Harley riding tips? (and Oregon coast too)
Discussion
I finally did my DAS test in the UK last year at the age of 46. Since then, I've moved to California and done the (worryingly easy) local bike test too. For the moment, I'm renting bikes now and then till I work out what I want, including a V-Strom 650 for a weeklong tour of the UK and Ireland last summer, a BMW R1200RT for a ride from LA to San Francisco in April this year, an FZ8 for a weekend of tootling round the LA canyons, and an FZ-07 to get to the Long Beach Grand Prix without spending the whole day stuck in traffic. Thus far the RT has been my favourite, even if it felt a bit hefty in town with luggage and my very forgiving wife on the back.
Anyway, I'm doing a "transporter special" where a rental firm needs their bikes moved south before the winter, and having missed out on a BMW GS we're now set to ride a Harley Electra Glide from Portland to LA next month, which will probably be around 1300 miles after we take some detours. I've never ridden a cruiser, and this will be by far the heaviest bike I've ridden, so any Harley-handling tips for a newer rider would be appreciated.
Also, if anybody has any suggestions for the Oregon Coast I'd love to hear them. We'll leave from Portland, spend part of the day in our office in Albany OR, then cut west to the coast and stay in Yachats on the first night. Further stops might include Crescent City CA, Clear Lake, family in either Napa or Berkeley, then across Yosemite and home via Death Valley over a couple more days. I'm pretty familiar with all points south of Napa, but any ideas north of that would be great!
Anyway, I'm doing a "transporter special" where a rental firm needs their bikes moved south before the winter, and having missed out on a BMW GS we're now set to ride a Harley Electra Glide from Portland to LA next month, which will probably be around 1300 miles after we take some detours. I've never ridden a cruiser, and this will be by far the heaviest bike I've ridden, so any Harley-handling tips for a newer rider would be appreciated.
Also, if anybody has any suggestions for the Oregon Coast I'd love to hear them. We'll leave from Portland, spend part of the day in our office in Albany OR, then cut west to the coast and stay in Yachats on the first night. Further stops might include Crescent City CA, Clear Lake, family in either Napa or Berkeley, then across Yosemite and home via Death Valley over a couple more days. I'm pretty familiar with all points south of Napa, but any ideas north of that would be great!
t brakes (also sDon't expect it to handle as well as some of the other bikes you've ridden, equally, don't expect it to be as poorly handling as some people make Harleys out to be! Whilst the electra glide is more of a touring cruiser it can be fairly nimble (although if you wanted the 'fun' harley you'd go for a Sportster!)
It's lean angle will be much less than you are likely used to, and this will vary depending on the setup of shocks/pegs/ etc, but you'll still be able to hit the twisties if you wanted unless someone has drastically lowered it (they are pretty low already). Electra glides have brilliant low speed stability, it's why you find so many American police using them, and they are great for a sit back tour/cruise ride about.
Biggest difference for the big twins is the rpm range you'll be wanting to use:
Motorway / highway riding you'll want to aim for around 2600 to 3200rpm on a big twin, anything below 2000 and you'll be lugging the engine and want to switch down, anything above 4000 and you'll be hitting the mark to up shift a gear. Rev limiters kick in around 6500 depending on year / any customisations. Crusing around town 2200-2600 will give you nice response without being laboursome, 3rd gear or less and you'll really notice engine lugging if you let the revs drop too low.
Oh, and be prepared for the heavy clutch lever and distinctive harley gear change 'clunk' - especially down into first - that 'clunk' is normal so don't be afraid of it!
Have fun and enjoy the experience!
It's lean angle will be much less than you are likely used to, and this will vary depending on the setup of shocks/pegs/ etc, but you'll still be able to hit the twisties if you wanted unless someone has drastically lowered it (they are pretty low already). Electra glides have brilliant low speed stability, it's why you find so many American police using them, and they are great for a sit back tour/cruise ride about.
Biggest difference for the big twins is the rpm range you'll be wanting to use:
Motorway / highway riding you'll want to aim for around 2600 to 3200rpm on a big twin, anything below 2000 and you'll be lugging the engine and want to switch down, anything above 4000 and you'll be hitting the mark to up shift a gear. Rev limiters kick in around 6500 depending on year / any customisations. Crusing around town 2200-2600 will give you nice response without being laboursome, 3rd gear or less and you'll really notice engine lugging if you let the revs drop too low.
Oh, and be prepared for the heavy clutch lever and distinctive harley gear change 'clunk' - especially down into first - that 'clunk' is normal so don't be afraid of it!
Have fun and enjoy the experience!
Best tip - choose an Indian over a Harley 
Quicker, smoother, handles better, stops better, much more ground clearance etc.
