My Harley Davidson Super Glide Custom - Arrived in Jan 2013

[Hammer & Anvil]

After 9 months of flawless running with the Sportster, I upgraded to a more long-distance runner kind of bike, the Super Glide Custom. I have a much detailed departure report on the 883 story that I had written on my buying the bike- more like a closure story.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/superb...ml#post3050300

Here are the pix of the new bike in the stable.





After a few pictures of the bike arriving into the house at dusk- I think these will be used as templates to see if the bike was cleaned properly or not, in subsequent months.

The first 4000Km on the 883 went by learning to explore its power, lean and its stability. Fuel average settled in at 22-24 on highways, and about 16 in the city. Pillions added to rear weight stability and almost invariably increased the ability to consistently hammer over 140 far more easy than when one-up.

Then after 4500, the Screamin' Eagles Exhausts and Stage 1 Air Cleaners came- and they were like th bad boys coming in for a party that had just settled down... and then the hell rising started all over again. We started to hit the rev-limiter all the way till 3rd and then we found the top speed we could do with my riding gear @165 and the fun in riding all became the hum and roar and effects- so from serious riding, it just went downhill for me

In an effort to stem the rot, I asked around the Harley Owners and found that I had hit a wall on the bike, something to do with having ridden bigger bikes earlier in college days in the US- something I could not deny. So a friend Manish came along immediately- and on a Monday morning at 0600, we went for a city ride, from Powai to Dadar and south.

The 1584cc Super Glide Custom, from the Dyna family- a 6-speed, 92 ft-lbs@3000rpm... came along.

The first thing that suprised me, was not the weight, but having pulled off from a level patch on the road, was the balance and stability in 1st gear... and then how it hauled from 0-110- when Manish tapped me and pointed upward- to indicate a 6th... and that took me till abut 125... and being on it for the first time I let it stay there on the Eastern Express Highway... When we rolled up and down, what suprised me from the very highly strung Sportster was that I could come down to 75 in 6th and even 60 in 5th. Something the 883 never did.

So from a riding a psychotic red-lined Sportster, here I was having a wonderful, relaxed time, and enjoying the speed range from 0-130 without the stress, drama and anger that went about the earlier bike.

So the decision was made- a buyer was found for the Sportster in a day, sold, and a Super Glide booked. To make a point, I did have a preference at the time for the Street Bob, but its stock handle and mini-apes made it rather difficult for my height and riding style to be accomodated together. So the dealership and HDI worked over night to get my bike to me within a record time of 6 days- and got a few days of local riding before hitting the National Harley Owners Group Rally in Goa, putting in about 1800Km on the trip...

The average settled in about 22 on the highway- average speeds for the Pune-Nipani stretch climbed from 85 (on the 883) to about 97 on the way to Goa and the return averages were about 115, with the added support of my friends Yeti, and my Scorpio creating an envelope from a low of 70 to 155... for our team of 11 riders- here a bunch of 48s and 883s also made it with averages of about 95-105.

Here is what was different- the ease with which one cruised and stayed in a power band- that reduced the stress on the rider by a huge amount. Between the tolls on that part of the highway, i would stay in 5th or 6th- and mostly 6th that too... Chasing down the Yeti to 165 and then re-grouping every so 15-20km, I would let the speed bleed to about 95... and it made overtaking anything a breeze. The increased stability of the bike showed its benefits and even two-up, the bike felt rock steady- in fact at one point the sun got to a pillion and she wanted to get down to stretch her legs while at 160... Some credit can be given to NHAI for making it probably the better highway in Maharashtra... Extras on the bike- crash guard, sissy bar (back rest in Harley terminology) as of now. SE Air Cleaner, and Exhausts with a Super Tuner is probably next.

From my experience, I can only suggest that you try and visualise your personality bracket for the Harley that you want to get- the 48 has been suprisingly the most loyal owners bike, from my experience and I cannot wax eloquent enough about how the 1200cc stormer runs- its absolutely brilliant, having kept with me till 165 and it fantastic aggressive stance and demeanour, and also its reputation for being a trouble free performer. Budget owners should rather look at used bikes and then service histories are available if you are serious enough from Service Centers to ensure you have a good piece.

Accessories and Gear cost a pretty penny, but then you need to factor that in before buying a bike and not after. Research saves you money, and a lot of grief. Feel free to ask around, am sure there are many HOGs out there who will help you.

Many hate the Harley, I dont know for what? Nothing is perfect- whats a Yezdi for one is an ashtray for another, and you need to be happy with a ride, the kind of people that the bike brings together, the rides that are organised, the support given. Some Italian crotch-rockets have clutch levers at 18000 a pair, but with availability of 4 months- damn! - then the Harley levers are atleast accessible at 1/5th, and available... so i really have nothing to say about people who hate the Harley. i am neutral to all bikes, but I hate plastics,

-KD.























































Your good wishes are as always welcome and much appreciated.

