[DKG]

Some 30 years ago when I was a student in the US I saw my first Harley Davidson. The sound of that V Twin made a deep impression in my mind. I can never have enough of that sound !! The look of the bikes, with all the chrome and retro styling made my drool everytime one went by. They were expensive then and are expensive now.

I always wanted a Heritage Softail or a Fat Boy. Although I found the Roadking to ride the best I love the styling of the softails.

When newspaper reports started appearing a couple of years ago saying Harley is keen on a India entry I smiled to myself as this marque holds a special place in my heart. Its always been Porsches and Ferraris for cars and Harley Davidsons and Hondas for bikes.

Last year Harley opened their dealership in Hyderabad and that got me thinking about one day soon realising a long standing dream. Buying a Heritage Softail or a Fat Boy turned out to be a extremely expensive proposition. I could have but I felt it would be irresponsible of me to block so much in a weekend leisure activity.

Then news items appeared about CKD routes for Harleys and three models announced. I have ex colleagues working for Harley and called them excitedly wondering if the Softails would be assembled locally. The answer was in the negative and nothing planned in the forseable future.

I wanted a cruiser and almost would have bought a Enfield 500 but for their absurd 7 month wait. I liked the Forty Eight's styling but 10 plus would be a lot of money for something which really wasn't my dream Harley.

The 883 seemed like the bike for me. I like retro styling and the Super Low was a natural choice. Besides its an awesome VFM proposition. 883 cc is not a small engine. I opted for the Merlot Sun Glo v black colour combo and booked a bike. They promised me first or second week of May. May came and went and there was no sign of my Super Low. Once agains calls to my friends in Harley and I understand they didn't forecast the demand for the CKD's to take off as well as it did and they are facing a supply crunch as the kits have to be ordered well in advance. Oh well, so when was it going to be. They promised me I would get mine when the fresh kits arrive. The kits arrived and my bike was assembled some 10 days ago.

Today I visited the workshop and there she was, one of two Super Lows sent to Hyderabad

My dream had come true. My HOG had arrived !!



When I bought my VFR one of the joys of the purchase was to be there when the bike was uncrated and PDI done. I wanted to see my Harley in the crate and being unpacked. So when I heard from Amit at Banjara Harley's workshop that the truck was to reach by 12 noon I went across with a friend. I must say the Harleys are transported very well and I liked the pallet in which the bike is strapped down.





















Amit of Banjara Harley said he'll need a couple of hours for a recharge on the battery and completing the PDI. I headed back to work and closer to the day's end came back to the workshop for the delivery

When I reached the workshop later in the evening to take delivery Amit of Banjara Harley was hooking the bike up to the laptop for the final checks and issue of what they amusingly call at Harley a "Birth Certificate"



















A tool trolley never looked so enticing !!













That really was a sweet gesture to order a cake and celebrate the delivery

As I was cutting the cake there was a downpour but I was determined to take the beauty home come rain or sunshine ! And the Harley came home that evening.

Having ridden the bigger Harleys I was slightly unsure about the ride of this baby Harley but was pleasantly surprised. It has oodles of torque and almost wants to pull away like a runaway frieght train. You literally have to spend more time reigning the Speedster in than trying to accelerate.

On my first long ride I managed to scrape both foot pegs !! I didn't realise the VFR had gotten me used to sharper lean angles. This one scrapes way too easily. On one turn sharp turn with a slight depression I ended up scraping some part of the mufflers !! Geez this bike really is Super Low !!

I guess one needs to ride gently keeping in mind the ultra low clearance. Once you get used to not leaning the bike too hard or going over speed bumps at an angle the bike really is sweet and a total delight to ride. Very easy to manuevre in traffic and effortless when pulling away.

The seating postition takes a little getting used to as you sit with a straight back on the VFR but on this you tend to relax more and end up slumping a bit which can give you a back ache on a very long ride.

Being fuel injected from startup to all kinds of traffic situations the engine responds very smoothly.

Love the styling, the detailing, the torquey engine, manuevreability in tight conditions, ease of starting, What one needs to get used to is the ultra soft suspension and the poor lean angles and the low ground clearance. Overall the Super Low is awesome VFM.

