smccrory

...But I've seen motorcycles I will not ride for more than a few miles, thanks to my old, frigging spine.

Oh you stop! It's their first electric motorcycle for pete's sake! If you want more power, HD or not, you'll have to add lithium battery cells to support bigger electric motors and ESCs, and that costs weight and money. It'll be blushingly expensive enough as it is...

We have to admit though, ADV riders do love safety gear. And farkles. Some guys have impressive investments in Klim gear, camping equipment, GPSes...!

Really great shotguns. I picked up one with a 26" smooth-bore barrel a couple years ago for a steal, and restored its beat-up stock and re-blued the hardware. Now mine's a great clay and bird gun. Had I bought it first, I probably wouldn't have splurged on a 391. GLWS!

OK, fair 'nuf, let's get realzies then. (For the record, I don't presently own a sport bike - my light ADV rig already gets me close enough to speeding tickets!) ON the upside, I think most Harleys look amazing and I have huge respect for HD's sales figures and their ability to capitalize on their products and market. I've met a lot of great HD owners who are true enthusiasts and they thoroughly enjoy their motorcycles (and often own other brands as well). They're cool and respect others who ride. I really dig those kinds of people, and you are probably that type - I bet we'd get along famously. But yes, you are also right, some of my own poking at the general HD group is serious (though I wouldn't quite call it hate). It's probably not unlike a lot of others giving HD shit. My biggest beef is that I cannot fathom how so many self-purported "rebel-edged independents" can drop ridiculous cash to clique together like high school wannabes, dressing alike in overpriced corporate-approved, foreign-made clothing, and make their bikes as garish and loud as possible to say "looook at meee everybodeee, I'm rebel-fabulous!" I'm amazed with most's disregard for their own safety and I hope they don't have any children, partners or family who would miss them if they died from a simple low-side. Poker runs that include bar stops (or any riding activity that does) are just plain stupid, and I see a 100x more HDs at bars than non-HDs, so there's something in that culture that promotes unnecessarily risky behavior. "Fallen Rider" rides are even more stupid when they're in memory of someone dying from rotten rider judgement. And don't get me started on how the majority of HD riders view women - it's cavemanesque and disgusting. All of it is so incredibly non-self-aware. It wouldn't be so bad if the group was cognizant of their own hipocricy and didn't puff up at every opportunity to regurgitate the same "rice burner," "real man-'s bike" bullcrap to anyone outside of their clique, but they do. Like I said, you are probably quite different and my apologies if I or others wrongly lump you or anyone else into the stereotype - that mistake is on us.

Nice find! Ditto about getting new tires.

To me, "Heritage" and "Tradition" are HD code words for not having to innovate because they feel that CUSTOMERS OWE THEM RESPECT for stuff they did 50 years ago. They've over-tuned and over-specialized their customer experience. It's brilliant actually, except Indian is now eating into both of those claims (Indian was right there when Harley got started and inspired a lot of HD's models). Furthermore their highly-tuned customer base is dying off and Harley knows it - there are only so many greybeards with $15-30k to drop on a new bike and another $5-10k on accessories and clothing when cheaper, more capable, better-performing and more broadly-appealing bikes are available from others. Where's their sports bike? Their ADV bike? Their cafe racer? Their scrambler? Their dirt bike? Something for young kids to start with? They didn't have to address any of that in the past because they've been allowed to coast by their faithful. I think HD is smacking their established customer core with a cue ball because they're realizing that the world is changing. Water cooling, an electric bike, a 500 and 750 made in India, more tech in their flagship cruisers - all point to a brand new era for HD. Putting that to their customer base all at once is veritable shock-and-awe! Even if HD is successful with half of their new moves, it'll still shake up expectations. They'll lose some customers because of it, but they will get others to replace the fold.

I can envision a Mods vs. Rockers -esque schism ensuing. And a movie or two in 10 years - lol.

You're getting very good with your dry humor Jedi Tonik.

True dat! Though, I bet they didn't 2K the embellishments. Some medium solvent and elbow grease could get it back to stock.

Yes, but only for your own children - you don't have the same level of influence over their friends, and believe me as a parent of a teen - you won't always know exactly when or who will be over. Ditto. My daughter is trained and knows not just when to avoid them, but when to use one. And they're secure from non-family use.