Thanks-

-KD.

[neel385]

Congrats on your new ride! Wish you many miles of happy and safe cruising!

[DocRock]

Originally Posted by Hammer & Anvil

Here are the pix of the new bike in the stable.
Your good wishes are as always welcome and much appreciated.
Thanks-
-KD.

Congratulations.Your new Dyna looks great. Any mods planned?

[manson]

Once a Harley rider, always a Harley rider eh? Congratulations on your latest acquisition!!
Despite being a vocal critic of the Harley range of motorcycles, I sometimes do ponder around having once at some point in my life, atleast as a second. A nice chromed out motorcycle, black paint, black leather, cruising on empty highways, that perfect vance & hines hum, it has to happen once!

[B O V]

Congratulations on your new acquisition.I must say she looks absolutely amazing.

Doesn't that saree guard look a bit awkward with the general flow of the bike?

Looking forward to a detailed review of the bike

[Hammer & Anvil]

hahhahaha- the saree guard- Our all so vigilant ARAI and whoever looks into Homologation made it mandatory to have saree guards- on both sides... I think I removed them 35 seconds after fitting the crash guard on entering the service center after buying the bike... the irony is, if you are a metal fan, the saree guards are beautifully machined and painted- heavy and almost like a work of art- when you pick them up, you feel as if they would have helped put some more rubber on the road because of their weight.

[n_aditya]

Once a Harley and always a Harley.

Congrats on your new acquisition and wishing you many years of happy and safe rides.

It's great to see that HD India is doing well and has excellent after sales support for it's owners.

How comfy are these bikes for a pillion rider? I am thinking of buying one a few years later.

[bigron]

You really do like your Harleys !
Though I am a very strong advocate of the anti Harley sentiment and despise the quality , engineering and everything else about the brand there is no denying that the brand has history. And history no matter of what is always cool.
As a biker I congratulate you on your new ride. Time to hit the highways with some mates and do what Harleys do best. Ride Hard , Ride safe !!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line (The "Assembly Line" Forum section) to the Superbike & Imports Section. Thanks for sharing!

[ku69rd]

Congrats Hammer & Anvil on your new acquisition. Super Glide Custom looks very cool to be honest and I suppose these are also being manufactured locally here in India giving you some additional savings?

Did you consider any other models in their line up before freezing on the Super Glide? Wanted to understand the rationale rather than anything else.

[Hammer & Anvil]

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Congrats Hammer & Anvil on your new acquisition. Super Glide Custom looks very cool to be honest and I suppose these are also being manufactured locally here in India giving you some additional savings?

Did you consider any other models in their line up before freezing on the Super Glide? Wanted to understand the rationale rather than anything else.

Thanks kind Sir.

Savings are a direct function of the CBU, CKD etc jargon that the Customs Duty structure is all about... Therefore the price reduction between the older SGs and mine would be about 3-4L OTR price.

I am a rather robustly built fellow- so actually the first preference (for the Dog to look like the owner) would have been the Street Bob- but due to the mini-ape handles, it started to become a nuisance at low speeds, parking lots, and first-gear handling. Pretty much- the Dyna family engines are the same, so nothing on the performance issue could earn points. Changing the handles was an option, but alternate handles cost like 30K and upwards for a 4-6" riser with a pull back feature... but that would, in my opinion alter a Bobber and really mess things up from a design perspective. So the easy going Super Glide came in, and I had seen them in action for over 9 months in India by now- and the ride that I had simply told me that 'this is the bike.'

Bigger bikes need more parking care and are far more financially aggressive with spares, and riding them without the basic 'make up' kits makes them look rather pathetic. I use my bike everywhere, including going to office- all of 500meter away, and to the local market with my son and/or wife... a Softail or Touring category bike would be too large to use like that, so that kind of kept them out of the picture. Those bikes are simply too large to handle in local traffic.

I hope this reflects some thoughts of mine- thoughts that went thru my mind when I was thinking of upgrading.

[ba$h]

Many many congratulations on this Super Upgrade, I mean Super Glide Looks great! I ride a Ninja 250R and have been wanting my dad to get a Harley for himself! I like your threads/posts, and its a pleasure reading them! Keep us posted and hope to catch up for a ride someday.

[Hammer & Anvil]

Originally Posted by ba$h

Keep us posted and hope to catch up for a ride someday.

Sure thing- your ninja could run well with us, and we would let you ride ahead too.

Will PM you...

See you soon.

-KD.

[plimsollmark]

Congrats on your newest bike. Honestly I was never a fan of Harleys but die hard loyalists like you sharing all the pros and cons make me wonder if I havent been biased and now am tempted to give one a try at least as a 2nd bike !

Happy riding !