I can see myself enjoying this bike for years to come

[mayankk]

Awesome!!
This is like watching the first episode of a serial crime series!!!
whats next!!

BTW: If not wrong, youre also getting a Thar?
double whammy!

[mayankjha1806]

Congratulations, Please post some pictures and your first drive experience as well. Not sure but wanted to ask "Kitne ki hai"?

[BulZire]

Congrats DKG !!
What a combo you have, a VFR and now a HD
Wishing you all the best and may you have great time with your Super Low
can't wait to see the pics.

[Ardy]

Oh wow. congratulations, DKG on the latest acquisition and on being a HOG member now. Your starting post is like a curtain raiser, awaiting the detailed pictures and first ride impression.

I had driven the 883R and 1200 Nightster during their boot camp last year. And these machines are really awesome to drive. Although, I found the rear suspension on 1200 Nightster to be quite stiff and the rumbles at Novotel could be felt at the back.

Never went for one, as could not imagine spending so much money on something that may come out on road once a while.

I would love to hear your riding experience.

Good Luck with HD and Ride Safe.

Cheers,

[BIG SARAN]

Congratulations sir.
Please post more pics asap. And do let us know how does the 100mm ground clearance fare on our indian roads.

[hdnivara]

Wow! Many congrats
I don't know anything about HD apart from the fact they cost you a fortune!

A little of Googling says two 883 Sportster models are available for India - Iron and Roadster. So which one is your hog?

[Sudipto-S-Team]

What's life without a little bit of passion !?! Congratulations. Live your dreams sir.

[amitwlele]

DKG Sir Congrats. That was a very good teaser. Now eagerly waiting for further updates.

So next year back to Kashmir on the Harley?

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by DKG

The 883 seemed like the bike for me. I like retro styling and the Super Low was a natural choice. Besides its an awesome VFM proposition. 883 cc is not a small engine. I opted for the Merlot Sun Glo v black colour combo and booked a bike. They promised me first or second week of May. May came and went and there was no sign of my Super Low.

Congratulations on getting the HD Super Low, looks like you had quite an early delivery. Would it be because of your connections within HD? Had to cancel my booking as the delivery date was more of a moving target :(
Do post in some photos and enjoy your ride, hopefully we will get to see a good quality ownership being keyed in

[h@r$h@l]

@ DKG sir many congratulations for purchasing this beauty.

Originally Posted by hdnivara

Wow! Many congrats
I don't know anything about HD apart from the fact they cost you a fortune!

A little of Googling says two 883 Sportster models are available for India - Iron and Roadster. So which one is your hog?

there are 3 variants of 883 are available in Indian Market.

1. Super Low priced at INR 5,50,000/-
2. Iron 883 price at INR 6,50,000/-
3. XL 883R ROADSTER priced at INR 7,50,000/-

All Prices Ex-Showroom New Delhi.

I have been playing with the idea of getting one too but everyone i speak to has been asking me to stay away from one till a service center & Showroom setup is done locally.

So waiting for the day when HD decides upon a dealer here and i may get a chance to get one HOG home

[anekho]

Congratulations!

Can't wait for the next post! Really admire and respect your passion, DKG! Please post plenty of photos!

Loving this thread and the other one you started about the Honda!

Cheers!

[traveloholic]

Congrats Deepak Ji for your Harley. Good to see you relive your dream of owning a Harley. A good choice should say. As Harley has already rolled in to your garage, its time for a New Red Cayman.

As you know, the first words a typical hyderabadi would ask is "Party kab Hain (when is the party)?", but what would be the first words of a typical hyderabadi BHPian "Gaadi kab dikha rahe ho (when are you showing the bike)?"

[dwaraka]

DKG,

Never knew you as biker. Congratulations to you for Harley. My dream bike too.

[JVH]

Just finished reading through the other thread on the Hondas and the rides. And now a thread on Harley. I've seen you mostly on 4x4 forums and it was pleasant surprise to see you in a biking avatar :-).

Congratulations! Would look forward to a more detailed report and the riding experience. Just curious - why a Superlow? You might as well have gone for a Iron 883. I've heard the ground clearance on the Superlow to be really superlow, so was just wondering how one is able to manage on the pot-holed roads here.