But in general with the big heavyweight v-twins you can forget about moving your weight around or expecting your body position to make much of a difference. EVERYTHING is through the bars. Just sit like a sack of spuds and countersteer. Want to drop the bike in to a bend? Tug the outside bar aka countersteer. Want to keep the bike tipped over in a bend? Keep pressure back on the outside bar aka countersteer. Want to zip through a series of s-bends? Use the bars! Until it runs out of clearance (which is long before a sports bike) theres no reason to believe it can’t be manhandled round bends as quick as something sporty - it’s just most riders choose to ‘cruise’ rather than play in the twisties so these bikes true capabilities are often underestimated.
If you’ve never ridden with footboards before then revel in the comfort of being able to move feet. But if you’re making progress be prepared to do a dance. Feet forward to get to the gears or brake, then inside foot back and maybe even tiptoes on tight bends.
It’s comfortable to eat miles ‘knees In the breeze’ and it’s easy to fall on to the habit of always riding like that. But grip the tank with your knees like any other bike on the bends and it’ll handle 100% better.
Not sure if the Harley has traction control but watch for wheelspin in less than ideal conditions. They’re heavy bikes so the tyre has a lot of work to do to accelerate it, and they’ll be touring tyres designed for mileage not super sticky sports tyres. Even before I did all the upgrades to the Indian it would spin-up the back wheel at unexpected times at surprisingly low revs and high gears. I assume even the standard Harley will similarly break traction if you’re a bit aggressive in the damp.
Despite being heavy bikes with the weight carried long and low they don’t really feel it - unless you have to push. Never park nose first down hill! But if you do tip over more that a few degrees you’ll soon feel the weight. A few more degrees and it will be over. Check out some of the YouTube videos of skinny girls lifting heavy Harleys. The technique is to put the small of your back against the seat and use your thigh muscles.
I actually get more satisfaction trying to manhandle a big heavyweight though a series of bends to the best of the bikes abilities rather than on a modern sports bike where I know I’d never come close to exploiting 50% of the performance possible.
Enjoy. Maybe you’ll be converted
Quicker, smoother, handles better, stops better, much more ground clearance etc. But in general with the big heavyweight v-twins you can forget about moving your weight around or expecting your body position to make much of a difference. EVERYTHING is through the bars. Just sit like a sack of spuds and countersteer. Want to drop the bike in to a bend? Tug the outside bar aka countersteer. Want to keep the bike tipped over in a bend? Keep pressure back on the outside bar aka countersteer. Want to zip through a series of s-bends? Use the bars! Until it runs out of clearance (which is long before a sports bike) theres no reason to believe it can’t be manhandled round bends as quick as something sporty - it’s just most riders choose to ‘cruise’ rather than play in the twisties so these bikes true capabilities are often underestimated.
If you’ve never ridden with footboards before then revel in the comfort of being able to move feet. But if you’re making progress be prepared to do a dance. Feet forward to get to the gears or brake, then inside foot back and maybe even tiptoes on tight bends.
It’s comfortable to eat miles ‘knees In the breeze’ and it’s easy to fall on to the habit of always riding like that. But grip the tank with your knees like any other bike on the bends and it’ll handle 100% better.
Not sure if the Harley has traction control but watch for wheelspin in less than ideal conditions. They’re heavy bikes so the tyre has a lot of work to do to accelerate it, and they’ll be touring tyres designed for mileage not super sticky sports tyres. Even before I did all the upgrades to the Indian it would spin-up the back wheel at unexpected times at surprisingly low revs and high gears. I assume even the standard Harley will similarly break traction if you’re a bit aggressive in the damp.
Despite being heavy bikes with the weight carried long and low they don’t really feel it - unless you have to push. Never park nose first down hill! But if you do tip over more that a few degrees you’ll soon feel the weight. A few more degrees and it will be over. Check out some of the YouTube videos of skinny girls lifting heavy Harleys. The technique is to put the small of your back against the seat and use your thigh muscles.
I actually get more satisfaction trying to manhandle a big heavyweight though a series of bends to the best of the bikes abilities rather than on a modern sports bike where I know I’d never come close to exploiting 50% of the performance possible.
Enjoy. Maybe you’ll be converted
tvrolet said:
Best tip - choose an Indian over a Harley Quicker, smoother, handles better, stops better, much more ground clearance etc.
