Be gentle please

Hello everyone,

i have decided i want a bike! I have always wanted a bike but always talked myself out of it as i may kill myself. Now i am just fed up with that nonsense & i want to enjoy the world of biking. I own a fast car, so don't particularly want a fast bike........and i have always loved Harley's but to be honest i don't know that much about the specifics.

So i have registered here to begin my research, hopefully with your kind help.

I want a bike for leisure, i love the low fatboys. I want one that is relatively "uncluttered" & simple looking but is low & fat, but the new ones don't seem to do it for me, which model year of Fatboy's suits best ?.....over the years i have seen so many pictures of Harley's that i would love, but i have a feeling most were customs !

So guys, where do i begin?..........where can i reasearch low, fat Harley's to gain knowledge that will allow me to make the right purchase in the next siz months ?

Thanks in advance for your help

[BaZa®]

Perfect place to say hello Steve, but to get more response as not everyone looks in this section would be 'Virtual Rally'

So welcome and look around the site and search engine. Most of your questions have been asked before. But we don't mind repeating ourselves. I have been know to!

Once only though.

I'll pop you onto that section now and there is a good one for you to read that went in there yesterday under the thread title 'Softail Fatboy - W&F - URGENTLY WANTED '

From another newbie >> Shark007

Hi Steve and welcome!

I entered the world of biking only a couple of years ago - like you, something I'd always promised myself but never got around to doing.

Got through my test (at H-D Rider's Edge - good place if you want to play with a few Harleys before you makes your choice!), then actually went for a Sportster initially. Like you, I wanted something bigger (I also fancied a FatBoy) but thought I'd learn a bit on the smaller Sportster. Also didn't know if I'd stick with it etc.....

2 years on, the Sportster's gone and has been replaced by a Heritage Softail.

Still glad I went the Sportster route first though, great bike and ideal for getting to grips with the H-D world. You'd be able to pick up a Sportie for not a lot of money and, when you do want to move onwards and upwards, you won't lose a fortune in the process.

Worth a thought?;)

[Steve_L]

IS IT ME..........
Now I've been riding for thirty years, it went, 50/175/250/500/750/883/1200cc.
It would appear from recent posts it now goes from feck all to 1340 in one fell swoop,
A and E here we come...... imho.

[CrazyIvan]

Originally Posted by Steve_L

Now I've been riding for thirty years, it went, 50/175/250/500/750/883/1200cc.

Still got a way to go then

[BaZa®]

Originally Posted by Fat Rob

Hi Steve and welcome!

I entered the world of biking only a couple of years ago - like you, something I'd always promised myself but never got around to doing.

Got through my test (at H-D Rider's Edge - good place if you want to play with a few Harleys before you makes your choice!), then actually went for a Sportster initially. Like you, I wanted something bigger (I also fancied a FatBoy) but thought I'd learn a bit on the smaller Sportster. Also didn't know if I'd stick with it etc.....

2 years on, the Sportster's gone and has been replaced by a Heritage Softail.

Still glad I went the Sportster route first though, great bike and ideal for getting to grips with the H-D world. You'd be able to pick up a Sportie for not a lot of money and, when you do want to move onwards and upwards, you won't lose a fortune in the process.

Worth a thought?;)

Excellent advice there Fat Rob...;)

Originally Posted by Steve_L

IS IT ME..........

Now I've been riding for thirty years, it went, 50/175/250/500/750/883/1200cc.

It would appear from recent posts it now goes from feck all to 1340 in one fell swoop,
A and E here we come...... imho.

..........or even starting at 1450cc ~ 1584cc with the new 2007 big twinned cammed 96

Bit bigger than my Suzuki 50cc in 1968...

Originally Posted by CrazyIvan

Still got a way to go then

Youngters eh CrazyIvan...LOL

Originally Posted by Steve_L

IS IT ME..........
Now I've been riding for thirty years, it went, 50/175/250/500/750/883/1200cc.
It would appear from recent posts it now goes from feck all to 1340 in one fell swoop,
A and E here we come...... imho.

i am grateful & respect your opinion as you have tons of experience on bikes by the sound of it, but i have an opinion in all things that life can be short....so if i can go straight to a big bike i would prefer that, respecting what i am doing along the way so that i am careful & take into account the implications of that choice. I see it this way too.........i lose money every time i buy/sell a car/bike, so get the one I will keep as quicklly as i can ;-)

Originally Posted by Fat Rob

Hi Steve and welcome!

I entered the world of biking only a couple of years ago - like you, something I'd always promised myself but never got around to doing.

Got through my test (at H-D Rider's Edge - good place if you want to play with a few Harleys before you makes your choice!), then actually went for a Sportster initially. Like you, I wanted something bigger (I also fancied a FatBoy) but thought I'd learn a bit on the smaller Sportster. Also didn't know if I'd stick with it etc.....

2 years on, the Sportster's gone and has been replaced by a Heritage Softail.

Still glad I went the Sportster route first though, great bike and ideal for getting to grips with the H-D world. You'd be able to pick up a Sportie for not a lot of money and, when you do want to move onwards and upwards, you won't lose a fortune in the process.

Worth a thought?;)

thanks, thats great info, where is the H-D Riders Edge ?

Originally Posted by SteveW

thanks, thats great info, where is the H-D Riders Edge ?

It's in Builth Wells, central-ish Wales.

One thing I would say - taking your CBT/Direct Access there is not cheap!! However, as a novice it took me from nowhere to passing my test on an 883 Sportster in 6 days. PLUS, you literally can ride virtually all HDs around the Rider's Edge private roads durign the training sessions. If you really want to take your test on a FatBoy, then they will let you (so long as they think you're not taking on too much).

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/c...bmLocale=en_GB

If you do pass your test with them (usually on the morning of your 6th day at Builth Wells) you can choose which bike(s) you want to take out onto the road.

Tuition is on a 2-1 basis (2 instructors, 4 pupils) and most instructors are ex-Police riders.

Expensive, but great fun and they generally get results.;)

Steve—
Everybody yearns for their dream bike, but wether any of us admit it or not, we all have dropped our first "big" bike- at least once. Perhaps it’s better to get the the inevitable scratches and dents done on a "starter bike" rather than wrecking your dream.