Rock My Ride

@Amos_Umwhat said:
@CalvinAndHobo , I never would have dreamed it, but the Goldwing may just be the most all around satisfying bike I've ever owned. The BMW was great, too, and I truly loved all my Harleys. If they'd stayed on track with the FXR's I'd probably still own one. Just some things to think about. Hopefully Indian manages as a stand alone. I'd hate to see them go under, again.

I'm not holding out hope for Indian. These private equity purchases all go the same way every time. People get laid off, production moves overseas, customer service becomes terrible, automated, and outsourced, innovation and R&D stops, the same bikes get sold for the next 5 or 10 years with fake updates that don't keep pace with the industry until all the profit is squeezed out, and then they go bankrupt with everyone getting a golden parachute on the way out. Can't take a chance and buy a new bike from them when parts could stop getting made in the future and the quality of the parts that do exist just goes downhill once made overseas. I took a lot of pride in the fact that my bike was made in Iowa, and I love everything about it, especially the reliability of it. I'm just bummed.

I'll be test riding everything when it's time to upgrade and I'm sure I'll love the Goldwing, but when I test rode it last time I just felt like it didn't have any soul. I don't really know how to describe it, but it felt more like a convertible than a bike, everything was too nice and smooth, and I felt like a passenger more than a rider. We'll see what changes though, this was years ago, and the model I test rode was not the manual shifting version that you own, it was the automatic DCT one, which is probably part of why I felt like that.

@CalvinAndHobo , I get that. My Goldwing test ride was, well, nice. Mr. Rogers nice. Smooth, efficient, sanitary. My motivation in buying it was primarily that it was a better transportation system for us, two up. 90% of my riding is two up. Also, the BMW's tall seat was getting to be a bit of a challenge for a couple of 70 year olds.

After I bought it I started making it mine. Ultimate seat and National Cycle's Comfort Bars so I could stretch my legs helped. A lot! I didn't think I'd like the backrest, but I do. And then, the Alaska Leather Sheepskin, much comfort.

I also added a luggage rack to the trunk, which was a more complicated task than I thought. Faye's reaction was great to witness: "You're going to drill holes in a brand new $30k motorcycle? Are you crazy?" I also put a Quiet Works windscreen on in place of the stock. I like the recurve lip, and it is wider than stock. I put adjustable wind deflectors under the mirrors as well, it gets hot down here, and sometimes it's nice to funnel all the wind in my direction.

Lastly, the engine. It's so smooth it feels tame. That's why there's the Sport Mode. I got used to this bike the same way I did with the BMW. I started out in Rain or Econ modes, and then moved up. I don't like surprises in traffic. While I'm almost always in Tour Mode now, all I have to do is flip the switch to Sport and the machine forgets its gentlemanly manners and becomes a beast.

I should add, I do appreciate your comments regarding Indian's future as a stand alone. That was pretty much what I figured would happen to Harley when they left AMF, and it was pretty much what happened to Harley when AMF bought them, although that ultimately turned out to be what saved them long enough for Harley's people to buy themselves back. What I fear will be missing is the passion. Motorcycling is truly all about the passion. Without it, the company, and the industry will die.

@Amos_Umwhat said:
@CalvinAndHobo , I get that. My Goldwing test ride was, well, nice. Mr. Rogers nice. Smooth, efficient, sanitary. My motivation in buying it was primarily that it was a better transportation system for us, two up. 90% of my riding is two up. Also, the BMW's tall seat was getting to be a bit of a challenge for a couple of 70 year olds.

After I bought it I started making it mine. Ultimate seat and National Cycle's Comfort Bars so I could stretch my legs helped. A lot! I didn't think I'd like the backrest, but I do. And then, the Alaska Leather Sheepskin, much comfort.

I also added a luggage rack to the trunk, which was a more complicated task than I thought. Faye's reaction was great to witness: "You're going to drill holes in a brand new $30k motorcycle? Are you crazy?" I also put a Quiet Works windscreen on in place of the stock. I like the recurve lip, and it is wider than stock. I put adjustable wind deflectors under the mirrors as well, it gets hot down here, and sometimes it's nice to funnel all the wind in my direction.

Lastly, the engine. It's so smooth it feels tame. That's why there's the Sport Mode. I got used to this bike the same way I did with the BMW. I started out in Rain or Econ modes, and then moved up. I don't like surprises in traffic. While I'm almost always in Tour Mode now, all I have to do is flip the switch to Sport and the machine forgets its gentlemanly manners and becomes a beast.

I should add, I do appreciate your comments regarding Indian's future as a stand alone. That was pretty much what I figured would happen to Harley when they left AMF, and it was pretty much what happened to Harley when AMF bought them, although that ultimately turned out to be what saved them long enough for Harley's people to buy themselves back. What I fear will be missing is the passion. Motorcycling is truly all about the passion. Without it, the company, and the industry will die.

Sounds like I'll have to try sport mode on the next test ride before making judgement. If my bike got stolen tomorrow and I had an insurance check, I think I'd start my test riding with the BMW R18 Transcontinental and go from there.