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I never intended to buy this bike. I've always known I'd own a Harley-Davidson one day, but not just yet.
Having come to the conclusion that it was never going to see any dirt, I'd sold my trusty KLR 650 A-18 a few months earlier. I wanted to replace it with something - some kind of standard. The Ulysses, being more on the side of a sport tourer, with its sit-up-and-beg riding position, luggage and (albeit small) windscreen, I knew I wanted a second bike more for occasional commuting and local rides.
I started to look around. Some of the bikes that ended up on my short list included:
- Kawasaki Versys - ruled out because, as of this posting, Kawi-USA had no plans to release a California spec (emissions compliant) version.
- Kawasaki ZRX 1200 - couldn't find any used ones for sale
- Moto Guzzi Griso 8V - not yet available
- Ducati GT1000 - truth is, I'm already over it
- H-D XR1200 - not available in the US
- Triumph scrambler - umm, maybe not, and
- H-D XL1200R - it's got potential
My attention focused on XL1200R sporty, with it's low maintenance, torquey motor, belt driven final drive, mid-mount pegs, dual disk brakes, many customization options (think café racer, flat tracker - Storz porn), and a reasonable used market price, I thought I was on to a winner.
Then came several (disappointing) previous owner experiences. Seems every (used) bike I looked at for sale, was either too good to be true, or the truth was nowhere to be found.
In early December, 2007, I attended the Long Beach Motorcycle show. I spent a day and a half test riding a bunch of bikes - everything from the new Kawasaki Concourse 14 to a Vetrix Electric Scooter. Of course, H-D MoCo was there, offering test rides on their 2008 model line up.
I test rode the 1200R Sporty and remembered thinking to myself, "it's got potential". I had heard of the FXDF Fat Bob but had not yet seen one. Nor did I see one in their demo line up. I thought I'd ask anyway. Sure enough, they had one behind the demo truck that had not yet been prepped. I booked the first test ride for later that afternoon. When they brought it out, I thought to myself, damn, this thing looks tough - kinda like the Sporties bigger, meaner, brother.
Talk about a goofy, Cheshire cat grin - this thing was an absolute (and extremely comfy) blast to ride.
Not just because it feels totally strange and completely un-natural, but I guess I can't see myself riding down the road with my legs splayed out in front of me. The FXDF (in black denim) that I test rode was the mid-mount controls version.
The rubber-mounted Twin Cam 96 (1,584cc powerplant) was (is) surprisingly smooth - smoother than my 1200cc Ulysses. Tuned for massive low-end grunt, grab a handfull of throttle in just about any gear, at any speed, and this thing kicks it with plenty to spare.
In the following days I roamed round the house with my head hung, moping about what I was gonna do next. The Sporty had lost its appeal, but the Fat Bob was financially out of reach.
Figuring that I'd shelve the Fat Bob for later in the new year (perhaps I could pick up a used one – yeah, right...), I was back to looking at Sporties. It was then that I came across yet another 'too good to be true' deal on a 07 XL1200R. As expected, the deal fell through.
Perhaps it was the pitiful display, the aimless milling about, the pouting bottom lip, or maybe, more than likely, I just married the right gal, but that evening Cindy leaned over, and in a sultry, sexy tone, gently whispered in my right ear, f-a-t b-o-y.
I knew exactly what she meant, and it had nothing to do with my weight...
Cheers
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