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First Harley Davidson - First Motorcycle

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rhhanson

New Member
I am looking at buying my first Harley and was wondering which model to look at. This will be my first motorcycle experience as well.

I am looking for something I can ride with the wife on the back and cruise a few hours to the coast. A friend of mine recommended I look at softails with a 1000CC or better. I like what I see but I wanted to see what everyone else recommends.

What other consideration go into picking the right model? Height, weight?

Thanks in advance.
 
Road king for versatility.Windshield on in colder weather and off for summer cruising. Try that with an ultra :D
 
I realy love my Herritage softy. I've gone on alot of day trips with it. You can get all kinds of detachable goodies for them. Windshields, passenger seats, luggage racks, backrests, and bags. It will all come off in seconds and be a nice street cruiser.
 
Its one of those "to each their own" thing.

You have to just go down and sit on them, ride them and decide for yourself what feels right to you.
 
Yes, somone just said it here in one of the forum posts. You dont pick the bike it picks you. LOL, she'll be stering at you from across the showroom and you'll just have to take her home.
 
I take the very unpopular opinion, that it doesn't matter WHAT bike you buy for a first bike, as it will likely be the wrong bike.....
Step one, would be to take a riders class... the MSF-BRC available at most community colleges, or the Rider's Edge class, available at most HD dealerships.

After you take and pass the class, I usually suggest buying a used metric.... common, and cheap enough.... get some street skills, and ride that bike like you stole it.... if you drop the bike, and it's likely you will... you'll have the consolution, of it NOT being a $15-20k bikes. After you've ridden for a while, you'll know what kinds of riding you enjoy, and will get the bike that suits THAT task....

I always give that same advice to novice riders.... not a very popular opinion... but then again....
 
Me and the better half have also just got our first Harleys,although she has a Nightster i was always gonna go for the Heritage softail,i think it offers a bit of everything,goin 2up,touring or just cruisin with your mates,but you should go and try them out,you will fall in love with one style,possibly more but one will suit your needs perfectly.good luck.
 
SkootchNC said:
I take the very unpopular opinion, that it doesn't matter WHAT bike you buy for a first bike, as it will likely be the wrong bike.....
Step one, would be to take a riders class... the MSF-BRC available at most community colleges, or the Rider's Edge class, available at most HD dealerships.

After you take and pass the class, I usually suggest buying a used metric.... common, and cheap enough.... get some street skills, and ride that bike like you stole it.... if you drop the bike, and it's likely you will... you'll have the consolution, of it NOT being a $15-20k bikes. After you've ridden for a while, you'll know what kinds of riding you enjoy, and will get the bike that suits THAT task....

I always give that same advice to novice riders.... not a very popular opinion... but then again....
Click to expand...

I agree. I was lucky and never dropped my Kawasaki but I did have some close calls. A HD is not cheap. Get a metric bike for your first bike and look at other bikes on bike night, poker runs, etc. See what kind of riding you like to do. Week long road trips, just around town, a quick ride on some back roads,
whatever. Once you figure out what kind of riding you like, then invest in a HD and you will know which bike suits you best.
 
I say take a couple for a ride.... I was thinking sporty at first took a RK and a Heritage Classic for a ride... Heritage won me over... 2 months 3500 miles later still happy with the choice.
 
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