But in general with the big heavyweight v-twins you can forget about moving your weight around or expecting your body position to make much of a difference. EVERYTHING is through the bars. Just sit like a sack of spuds and countersteer. Want to drop the bike in to a bend? Tug the outside bar aka countersteer. Want to keep the bike tipped over in a bend? Keep pressure back on the outside bar aka countersteer. Want to zip through a series of s-bends? Use the bars! Until it runs out of clearance (which is long before a sports bike) theres no reason to believe it can’t be manhandled round bends as quick as something sporty - it’s just most riders choose to ‘cruise’ rather than play in the twisties so these bikes true capabilities are often underestimated.
If you’ve never ridden with footboards before then revel in the comfort of being able to move feet. But if you’re making progress be prepared to do a dance. Feet forward to get to the gears or brake, then inside foot back and maybe even tiptoes on tight bends.
It’s comfortable to eat miles ‘knees In the breeze’ and it’s easy to fall on to the habit of always riding like that. But grip the tank with your knees like any other bike on the bends and it’ll handle 100% better.
Not sure if the Harley has traction control but watch for wheelspin in less than ideal conditions. They’re heavy bikes so the tyre has a lot of work to do to accelerate it, and they’ll be touring tyres designed for mileage not super sticky sports tyres. Even before I did all the upgrades to the Indian it would spin-up the back wheel at unexpected times at surprisingly low revs and high gears. I assume even the standard Harley will similarly break traction if you’re a bit aggressive in the damp.
Despite being heavy bikes with the weight carried long and low they don’t really feel it - unless you have to push. Never park nose first down hill! But if you do tip over more that a few degrees you’ll soon feel the weight. A few more degrees and it will be over. Check out some of the YouTube videos of skinny girls lifting heavy Harleys. The technique is to put the small of your back against the seat and use your thigh muscles.
I actually get more satisfaction trying to manhandle a big heavyweight though a series of bends to the best of the bikes abilities rather than on a modern sports bike where I know I’d never come close to exploiting 50% of the performance possible.
Enjoy. Maybe you’ll be converted
Great post Quicker, smoother, handles better, stops better, much more ground clearance etc. But in general with the big heavyweight v-twins you can forget about moving your weight around or expecting your body position to make much of a difference. EVERYTHING is through the bars. Just sit like a sack of spuds and countersteer. Want to drop the bike in to a bend? Tug the outside bar aka countersteer. Want to keep the bike tipped over in a bend? Keep pressure back on the outside bar aka countersteer. Want to zip through a series of s-bends? Use the bars! Until it runs out of clearance (which is long before a sports bike) theres no reason to believe it can’t be manhandled round bends as quick as something sporty - it’s just most riders choose to ‘cruise’ rather than play in the twisties so these bikes true capabilities are often underestimated.
If you’ve never ridden with footboards before then revel in the comfort of being able to move feet. But if you’re making progress be prepared to do a dance. Feet forward to get to the gears or brake, then inside foot back and maybe even tiptoes on tight bends.
It’s comfortable to eat miles ‘knees In the breeze’ and it’s easy to fall on to the habit of always riding like that. But grip the tank with your knees like any other bike on the bends and it’ll handle 100% better.
Not sure if the Harley has traction control but watch for wheelspin in less than ideal conditions. They’re heavy bikes so the tyre has a lot of work to do to accelerate it, and they’ll be touring tyres designed for mileage not super sticky sports tyres. Even before I did all the upgrades to the Indian it would spin-up the back wheel at unexpected times at surprisingly low revs and high gears. I assume even the standard Harley will similarly break traction if you’re a bit aggressive in the damp.
Despite being heavy bikes with the weight carried long and low they don’t really feel it - unless you have to push. Never park nose first down hill! But if you do tip over more that a few degrees you’ll soon feel the weight. A few more degrees and it will be over. Check out some of the YouTube videos of skinny girls lifting heavy Harleys. The technique is to put the small of your back against the seat and use your thigh muscles.
I actually get more satisfaction trying to manhandle a big heavyweight though a series of bends to the best of the bikes abilities rather than on a modern sports bike where I know I’d never come close to exploiting 50% of the performance possible.
Enjoy. Maybe you’ll be converted
So far, so good! Riding a Harley in America is a great way to meet lots of new people. Usually, I've barely taken off my helmet before someone shows up for a chat. We've crossed Oregon over the last two days from Portland to Brookings, and we're going to head to the Avenue of Giants to see the Redwood trees tomorrow (Saturday). Key discoveries so far: the bike handles much better than I expected thanks to the good advice about using the bars to make it move; like all American vehicles, it manages to be both big on the outside and cramped for the occupants, so for this 6'5" rider it takes a bit too long to fold my foot back over the brake pedal; I like the noise and the torque, but I've yet to master finding neutral.
We've enjoyed happening on a hot rod show, and seeing some seals.
We've enjoyed happening on a hot rod show, and seeing some seals.
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