flh canuck
Active Member
The Adventure:
Just returned from a two week, 5,000 km trip on our 2008 Electraglide Classic which now shows 15,000 km on the odometer. Our trip took us down through Washington, Idaho, into Utah, across Nevada then back up through California and then the Oregon Coast toward home.
The Electraglide:
The bike has a stock 96 incher with the exception of Stage 1 and oil cooler. According to the truck scales, our total weight with two people and all the gear came in at 1290 lbs. I run the Harley synthetic oil in the engine and use Harley dinosaur fluids in the trans and primary. Rear shocks were set at 30 psi.
Evaluation:
Our trip took us from 50 degrees and rain upon leaving home in British Columbia through 110 degrees in Utah and Nevada, then back to 55 degrees and damp on the coast. Fully loaded, the bike handled great and soaked up the miles with very little effort. As much as I enjoy this bike for ripping around town, the highway is where this bike really shines. There were a few times on the highway, especially when bucking a head wind, where more power would have been welcome but the bike did not miss a beat the entire trip. It seemed most comfortable doing 75-80 mph as going any faster seemed to be pushing it a bit hard. 6th gear is pretty tall and was not used below 65 mph. I was amazed at how well the bike handled the twisty bits in California and Oregon with all that weight on board but obviously the bike has been well designed for that purpose. Fuel use averaged around 40 miles to a US gallon which seems decent enough as I was making no effort to go easy on the throttle. No negatives to report with the exception of the stereo which tended to distort at high volume. Hopefully I can rectify that with some better speakers ( I must be getting old if I am whining about the stereo on a motorcycle....). Possibly one of the most important aspects was the passenger accomodations. This was my wife's first long road trip and she loved it. She found the passenger seat to be very comfortable for all day rides and had no complaints to speak off. Now if I can just get her to leave the hair dryer at home next time....
This is the fourth Harley I have owned and feel that the Motor Company should get credit where credit is due. Overall, a nicely put together machine. We can't wait till the next road trip....
Just returned from a two week, 5,000 km trip on our 2008 Electraglide Classic which now shows 15,000 km on the odometer. Our trip took us down through Washington, Idaho, into Utah, across Nevada then back up through California and then the Oregon Coast toward home.
The Electraglide:
The bike has a stock 96 incher with the exception of Stage 1 and oil cooler. According to the truck scales, our total weight with two people and all the gear came in at 1290 lbs. I run the Harley synthetic oil in the engine and use Harley dinosaur fluids in the trans and primary. Rear shocks were set at 30 psi.
Evaluation:
Our trip took us from 50 degrees and rain upon leaving home in British Columbia through 110 degrees in Utah and Nevada, then back to 55 degrees and damp on the coast. Fully loaded, the bike handled great and soaked up the miles with very little effort. As much as I enjoy this bike for ripping around town, the highway is where this bike really shines. There were a few times on the highway, especially when bucking a head wind, where more power would have been welcome but the bike did not miss a beat the entire trip. It seemed most comfortable doing 75-80 mph as going any faster seemed to be pushing it a bit hard. 6th gear is pretty tall and was not used below 65 mph. I was amazed at how well the bike handled the twisty bits in California and Oregon with all that weight on board but obviously the bike has been well designed for that purpose. Fuel use averaged around 40 miles to a US gallon which seems decent enough as I was making no effort to go easy on the throttle. No negatives to report with the exception of the stereo which tended to distort at high volume. Hopefully I can rectify that with some better speakers ( I must be getting old if I am whining about the stereo on a motorcycle....). Possibly one of the most important aspects was the passenger accomodations. This was my wife's first long road trip and she loved it. She found the passenger seat to be very comfortable for all day rides and had no complaints to speak off. Now if I can just get her to leave the hair dryer at home next time....
This is the fourth Harley I have owned and feel that the Motor Company should get credit where credit is due. Overall, a nicely put together machine. We can't wait till the next road trip....