Tragic and needless loss of life. Indeed, don't be an anti-authority dickhead and put others at undue risk - secure your weapons before society and government takes those freedoms away altogether.

Sounds great! Want to meet there or at one our joints? I'll be back in Westerville by 2 for sure.

Last year's was small but still worth checking out to see the bikes and kibitz with fellow enthusiasts. I'm planning to be in there in the afternoon and hope the rain stays away.

Tonik answered for me - I like the rocker because it lets me open and flex my fingers without rolling off the throttle. Even just a few flexes every few minutes makes a huge difference. You just have to adjust the position until it stays out of the way at low throttle while providing leverage at cruising speeds.

Hi Jack, Preamble: I'm in transition with my own setup and am asking the same questions that you are. There are a lot of archives in the ADVRider and Stromtrooper forums but it seems they're sort of old within several months because technology is moving so fast...My tools: Currently I'm using an iPhone 5 with Google Maps and I'm also trying out the 30-day trial version of TomTom's app. My iPhone is paired with a Cardo Scala Q2 bluetooth communicator. When I'm 2-up, my girlfriend and I chat using the Q2 sets.What I like about my current rig: The cost for this setup was very low - I already owned the phone, Google Maps is free (TomTom is $29) and a pair of Q2 sets were just over $200 at the time. They work pretty well. I can tap a button to answer a call, tell Siri to make a call and even read or squirt out a text message while I'm stopped without having to take off my gloves. The intercom works on the same bike and even several hundred feet away between bikes when she's riding her scooter. It has been fantastic for sharing where we want to go, and especially me giving her riding tips while she learns. As for GPS functions, Google Maps works well enough and provides turn-by-turn directions whenever I'm in cell data range. I do have a handlebar mount and a waterproof case for the phone to see the map on cloudy days. TomTom's app is even better and offers "winding roads" route options that work pretty darned well. Both will break in on a conversation when a turn is coming up, yet will allow a call to override both. I can hear everything in my helmet and even when I'm wearing earplugs. I can even stream music from my iPhone to the paddle speakers, though bass response isn't very good.What I DON'T like about my current rig: My phone gets too hot in the case and it's hard to see the screen when it's sunny, so I usually keep it in my pocket and just follow spoken directions, which works well for easy routes, but isn't ideal. My Cardo Q2 sets don't pair easily with the Sena 10 sets that most others seem to have, so I'm thinking about getting a single "20S" when it comes out, then pairing it with my GF's Q2 so I can easily join other groups of riders. If you don't already have a bluetooth communicator, I highly recommend getting the Sena 10 or 20S for that reason alone. The iPhone's Google Maps and TomTom apps are cheap but they need data services for most of their functions, and I bought an adventure bike for a reason - to sometimes get away from civilization. I'd prefer to have a GPS solution that doesn't NEED cellular data. The Q2 doesn't have an earbud jack, which would be nice when I want high-fidelity music while I ride (I've been thinking about making my own custom set of earplug/earbuds), whereas the Sena 20S does. I don't use the FM radio feature of the Q2 - it's pretty lame.What I'm thinking about moving to: I'm pretty sure I'll get a Sena 20S to replace one of my Q2 sets. I'm also fairly certain I'll get a dedicated GPS unit, and I'm waffling between a TomTom Rider for $340, a Garmin Nuvi 2597LMT for $150 or an older StreetPilot. There's no way I'm putting $800 or even $600 into a mobile GPS. I'll mount it on a RAM ball just above my dash, and if it's a Nuvi, I'll slide a plastic bag over it whenever I need to ride in the rain.Scott

This is timely, as I'm musing about throttle locks again. So far I've really enjoyed Throttle Rockers.

Or they could buy a maxi scooter and not have to shift at all.

Bummer, but that's how it goes. When you see a ripe deal, ya gotta jump quickly.

For the love of all that's holy, someone buy this bike before I do.

I have no idea how someone can analyze for this long without making an offer on something. :-D

Lots of wisdom in Chris' post, and the last paragraph really matched my logic until my kiddo got old enough to have her own activities.

Josh, go sit on a bunch of bikes and see what your rear likes.

Subscribed. Looking good!

GLWS!