike. So use full and comfortable. Mines an 2001 with over 50k miles on it.
Like Rat said, no standard comes with a radio but if you want they can be found pretty reasonable on ebay and plug and play right in,
I wish I had the Puck latches they rock.
Be Careful sticking a passenger seat on it.
I know the dedicated Cop bikes had a rear tire that wasn't rated for the weight of a passenger so double check that before you do a lot of 2 up riding. |
Josequinones
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 - 08:59 am: |
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Yes, I read that about the tires, I will change them to standard tires when they wear out. for now the passenger needs are minimal but I want the bike to be ready to carry a passenger at any time. |
Ratbuell
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 - 09:02 am: |
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For the radio, if I'd had a fairing (mine was Road King based)...I'd put velcro or a RAM mount in there, thread a power connector through the fairing, and use it as a phone mount. Save the $ for a radio, and knowing you I'm sure you have a bluetooth headset in your helmet  Or you could add speakers and a small amp inside the fairing, to just run the "stereo" from your phone.
Hm. Sucks they ditched the pucks, they really did rock. And a shock instead of the air bladder? Another hmmm...the air, you could just dump air and "lower" the seat height. Not sure how that would work on the shock system...maybe the baseplates match and you could retrofit a bag on there? It made for a nice "tailor it for the ride" setup.
Dammit. Making me miss my old cop bike. |
Josequinones
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 - 09:09 am: |
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The shock has a preload adjustment so I can lower it that way.
The radio is probably the last thing I'm doing, for now the Scala Q3 and Garmin 550/220 will suffice. |
Hootowl
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 - 09:12 am: |
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What kind of tire can carry an 800 lb motorcycle, but not another buck fifty? Why would they have done that? |
Ratbuell
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 - 09:16 am: |
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I think the sidewall construction is different, designed more for side-loading (ever watch these guys run rodeos?) than for weight carrying. But Tq is right, the OEM cop tire is different. Still a Dunlop...but a different construction.
Chances are, Jose...it's a standard civi tire by now. Most times we just put plain ol' touring tires on the cop bikes at maintenance time unless they specifically asked us to use the cop tire. Saved space on the parts shelf, made replacements more brainless for the parts and service guys. |
Josequinones
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 - 09:22 am: |
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I believe it is a run-flat capable tire. |
Daddio
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 - 10:31 am: |
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I've had the Dunlop 'cop' tire on of of my FLHTCs, they have a 2nd bead, like a run-flat. That, and the stiffer sidewalls, makes 'em harder to mount.
I do miss my police "air-ride" seat. The stock seat had worn out the foam at about 40K miles; a buddy bought a used FLHTP and sold me the seat. I cut the little air tank mount and was able to relocate it under a side cover; mounted the seat, and the next day did an Iron-butt ride down to Phoenix. Most comfortable long-haul seat I've ever had. I also had the Mustang rear seat, and converted my Tourpak mount into a sorta-quick detach. Thanks, Jose, you gave me an idea for what may be my next bike, if this Vic ever wears out... |
Josequinones
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 - 07:57 pm: |
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What it looks like right now. |
Crackhead
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2017 - 05:20 pm: |
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If you are going that big why not get a Goldwing? Plus, you wouldn't need multiple dealerships to get it fixed as you ride it across the county. |
Crusty
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2017 - 06:04 pm: |
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If you're going to get a Gold Wing, why not just buy a car? |
Oddball
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2017 - 06:36 pm: |
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Bike looks good Josequinones. May it serve you well.
Looks like the others are gone. Didn't see them on their site.
Crusty,
Well when they add two wheels they call it the accord. |
Josequinones
| | Posted on Friday, April 14, 2017 - 09:55 am: |
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Crusty, Goldwing was too big for me. The f6 was better, the ctx 1300 fit me best of the Hondas I looked into. But Hondas are boring to me, Imo.
Oddball, I think they still have the bikes, they never put them on their website. Give them a call. |
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